River: The Joni Letters

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River: The Joni Letters
River: The Joni Letters cover
Tribute album by Herbie Hancock
Released September 25, 2007
Producer Herbie Hancock, Larry Klein
Professional reviews
Herbie Hancock chronology
The Essential Herbie Hancock
(2006)		 River: The Joni Letters
(2007)

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.

Contents

[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] Tracks

  1. "Court and Spark" - (with Norah Jones)
  2. "Edith and the Kingpin" - (with Tina Turner)
  3. "Both Sides Now"
  4. "River" - (with Corinne Bailey Rae)
  5. "Sweet Bird"
  6. "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" - (with Joni Mitchell)
  7. "Solitude" (Ellington)
  8. "Amelia" - (with Luciana Souza)
  9. "Nefertiti" (Shorter)
  10. "The Jungle Line" - (with Leonard Cohen)

[edit] Bonus tracks

The Amazon.com exclusive version of the album features two bonus tracks:[7]

  1. "A Case of You" – 7:36
  2. "All I Want" – 4:15
    • with Sonya Kitchell

The iTunes Store digital version features two bonus tracks:

  1. "Harlem in Havana"
  2. "I Had a King"

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b News. HerbieHancock.com (2007-08-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  2. ^ Cohen, Sandy. "Hancock Steals Grammy Album of Year", Associated Press, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  3. ^ Leopold, Todd. "Herbie Hancock rides on the 'River'", Music, CNN, 2008-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  4. ^ Stryker, Mark. "Herbie Hancock's Grammy win is a victory for jazz world", Detroit Free Press, 2008-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  5. ^ Moon, Tom. "On 'River,' Hancock Skates Away with Grammy", All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  6. ^ Jones, Steve. "Hancock bridged jazz, pop on 'River'", Music, USA Today, 2008-02-05. Retrieved on 2008-02-17. 
  7. ^ Amazon listing. amazon.com (2007-09-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-09.


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Grammy Award: Album of the Year (1991-2010)