Blue Note Records has announced an October 14 release date for Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, a remarkable new album produced by Larry Klein that presents stunning renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s profound songs performed by an extraordinary line-up of guest vocalists: Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Gregory Porter, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, David Gray, and Nathaniel Rateliff.
Hear Taylor’s sublime version of “Coming Back to You” which is available to stream or download today. Here It Is can be pre-ordered now on exclusive colour vinyl and black vinyl here on TheRecordHub.com
“Leonard Cohen had been a friend since 1982 or so, and in the last 15 years of his life, he became a close friend,” says Klein. “He was possibly the wisest and funniest friend that I had, and someone that I enjoyed, immensely, in every way. After he passed away, I found myself frequently covering his songs with other artists that I was working with. One reason, of course, is that the songs are so good—in a certain way, Leonard is the best pop songwriter ever—but the other reason was that it helped keep him in the air around me.”
So Klein decided to assemble an album’s worth of Cohen songs, matching vocalists from different genres with an exceptional core band of jazz-based musicians—or, as he puts it, “a group of the most prescient and forward-looking musicians in the jazz world”—guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Nate additional contributions from Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar and Larry Goldings on organ.
Track Listing:
1. Steer Your Way -Norah Jones
2. Here It Is -Peter Gabriel
3. Suzanne -Gregory Porter
4. Hallelujah -Sarah McLachlan
5. Avalanche -Immanuel Wilkins
6. Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye -Luciana Souza
7. Coming Back to You -James Taylor
8. You Want It Darker -Iggy Pop
9. If It Be Your Will -Mavis Staples
10. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy -David Gray
11. Famous Blue Raincoat -Nathaniel Rateliff
12. Bird on The Wire -Bill Frisell
