Hannah Reimann performs Blue, August 17, New York City (in person and live stream)

Posted August 06, 2021

"There's been a lot of celebration of Joni Mitchell's album, "Blue," this year since it was released 50 years ago in June 2021. It is indeed a special record which has moved and influenced generations of songwriters and audiences. We are honored to be able to share our version.

"Michele Temple and I are also celebrating an anniversary: In August 2012,

"I called Michele, asking her to learn all the songs from "Blue" in their original keys and arrangements so we could perform them at The Bitter End where Joni used to play. I had personal reasons to heal from pain and loss for pursuing this project - it was not about heroine worship. I planned to perform the album the way I heard it as a kid, in the order the songs were placed on the LP. Delighted that Michele agreed to play with me, we got to work.

"Instead of the usual one or two rehearsals for a show, we found ourselves meeting repeatedly before the concert, getting into deep discussions about each song, musically and in terms of the poetry and meaning of the lyrics.

"This was not common pop music - there was something else going on here and we were always investigating.

"I thought "Blue" would be a project for a few months, but the intense work involved inspired us to keep developing and playing this interesting music and to study over 30 songs from Joni's first six records over the past nine years.

"We hope you'll enjoy what we've come up with, painstakingly learning the notes that Joni and her colleagues played, joining with our colleagues in future concerts to share more with you."