With this album the legendary pianist and innovator explores the words and music of another musical pioneer Joni Mitchell on his first new studio recording for Verve since 1998's Grammy Award winner GERSHWIN'S WORLD. Special guests vocalists include Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, and Tina Turner.
J**E
Edith and the Kingpin
Really good album that I discovered in recent years. And Tina Turner singing "Edith"??? Just listen to it.
Z**S
Une belle brochettes d artistes sur un disque qui risque d etre un classique...meme dans 10 ans
Un disque magique!On ne s en lasse pasLes differentes collaborations sont top,A vous de dire quelle est votre piste favorite.
J**�
Herbie Hancock: River: The Joni Letters.
This was always going to be a somewhat controversial project, as some Mitchell “fans” have never embraced her experiments with jazz and this is very much a jazz album.Hancock has put together a fine combo of top musicians for this tribute – and Wayne Shorter can do no wrong as far as I`m concerned. The arrangements (by Hancock and Larry Klein) are often more extended than the original material to accommodate the soloing and there's a very introspective, contemplative feel to most of the tracks.The choice of singers is perhaps the stumbling block for some listeners; there was nothing here that offended my ears; each artist has their own interpretation of what are - after all - modern standards; Mitchell's songs are often covered by a wide variety of singers on other albums as a matter of course; there is no wild improvising or lack of respect for Mitchell's melodies or lyrics here – that Mitchell sanctioned the project and contributes (wonderfully) herself should be endorsement enough.The inclusion of Ellington`s “Solitude” and Shorter`s “Nefertiti” are reminders that the album is a personal note from great artists to one of their own.A good album, just short of greatness but undeserving of some of the negative comments from some reviewers.4 ½ stars, ideally.The CD has a playing time of 67.56 minutes.Amazon have now stopped providing sound samples – a stupid and extremely inconvenient move for all prospective purchasers – I suggest searching YouTube or another music website for tracks from the album.
F**4
Ottima registrazione
Gran bel disco; d’altro canto con musicisti di questo calibro.... oltre ad Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland..... e poi le vocalist.... Norah Jones, Tina Turner e la stessa Ioni Mitchell....A dispetto di quanto si afferma in altre recensioni, l’incisione del vinile è ottima e la registrazione contribuisce a creare un’atmosfera molto calda e rilassata.
U**.
tolles Album
... und ich hoffe auch nicht nur für Herby Fans !
