Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta), is a legendary Canadian musician and painter. Initially working in Toronto and western Canada, she was associated with the burgeoning folk music scene of the mid-1960s in New York City. Through the 1970s she expanded her horizons, predominantly to rock music and jazz, to become one of the most highly respected singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. Mitchell is also an accomplished artist; she has, through photography or painting, created the artwork for each of her albums, and she often describes herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance."

Jazz period

The first such album, The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975), was also a lyrical departure, with the confessional style replaced by a series of vignettes, from nightclub dancers ("Edith and the Kingpin") to the bored wives of the wealthy ("The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Harry's House"). The album was stylistically diverse, with complex vocal harmonies set with African drumming (the Warrior Drums of Burundi making up the foundation of "The Jungle Line"). Although many fans and other artists often cite "Hissing" as their favorite Mitchell work, it was not well received at the time of its release. A common legend holds it that Rolling Stone magazine accorded it the "Worst Album of The Year"; in actuality it was called only the worst album title http://www.jonimitchell.com/Melancholy97.html. (Mitchell and Rolling Stone have had a contentious relationship, initiated years earlier when RS featured a "tree" illustrating all of Mitchell's alleged romantic partners, primarily other musicians.)

Related Topics:
The Hissing of Summer Lawns - Warrior Drums - Burundi - Rolling Stone

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During 1975 Mitchell also participated in several concerts in the Rolling Thunder Revue tours headlined by Bob Dylan, and in 1976, she performed as part of "The Last Waltz" by The Band.

Related Topics:
Rolling Thunder Revue tours - Bob Dylan - The Last Waltz - The Band

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Hejira (1976) continued Mitchell's trend toward jazz, with many of the tracks led by (jazz musician) Jaco Pastorius's fretless bass guitar. The songs themselves, however, featured densely metaphorical lyrics and swooping vocal melodies providing contrast and counterpoint to the jazz rhythms of the arrangements. This album also highlighted as never before the unusual "open" guitar tunings that Mitchell used.

Related Topics:
Hejira - Jaco Pastorius - Bass guitar

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Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977) was a further move away from pop toward the freedom and abstraction of jazz, a wordy double album dominated by the lengthy part-improvised "Paprika Plains". The album received mixed reviews: some enjoyed its experimentation and originality; many others found it un-engaging. The cover of the album created its own controversy; Mitchell was featured in several photographs on the cover, including one where she was disguised as a black man.

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Mitchell's next work was to be a collaboration with legendary bassist Charles Mingus, who died before the project was completed in 1979. Mitchell finished the tracks with a band featuring Pastorius, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock and the resulting free-form, sometimesarhythmic music was daring and eclectic. "Mingus" was poorly received; rock audiences were not receptive, and jazz purists were unimpressed. However, appreciation for this work has grown considerably over the years.

Related Topics:
Charles Mingus - Wayne Shorter - Herbie Hancock - Arhythmic - Mingus

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