Jazz label Blue Note Records is preparing a Leonard Cohen covers/tribute album titled Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen. The album will feature big-name artists like Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, and Mavis Staples.
Among the other renowned artists are Norah Jones and Nathaniel Rateliff, as well as James Taylor, who recorded a version of “Coming Back to You,” while Sarah McLachlan takes on “Hallelujah.”
The album was produced by Cohen’s longtime friend Larry Klein, who assembled a core band of jazz-based musicians including guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Nate Smith.
“Leonard Cohen had been a friend since 1982 or so, and in the last 15 years of his life, he became a close friend,” said Klein in a press release. “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.”
Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen Tracklist:
- Norah Jones – “Steer Your Way”
- Peter Gabriel – “Here It Is”
- Gregory Porter – “Suzanne”
- Sarah McLachlan – “Hallelujah”
- Immanuel Wilkins – “Avalanche”
- Luciana Souza – “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”
- James Taylor – “Coming Back to You”
- Iggy Pop – “You Want It Darker”
- Mavis Staples – “If It Be Your Will”
- David Gray – “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy”
- Nathaniel Rateliff – “Famous Blue Raincoat”
- Bill Frisell – “Bird on the Wire”
