Joni Mitchell turned in one of the best concerts of they year at the Robin Hood Dell West Tuesday night in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Her singing was first-rate, while the band she has assembled for her current tour proved to be one of the sharpest anywhere.
Ms Mitchell's latest album features her renditions of songs written for her by the late jazzman Charles Mingus, so there is plenty of jazz in her current work. Even several-year-old classics like "Coyote" and "Black Crow" were performed jazzier than usual, though they retained the old feeling.
On the new songs, Ms Mitchell and company tended almost toward pure jazz, especially on "The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines," which featured a long, almost dissonant sax solo by Michael Brecker.
Others in the band were Pat Metheny, one of the most highly regarded young jazz-rock guitarists; Jaco Pastorious, the flamboyant regular bassist for Weather Report; percussionist Don Alias and keyboardist Lyle Mays.
One of the highlights in a show with no low points was Ms Mitchell's performance of the hymn-like "Shadows and Light" with the Persuasions, an a cappella group which was also the opening act.
Printed from the official Joni Mitchell website. Permanent link: https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=4827
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