ARTIST: Herbie Hancock

TITLE: River: The Joni Letters

STARS: 5 out of 5 Stars

SOUNDS LIKE: Simply a beautiful piece of work. Lyrical and provocative; reminiscent of Herbie’s 1965 “Maiden Voyage” era but with vocals.

Well before “River:The Joni Letters” won Grammy Album of the year I knew it was something special. Since December it rarely been far from my CD player.

It’s an addictive piece of music with each listening bringing a new musical surprise. It’s subtle, romantic, cerebral and sophisticated and some of legendary keyboardist Herbie Hancock’s greatest work.

Gone are the synthesizers, vocoders and other electronic excesses from Herbie’s 1980s Rock-It” era. I its place is a classic understated elegance, one in which Herbie takes an introspective and stripped down lyrical approach to electric piano.

Some may call “River” simply lounge music. But it’s too cerebral and harmonically sophisticated for that label. Yet it comes across just as accessible.

In simple terms “River” is one legendary performer paying tribute to another. Herbie’s musical tribute to Joni Mitchell, arguably, one of the greatest folk singers and songwriters of our time from one of the greatst jazz pianist of our time.

And he’s helped along in this endeavor by a crack lineup of vocalists and musicians, old and new friends.

There’s bassist David Holland and saxophonist Wayne Shorter from Herbie’s Miles Davis connection. There’s new discovered West African guitarist Lionel Loueke and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums.

And the vocalists.... oh man, there’s Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Leonard Cohen (spoken word poetry) even Joni Mitchell herself.

Except for Shorter’s classic “Nefertetti” the other 10 songs on the CD are harmonic reconfigurations of some of Mitchell’s most notable compositions. And they’re not so much vocals-driven as they are mood and melody driven. The lyics and vocals almost work as instruments themselves within the framework of the composition.

The lilting “Court and Spark” has now become a reflectively somber piece made even more moody by Nora Jones’s hauntingly sweet vocals.

An almost unrecognizable Tina Turner does honors on “Edith and the Kingpin.” Only a small trace of Tina’s trademark gut-wrenching soul remains here. What you get is a smoldering fire providing the spark beneath Shorter’s smoky tenor sax.

I might add here that Wayne Shorter in my opinion is one of the greatest sax players of all time. His economically seamless style adds a classy elegance to any session. His tenor work mixed with Herbie’s understated phrasing provides the mood and substance for this fine CD.

“River” is simply one brilliant piece of work. One that should become a standard.