From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2007 #567 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/joni Website: http://jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Tuesday, February 12 2008 Volume 2007 : Number 567 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: more of The Grammy Awards (yes!!!! Joni content!!!!) [Eric Taylor ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:05:35 -0500 (EST) From: Eric Taylor Subject: Re: more of The Grammy Awards (yes!!!! Joni content!!!!) We love you Jerry Notaro but you are totally wrong when you say >>You blew it Joni. You should have been there. It was your hour to Shine.<< Certainly Joni realized that this was the night for Herbie but ALSO Larry to shine on their own. And shine they certainly did!!! Why does everyone still seem to treat Larry Klein like a footnote I often wonder? I am just SO ELATED by what happened at the Grammy Awards last night!!!!!!! It looks like real music is at long last making an overdue comeback and who better to lead the way than Joni and her incredibly awesome band mates! In tears..... ET NP: River: the joni letters (for at least the dozenth time since last September) & Buddah bless Tina Turner big time! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:36:56 -0500 (EST) From: Eric Taylor Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell !!! JC Patti Parlette beautifully expresses my feelings as did Herbie >>What a Chelsea Morning! Woke up and had to pinch myself, saying: "Do you think this can be real?" "Was this just a dream some of us had?" "Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, thank you so much!' Herbie speaks for us!<< I am in Joni heaven right now thanks to Herbie (listening to The Best Album Of The Year again & again today realizing the whole world is finally going to start paying attention to these wonderfully unsung musicians). I haven't been this excited about the state of music since Joni & Seal won Grammys back in 1996! But THIS is much much better!!! We are witnessing a most important moment in history right now and it's just SOOO GOOOD to see our lovely Joni up there leading the way. ET NP: still River the joni letters ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:07:16 -0500 From: frednow@aol.com Subject: Re: River "Laurent Olszer" wrote: It just so happened i listened to River recently for the 1st time. I didn't read the digests at the time as i didn't want to spoil the fun of discovery. Of course i'm very happy if this grammy brings about a wider exposure to Joni's work. But i have to admit i'm missing the point of this album. What i mean is when i listen to many Joni's covers (thanks Bob) i can understand the contribution made by the artist to the original song. However i don't get that feeling with Herbie's River. It sounds like an exercise in style, almost like a < Joni made easy >, smooth jazz version. In other words, i see what Herbie removed and i don't see what he added. What am i missing? - ----------------------------------------- With all due respect, Laurent, I think you're missing the whole thing. River is as far from the vapidity of smooth jazz as one could ever hope for. Channeling Debussy and Ravel, it's like an Impressionist's dream about Joni's songs, filtered through the musical mind of one of the genuine geniuses of the 20th and 21st centuries. Herbie's (and Wayne's) playing on this album is exceptional, significantly expanding the harmonic and textural palette, and allowing for a maximum of improvisational spirit. This excerpt from Tom Moon's review today on NPR's All Things Considered says it very well: "[Herbie] doesn't radically overhaul Mitchell's songs b instead, he gently opens them up and lures the singers into fascinating free-associative conversations. It's like there are two stories being told in these songs. One in Mitchell's words, alongside a secondary narrative being told between Hancock and his longtime collaborator, the amazing saxophonist Wayne Shorter." "Gently opens them up" is exactly what he does, letting in colors, light, air, and space. I'm not entirely sold on every singer ... for me the standouts are Norah Jones, Joni, and most of all Tina Turner. Luciana Souza, who I generally like, sounds flat or otherwise off. Corinne Bailey Rae, who I also like on her own material, just doesn't make it for me here. In my opinion, a luminous album of great depth and beauty. All best, Fred - -Fred Simon http://myspace.com/fredsimon ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:15:39 -0500 From: frednow@aol.com Subject: Herbie's Grammy Herbie winning Best Album of the Year is nothing short of a tear in the space-time continuum. Interesting that the last jazz album to do so was in 1964 (Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto), which was just barely the dawn of the birth of the record label industry. Now, on the eve of its death, another jazz album wins. Nice bookends. I think it's like that great joke about the band on the Titanic ... the boat's going down and the band leader says "Fuck these waltzes, let's play some jazz." Everyone knows the label industry is dead, so why not give the top award to a truly deserving album. All best, Fred - -Fred Simon http://myspace.com/fredsimon ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:23:38 -0500 (EST) From: Eric Taylor Subject: Re: my take on herbie's big win. rza666odb@aol.com rightly questioned >>do you all really feel that herbie's album deserved the grammy for album of the year over the other nominees?! i feel that maybe i look at this in a different way because i'm probably one of the youngest members of this discussion list, but i wonder how many of you have actually listened to the other albums nominated in the album of the year category? do you actually own amy's back to black or kanye's graduation (vince gill and foo fighters should not have been in this category by the way), or do you only own the joni letters? what i'm saying is, do you agree with the joni letters winning the big prize because it's a joni-related album, or do you really feel?that it is better than back to black and graduation? none of the 5 nominated albums in the category were my number 1 favorite album of '07, but if i had to pick out of the five, back to black is easily the best with graduation coming in second. in my opinion, these two albums are 10x better than the joni letters. mark ro!<< OK i admit that I haven't listened to any of the other nominees for Best Album. But I do stay current with new music even though i'm old & all i can say is that i am SHOCKED that Radiohead's In Rainbows was not even nominated for anything! Usually the Grammy Awards piss me off because they do things like punish artists such as Janet Jackson for revealing her nipple at the superbowl while rewarding boys like Justin Timberlake for the same god damn thing. I didn't watch the Grammy Awards last night probably for some of the same reasons Joni didn't attend. Hollywood just seems too in love with itself 4 me. But after listening to River dozens of times I must agree with the snobs that it absolutely deserves best album of the year status. It is about f---ing time that a jazz album won best album of the year & who could possibly deserve it more??? ET ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2007 #567 ***************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------