// Analogue Pilot Music

herbie hancock’s “the tea leaf prophecy” from his album “river - the joni letters”

i’ll be honest, when i first heard back in january that herbie ( the genius behind one of the great jazz albums of all time “head hunters”) was making an album of joni mitchell songs- i was not too interested. i didnt sound like the greatest jazz album idea. but when “river” began to garner awards- i took notice and picked it up at my local iTunes store.

the first track “harlem in havana” caught me off guard. here was hancock- stripped of synthesizers and electronic devices, back to his roots, his hands showing their command of the ivories; backed by nothing more than a bare bones jazz band.

fast forward in the album to “the tea leaf prophecy”. after having norah jones and corinne bailey rae, both very expected and at the same time very welcome on a jazz album like this one, guest on a song; here comes none other than joni mitchell herself.

the track begins with a wonderful introspective groove, herbie holding back and spacing the notes out carefully, almost as if the song has a chord limit. he knows that joni’s lyrics need their space. a deftly constructed upright bass line easily leads the song on with the percussion adding in it’s sunshower of brushes. and then comes joni, her distinct midrange sliding in to paint the story. she should have been a jazz singer. that’s my first thought. her voice is a natural in this enviroment, her song all the more. the feel is akin to walking into a jazz club in new york on a cold winter evening to get warm and staying all night as the music lulls you into a warmth you wont get from a fireplace, a warmth from the story being told and the soundtrack that flickers behind it.

-josh conti   josh@contimedia.us