“People who are untried”: How Joni Mitchell tried to emulate Miles Davis’ band
The deeper you look into the development of seemingly disparate musical genres, the more links you will find between them. While blues is often seen as the natural precursor to rock and roll, jazz music also has a lot to answer for in terms of rock and pop development. The influence of jazz is far more widespread than it is often given credit for. So much so that even the folk heritage of singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell were not free from the impact that jazz had on the face of popular music.
Rising to prominence during the 1960s, Mitchell formed an invaluable part of the singer-songwriter boom; alongside contemporaries like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan among many others. Her talented lyricism and uniquely captivated vocal performance helped to make the Canadian songwriter a defining figure of the era, whose success has endured for multiple decades following her commercial peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
One of the many things that helped to set Mitchell apart from her contemporaries was the fact that she never particularly rooted herself in one genre. Over the course of her long and illustrious career, the songwriter has flirted with a vast range of different styles and influences, from pop-folk to new wave. This clear penchant for musical discovery aided in making Mitchell one of the most unique voices of the singer-songwriter boom, and her appreciation for jazz was particularly impactful on the production of the 1972 album For The Roses.
Following up on the seminal release of Blue in 1971 was never going to be an easy task, and Mitchell did struggle with her approach to the follow-up. Initially, the songwriter attempted to appeal to the commercial mainstream with tracks like ‘You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio’. The song came together with help from an all-star cast, as Mitchell revealed in a 1972 interview, “Graham [Nash] and David [Crosby] came and Neil [Young] lent me his band and he came and played some guitar and somehow it didn’t work. There were too many chefs, you know”.
The solution to this issue came in the form of jazz, particularly the work of gifted trumpeter Miles Davis. Mitchell was a particular fan of the jazz star and employed some of his techniques when it came to the production of For the Roses. “I’m going to start looking for people who are untried,” she said, “Who have a different kind of enthusiasm that comes from wanting to support the artist. Like Miles Davis always has a band that are really great, but are cushions for him you know”.
“I want to go in all directions right now,” she added, and employing the musical ethos of Miles Davis certainly seemed to be a viable way of pulling that off. Davis’ work was often noted for its improvisational, organic quality, with his backing band complimenting his work perfectly without ever overshadowing his own talents. It was this atmosphere that Mitchell hoped to convey in her post-Blue period, and she did manage to achieve such a feat.
The influence of Miles Davis transcends genre and musical style; he is a figure beloved by virtually every musician worth their salt, and quite rightly too. Jazz might not be the most obvious influence on the music of Joni Mitchell upon listening, but the behind-the-scenes techniques of the genre helped the songwriter to move on from expectations of her after the commercial success of Blue.
