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Herbie Hancock: River: The Joni Letters
Some recent Hancock-Shorter recordings have been rather abstract and cerebraljazz as a chess matchbut here, dealing with Joni Mitchell's harmonically suave tunes, both play with an ease, grace and involvement that immediately connects with the listener. Hear them trade solos with nonchalance between Norah Jones' rather breathless rendition of "Court and Spark" or how Shorter adds generous, earthy tenor sax obligatos and solo commentary to Tina Turner's vocal on "Edith and the Kingpin." His soprano even sings along with Rae on "The River" and adds perfect punctuations to Souza's verses on "Amelia," where the singer sounds like a younger Mitchell.
Hancock and Shorter are at their lyrically ruminative best in reharmonized and abstracted instrumental versions of two Mitchell songs: a "Both Sides Now" as lushLionel Loueke's guitar chords burnishing the tenor sax soloas Mitchell's was bouncy and a silky "Sweet Bird" with Shorter's tenor sax shadowing Hancock's limpid piano solo. Hancock does a completely reharmonized trio (with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta) exploration on Duke Ellington's "Solitude" that also plays cat-and-mouse with the time. And Shorter's "Nefertiti," first recorded by the pair in the classic mid-1960s Miles Davis Quintet, is given a surprisingly brash going over here in the one track where Colaiuta really breaks out his sticks.
Track Listing
Court and Spark; Edith and the Kingpin; Both Sides Now; River; Sweet Bird; Tea Leaf Propechy; Solitude; Amelia; Nefertiti; The Jungle Line.
Personnel
Herbie Hancock
pianoWayne Shorter
saxophoneDave Holland
bassVinnie Colaiuta
drumsLionel Loueke
guitar, acousticNorah Jones
pianoTina Turner
vocalsCorinne Bailey Rae
vocalsJoni Mitchell
vocalsLuciana Souza
vocalsLeonard Cohen
vocalsAlbum information
Title: River: The Joni Letters | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Verve Music Group
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Herbie Hancock
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River: The Joni Letters
Concerts
Sep
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