Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen

by Leonard Cohen

Overview

Leonard Cohen's musical career began in the 1960s as a singer and songwriter who, as the so-called "poet of erotic despair," was widely considered to be so dour it was off-putting. By the time Cohen passed in 2016, he was a beloved artist who sold out large venues around the world, while his song "Hallelujah" became an unlikely standard. While there's no arguing that Cohen's style (and its presentation) became significantly more approachable in the 1980s and '90s, the re-evaluation of his music still seems surprising when examining the full arc of his career, and it's hard to imagine that the man who made 1971's Songs of Love and Hate and 1974's New Skin for the Old Ceremony would inspire an album like 2022's Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen. The album was coordinated by producer Larry Klein, who was a friend of the great songwriter, and he assembled a stellar band of jazz artists - Bill Frisell on guitar, Immanuel Wilkins on sax, Kevin Hays on piano, Scott Colley on bass, and Nate Smith on drums -- to back ten different singers interpreting Cohen's songs. Klein's approach gives Here It Is a coherent, unified sound that feels like an album rather than a collection of stray tracks. The players are all in superb form, and Wilkins and Frisell each lead an instrumental performance, pointing to Cohen's gift for writing melodies and not just words. With the exception of Iggy Pop, whose gritty, weathered voice brings out all of the sinister undercurrents in "You Want It Darker," the singers on Here It Is have contributed to honor the beauty of Cohen's music rather than the more challenging aspects; the most unforgiving of Cohen's songs, "Avalanche," appears here as an instrumental led by Wilkins, who honors its spirit though the letter is absent. Different fans of Leonard Cohen's work will have different opinions about the tone of Here It Is and its focus on one facet of his songbook at the expense of others. But there's no arguing the best performances here are wonderful and show off a keen understanding of these songs and what makes them work, especially Mavis Staples' yearning "If It Be Your Will," Luciana Souza's sweetly mournful "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," and Gregory Porter's cool but deeply felt reading of "Suzanne." Even the lesser performances (most notably Peter Gabriel's "Here It Is," where he tries so hard to sound like Cohen that it's hard to tell who he is) show these artists know these are great songs, and they approach them with care and obvious admiration. Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen doesn't tell us all that's worth knowing about Cohen's music, and in all fairness that's clearly not his goal. Here, Larry Klein and his collaborators explore the light that seeps in through the cracks, and what it reflects is splendidly crafted and a heartfelt homage to a singular talent. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/14/2022
Label:	Blue Note
UPC:	0602445659951
Rank:	39271

Tracks

1. Steer Your Way  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - Kevin Hays  - Norah Jones  - Jamie Landry  - Greg Leisz  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
2. Here It Is  - Leonard Cohen  - Faye Dolle  - Bill Frisell  - Peter Gabriel  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Katie May  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
3. Suzanne  - Leonard Cohen  - Bill Frisell  - Adam Greenspan  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Gregory Porter  - Eddie Roberts  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
4. Hallelujah  - Leonard Cohen  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Sarah McLachlan  - Chris Potter  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
5. Avalanche  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
6. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Adam Greenspan  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Nate Smith  - Luciana Souza  - Immanuel Wilkins  - Karl Wingate
7. Coming Back to You  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Dave O'Donnell  - Nate Smith  - James Taylor  - Immanuel Wilkins
8. You Want It Darker  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Patrick Leonard  - Dave Poler  - Iggy Pop  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
9. If It Be Your Will  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Kevin Hays  - Jonathan Lackey  - Greg Leisz  - Mat Lejeune  - Nate Smith  - Mavis Staples  - Immanuel Wilkins
10. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Ben De Vries  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - David Gray  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins
11. Famous Blue Raincoat  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Larry Goldings  - Adam Greenspan  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Nathaniel Rateliff  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins  - Karl Wingate
12. Bird on the Wire  - Leonard Cohen  - Scott Colley  - Bill Frisell  - Kevin Hays  - Greg Leisz  - Nate Smith  - Immanuel Wilkins

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Leonard Cohen   Primary Artist
Luciana Souza   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sarah McLachlan   Primary Artist,Vocals
Peter Gabriel   Primary Artist,Vocals
Norah Jones   Primary Artist,Vocals
Iggy Pop   Primary Artist,Vocals
David Gray   Primary Artist,Vocals
Nathaniel Rateliff   Primary Artist,Vocals
Immanuel Wilkins   Primary Artist,Piano,Sax (Alto)
Bill Frisell   Primary Artist,Guitar
James Taylor   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mavis Staples   Primary Artist,Vocals
Gregory Porter   Primary Artist,Vocals
Scott Colley   Bass
Nate Smith   Drums
Kevin Hays   Organ,Piano
Larry Goldings   Organ (Hammond)
Greg Leisz   Pedal Steel

Technical Credits

Dave O'Donnell   Vocal Engineer,Recording
Sandy Roberton   Production Coordination
Eddie Roberts   Assistant Engineer
Chris Potter   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Sharon Terea Robinson   Composer
Ben De Vries   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Stewart Armstrong   Artwork
Jonathan Lackey   Assistant Engineer
Rachel Jones   A&R
Kate Markowitz   Vocal Engineer
Ivy Skoff   Production Coordination
Katie May   Vocal Engineer
Adam Greenspan   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Vocal Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Steve Cook   A&R
Ellyn Kusmin   Production Coordination
Mat Lejeune   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Dave Poler   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Philip Krohnengold   Copyist
Jamie Landry   Recording,Vocal Engineer
Karl Wingate   Assistant Engineer
Faye Dolle   Assistant Engineer
Patrick Leonard   Composer
Amy Keys   Vocal Engineer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Leonard Cohen   Composer
Larry Klein   Producer