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.
Guest vocalists on River include Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner, Norah Jones, ...
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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.
Guest vocalists on River include Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tina Turner, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae and Luciana Souza.
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.
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. It faced competition from Kanye West, Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse, and Vince Gill. River was the first jazz album to win best album in 43 years; the last was awarded in 1965 for Getz/Gilberto by Stan...
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