hancock

Herbie Hancock wins album of the year

While many were expecting Kanye West or Amy Winehouse to win, the Academy surprised us all last night by awarding the Grammy to Herbie Hancock for his Joni Mitchell tribute album (featuring Norah Jones, Tina Turner and more) . This was the first jazz album to win best album since Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto won for "The Girl From Ipanema" in 1964. Go jazz!

Well, not to brag, but Download Music has been promoting this album for months now--we already know it's a great album! Here's our review: "To call Hancock's stunning new collection … Read more

Remix and remake

One of the most interesting jazz releases of 2007 has to be Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters. On it, the legendary composer and pianist covers a number of classic Joni Mitchell songs--only "cover" doesn't quite describe it. In true modern jazz fashion, the takes are more thematic and spiritual than literal. The combination of Mitchell's haunting lyrics, Hancock's revamped melodies, and vocal cameos by artists from Norah Jones to Tina Turner is often stunning.

River's Hancock-Turner duet, "Edith and the Kingpin," is a highlight of a new jazz playlist, Remix and remake, … Read more

Free playlist: new releases

Across the board, it's been a great week in music. With the fall releases pouring out, we just added new songs from James Blunt, Dashboard Confessional, T.I., Interpol, and more. One notable release is our full album stream of Herbie Hancock's latest "River: The Joni Letters," which is a tribute to Joni Mitchell (who conveniently enough just released an album as well). Check out the song "Court and Spark" featuring Norah Jones. Since there's some much to swallow this week, we made it simple for you by compiling this free playlist. Now … Read more