Joni Mitchell: Encyclopedia II - Joni Mitchell - Jazz period

Joni Mitchell - 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 Centerpiece"). 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 [1]. (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.)

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.

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.

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, which at the time was not expected of such a celebrated music star. Some argue this style of music was ahead of its time, citing the fact that numerous "jam bands" play today to the delight of college students both in similar style and often times with similar conviction. 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.

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, sometimes arrhythmic 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.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Jazz period", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki