by Andrew Baker
“And the Grammy for Album of the Year goes to...,”
When Quincy Jones said those words at this week’s Grammy awards, the smart money was on Kanye West or Amy Winehouse, both of whom had received several awards already that night.
But to everyone’s surprise, the coveted Album of the Year award went to jazz great Herbie Hancock for his tribute to Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Years.
Hancock first worked with Mitchell on her 1978 album entitled Mingus, and they have been working together ever since. Hancock worked for months with Mitchell’s long-time producer Larry Klein, reading through Mitchell’s lyrics and music and adapting her music into a jazz form.
They used the words of Mitchell to bring out a colorful display of music and assembled a group of the top musicians in the world to put together the album.
Hancock is not a stranger to the Grammies, having won 10 awards previously, all for instrumental jazz or R &B. However, few expected him to win Best Album of the Year, which usually goes to pop or rock albums.
“You know it’s been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the album of the year award,” Hancock said in his acceptance speech. “…But this is a new day, that proves that the impossible can be made possible.”
River: The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock
Released on September 25, 2007 by Verve Records.
- “Court and Spark” with Norah Jones
- “Edith and the Kingpen” 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” (Duke Ellington)
- “Amelia” with Lucinda Souza
- “Nefertiti” (Wayne Shorter)
- “The Jungle Line” with Leonard Cohen
Herbie Hancock – piano
Wayne Shorter – soprano and tenor saxophone
Dave Holland – bass
Lionel Loueke – guitar
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
Click HERE to read more about the career and music of Herbie Hancock.
Click HERE to watch the video of Herbie Hancock and Grandmaster DST perform "Rockit" live. This song won a Grammy-award in 1983. |