On his new record, The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock proves that he is the right pianist to do justice to Joni Mitchell’s idiosyncratic songs. Mitchell’s songs have always had jazz elements in them, whether the chord progressions, the way Mitchell works her way around vocal line like less reedy Billie Holiday or less technical Ella Fitzgerald, or the jazz musicians she used and admired in her 1970s recordings. Hancock and his top notch band (including Wayne Shorter on saxophone) possess a lightness of touch and tone that allow the songs to retain their ambiguity. The tunes sound like they could go in many different ways, and that adds to their beauty and mystique.

Hancock and long time Mitchell producer Larry Klein picked an eclectic but effective group of vocalists, including Mitchell herself, to bring her lyrics and melodies to life. Each vocalist embodies an aspect of Mitchell’s voice. Norah Jones’ huskiness lets “Court and Spark” flow. Tina Turner almost matches Mitchell’s sarcasm on “Edith and the Kingpin.” “River” lets Corinne Bailey Rae’s voice sound like young girl as she sings longingly about wanting to escape and skate down the river. Underrated jazz singer Luciana Souza perfectly captures the round timbre of Mitchell’s voice on “Amelia” as Shorter’s soprano saxophone plays lilting counter lines, and Mitchell’s take on the ethereal “Tea Leaf Prophecy” combines the best qualities of all the other vocalists before her.

Hancock picks a great band here with everyone moving as a cohesive whole with the drumming of Vinnie Coliauta and almost Brazilian strumming of guitarist Lionel Loueke meshing in subtle ways. The only fault on this album is the inclusion of the instrumental standards “Solitude” and “Nefertiti,” which almost match the tone of the record, but they stick out as being obviously not Mitchell songs. However, that is a minor point as the other songs on this record give an added depth to Mitchell’s art.