Herbie Hancock rides on the 'River' (CNN) {AOY Grammy nom'n}

By Todd Leopold
CNN

(CNN) -- Herbie Hancock has been here before.

The famed jazz pianist has 10 Grammy Awards to his credit -- for such works as "Rockit," "A Tribute to Miles" and "Gershwin's World" -- not to mention nominations for several more. He's no stranger to other honors, having won tributes from organizations ranging from MTV to the National Endowment for the Arts.

But, he says, it was still a shock to hear his name announced among the nominations for Grammy's 2007 album of the year for his album "River: The Joni Letters" (Verve).
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On the other hand, "River" is an unapologetic straight jazz album, with unusual harmonies and expansive running times -- not exactly a radio-friendly multiplatinum smash. In fact, in the history of the Grammys, only one pure jazz album -- Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto's 1964 "Getz/Gilberto" -- has won the big prize, one less than the number of comedy albums that has done so.

Hancock says "River: The Joni Letters" came about because of a suggestion from Verve executive Dahlia Ambach Caplin, who asked what Hancock was going to do for his next jazz record following 2006's somewhat pop recording, "Possibilities." Knowing about Hancock's friendship with Mitchell, the idea came up of doing an album of Mitchell songs, many of which have jazz underpinnings.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/04/herbie.hancock/index.html

I love this guy's music, and this album is one of his best. So glad he won tonight. Herbie is one of my biggest heroes. I'm really happy for him, and for Joni Mitchell, one of the greatest composers and recording artists of all time.