River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive
List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $10.97
You Save: $8.01 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album



(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Artist: Herbie Hancock
Performer: Herbie Hancock
Edition: Music CD
Format: Special Edition
CD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Music Label: Verve
Soundtracks:
  1. Court and Spark featuring Norah Jones
  2. Edith and the Kingpin featuring Tina Turner
  3. Both Sides Now
  4. River featuring Corinne Bailey Rae
  5. Sweet Bird
  6. Tea Leaf Prophecy featuring Joni Mitchell
  7. Solitude
  8. Amelia featuring Luciana Souza
  9. Nefertiti
  10. The Jungle Line featuring Leonard Cohen
  11. All I Want featuring Sonya Kitchell (Exclusive Bonus Track)
  12. A Case of You (Exclusive Bonus Track)

Music reviews of River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

Music Review: Great album!
Rating: 4 Stars

I liked it very much... the covers are great and the total experience is very calm

Description of River: The Joni Letters (with Bonus Tracks) - Amazon.com Exclusive

This Amazon.com exclusive version of River: The Joni Letters includes two bonus tracks, "All I Want" featuring Sonya Kitchell and "A Case of You."

The legendary pianist and innovator Herbie Hancock explores the words and music of another musical pioneer, Joni Mitchell, on his first new studio recording for Verve since 1998's GRAMMY? award-winning Gershwin's World.

Inspired in equal parts by Mitchell's poetic lyrics and unique melodies, Hancock and saxophone giant Wayne Shorter play with a restraint and elegance that achieves a perfect balance between the adventurous aesthetics of jazz improvisation and the emotional directness of the finest Adult Pop music.

Hancock builds upon his (and Shorter's) previous collaborations with Ms. Mitchell to create a sound that will appeal not only to fans of both artists, but to the listener familiar with the work of Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae and the other brilliant guest vocalists featured on this session. River: The Joni Letters is the perfect CD for the music fan looking for something new that's based in the familiar.


On paper, River sounds like a match made in several versions of heaven. Legendary pianist Herbie Hancock re-imagines Joni Mitchell with his hand-picked, star-studded band--including saxophonist Wayne Shorter--in tow. Luminary guests lend vocals to a song apiece: Norah Jones ("Court and Spark"), Tina Turner ("Edith and the Kingpin"), Corinne Bailey Rae ("River"), Luciana Souza ("Amelia"), Leonard Cohen (with an unsettlingly sanguine version of "The Jungle Line"), even Mitchell herself ("Tea Leaf Prophecy"). In the event, though, a few fundamental elements go awry. Hancock plays with almost saccharine understatement throughout, and even Shorter's seminal "Nefertiti" and Duke Ellington's "Solitude" fall into the album's presiding, somnolent surface, though to a lesser degree does the instrumental version of Mitchell's "Sweet Bird." But girding, and in some measure, saving, the proceedings, the lyrics here testify to a subtler wisdom guiding Hancock's set list. The mix includes a continuum from intrepid classics to dusty, fans-only fare, but a distinct reverence for Joni Mitchell the Poet threads them together, and, in the end, this album works best as a sleepy window into one fan's giddy and particular love affair with his source material. Fans of Hancock win out. --Jason Kirk

General CDs

Music Genres
Bestsellers in General CDs
Bossa Nova Stories ImageEliane Elias - Bossa Nova Stories
Release date: 2009-01-13; Music CD
Best price: $7.18
Price in other shops: $17.98
Chris Botti in Boston [Blu-ray] ImageChris Botti in Boston [Blu-ray]
Sony; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $17.50
Price in other shops: $29.98
Five Peace Band Live ImageChick Corea, John McLaughlin - Five Peace Band Live
Release date: 2009-04-28; Music CD
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops: $19.98
Kind of Blue ImageMiles Davis - Kind of Blue
Release date: 1997-03-25; Music CD
Best price: $4.45
Price in other shops: $11.98
Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions ImageB?la Fleck - Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions
Release date: 2009-03-03; Music CD
Best price: $13.09
Price in other shops: $18.98
Chris Botti in Boston ImageChris Botti - Chris Botti in Boston
Release date: 2009-03-31; Music CD
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops: $18.98
Bare Bones ImageMadeleine Peyroux - Bare Bones
Release date: 2009-03-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops: $17.98
My One and Only Thrill ImageMelody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill
Release date: 2009-04-28; Music CD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops: $13.98
Chris Botti in Boston (CD/DVD) ImageChris Botti - Chris Botti in Boston (CD/ DVD)
Release date: 2009-03-31; Music CD
Best price: $12.75
Price in other shops: $24.98
Quiet Nights ImageDiana Krall - Quiet Nights
Release date: 2009-03-31; Music CD
Best price: $8.05
Price in other shops: $13.98
Similar CDs
Quiet Nights ImageDiana Krall - Quiet Nights
Release date: 2009-03-31; Music CD
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: $13.98
Songs of Mass Destruction ImageAnnie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction
Release date: 2007-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $2.32
Price in other shops: $18.98
Keep It Simple ImageVan Morrison - Keep It Simple
Release date: 2008-04-01; Music CD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops: $13.98
Just A Little Lovin' ImageShelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin'
Release date: 2008-01-29; Music CD
Best price: $6.08
Price in other shops: $13.98
Detours ImageSheryl Crow - Detours
Release date: 2008-02-05; Music CD
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops: $13.98
A Tribute To Joni Mitchell ImageA Tribute To Joni Mitchell
Release date: 2007-04-24; Music CD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $18.98
Raising Sand ImageRaising Sand
Release date: 2007-10-23; Music CD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops: $18.98
Back to Black ImageAmy Winehouse - Back to Black
Release date: 2007-03-13; Music CD
Best price: $7.53
Price in other shops: $13.98
Possibilities ImageHerbie Hancock - Possibilities
Release date: 2005-08-30; Music CD
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops: $18.98
Shine ImageJoni Mitchell - Shine
Release date: 2007-09-25; Music CD
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops: $18.98
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles