‘Joni’s Jazz’: How the compilation forms a new thread through her musical journey
As a musician, Joni Mitchell believes you have “two options”. Either stay the same, or venture out into the unknown. Both options, according to the singer, result in scrutiny.
Applying that to Mitchell’s relationship with jazz, you could say that Mitchell was always trying something new. And labels like “confessional” were only applied when people thought she was going to stick to a well-established formula. But Mitchell knew better than anybody how reductive that was, when her work existed “outside the laws” of any singular category.
Joni’s Jazz spans 61 tracks across almost all eras of her music. From Blue through her more jazz-forward efforts like Mingus, Joni’s Jazz doesn’t just capture some of her gems through the ages, but the story that was always there, despite misconstrued narratives along the way that jazz was something she only did once or twice. And it proves the fact that it was always her story, even if she found her foray more accidental than intentional.
Her position itself is fairly sceptical. “I entered the game as a folk singer, but it took me six records to find a band that could play my music, and that was a jazz band, and lots of my fans threw up their hands,” she told Mojo in 2008. “In truth, Mingus was the only jazz album I did. Everything else, while it may have sounded jazzy at times, is outside the laws of jazz.”
But in truth, it’s hard not to think against her word, or scoot around it, especially when jazz has always infiltrated her work from a place of pure, organic interest rather than an intent to try doing something others thought she could never do in the first place. In truth, Mitchell began her jazz journey with Court and Spark, but Joni’s Jazz captures both the obvious Mingus moments as well as others billed as something completely different, like the title track from her singer-songwriter masterpiece, Blue.
But another obvious presence is the influence of Miles Davis, again with ‘Blue’ but also ‘Paprika Plains’ and ‘The Jungle Line’, cementing her connection not only to the genre’s forms and sensibilities but also to one of its biggest, most revolutionary players. From The Hissing of Summer Lawns, ‘Harry’s House/ Centerpiece’ also shows Mitchell’s natural sophistication for the genre, and a more expansive step outside of her usual familiarity for something that uses these elements to create a story.
Anyone listening to Joni’s Jazz without this perspective might feel lost. Or wonder why there’s any connection between these songs, if any. But the beauty of it is that there is rarely anything anchoring it all together. But that also moves around the parameters of jazz, and how it’s barely ever as obvious as tracks plucked from Mingus. Except that it is – and this is Mitchell’s story, even if she doesn’t see it that way herself.
To her, jazz complements her style, but it doesn’t define it. It’s difficult, though, especially with Joni’s Jazz, not to see it sitting somewhere in the middle. People told her she couldn’t do it, and yet she said she only really earned respect once she started doing jazz standards. To her, writing – from the heart, at least – means collecting pieces of music to tell your story. And that’s why so many naturally venture into jazz. But realistically, jazz also became a conduit, enabling her to reach a higher level of excellence. Or a place where you can venture into the unknown and be respected regardless of where it takes you.
