River: The Joni Letters
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| River: The Joni Letters | ||||
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| Studio album by Herbie Hancock | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006—2007 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 67:49 | |||
| Label | The Verve Music Group | |||
| Producer | Herbie Hancock, Larry Klein | |||
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| Herbie Hancock chronology | ||||
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River: The Joni Letters is the 2008 Grammy-winning album by Herbie Hancock. His 47th studio album, it was released on September 25, 2007 by Verve Records. The tribute album is an homage to Joni Mitchell, a longtime associate and friend of Hancock. Both Hancock and saxophonist Wayne Shorter previously collaborated with Mitchell on the 1979 jazz album, Mingus.[1]
Guest vocalists on River include Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae and Luciana Souza.[1]
The album peaked at #5 on The Billboard 200 after enjoying a huge post-Grammy sales boost, at #61 in Switzerland, #70 in France and #83 in the Netherlands.
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[edit] Grammy awards
On February 10, 2008, the album won the Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, surprising the music world.[2] It faced competition from Kanye West, Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse, and Vince Gill.[3] River was the first jazz album to win best album in 43 years; the last was awarded in 1965 for Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and João Gilberto.[4][5] The track, "Both Sides Now", was also nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental.[6]
[edit] Track listing
All songs were written by Joni Mitchell, except where noted.
- "Court and Spark" with Norah Jones
- "Edith and the Kingpin" with Tina Turner
- "Both Sides Now"
- "River" with Corinne Bailey Rae
- "Sweet Bird"
- "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" with Joni Mitchell
- "Solitude" (Eddie DeLange, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills)
- "Amelia" with Luciana Souza
- "Nefertiti" (Wayne Shorter)
- "The Jungle Line" with Leonard Cohen
- Bonus tracks
The Amazon.com exclusive version of the album features two bonus tracks:[7]
- "A Case of You" – 7:36
- "All I Want" – 4:15
- with Sonya Kitchell
The iTunes Store digital version features two bonus tracks:
- "Harlem in Havana"
- "I Had a King"
[edit] Personnel
- Herbie Hancock – piano
- Wayne Shorter – soprano and tenor saxophone
- Dave Holland – bass
- Lionel Loueke – guitar
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
[edit] References
- ^ a b "News". HerbieHancock.com. 2007-08-01. http://www.herbiehancock.com/news/story.php?sid=59. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
- ^ Cohen, Sandy (2008-02-11). "Hancock Steals Grammy Album of Year". Associated Press. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSDyPp8MY3kwpiKsqOB4c4zLhHrAD8UO4JNO0. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ Leopold, Todd (2008-02-04). "Herbie Hancock rides on the 'River'". Music (CNN). http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/04/herbie.hancock/. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ Stryker, Mark (2008-02-04). "Herbie Hancock's Grammy win is a victory for jazz world". Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080211/ENT04/80211041/1048/SPORTS. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ Moon, Tom (2008-02-11). "On 'River,' Hancock Skates Away with Grammy". All Things Considered (National Public Radio). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19073295. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ Jones, Steve (2008-02-05). "Hancock bridged jazz, pop on 'River'". Music (USA Today). http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/awards/grammys/2008-02-05-grammys-hancock_N.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Amazon listing". amazon.com. 2007-09-01. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000V9RRPQ/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-8258129-5015137?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
[edit] External links
- The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Blog: River at Los Angeles Times
- The Best Jazz of 2007: 3) River: The Joni Letters at PopMatters
- Hancock bridged jazz, pop on River at USA Today
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