JONI MITCHELL

Things that does not kill me, makes me stronger
                ~ Fredrich Nietzche

As I contently listen to to the hauntingly beautifully written Hejira, the lyrical content struck such a chord sending shivers deep into my being. The intro with Joni's open tuned guitar strumming along with Jaco Pastorius' destictive fretless bass joining in with harmonics, while Bobby Hall's tribal percussion adds a mystic vibe to her tenebrous, provocative piece. Between the forceps and the stone, a line taken from the song made me take notice of a profound writer...

Individualistic, contemporary,Joni Mitchell never was one for conformity, her music is a constant evolution from Folk, Pop, Jazz, and some critics says she was performing world music before the emergence of multicultural elements were prevalent during the the '80's and '90's. Artists such as: Prince, Elvis Costello, George Michael, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Morissey, Seal, Beck, Cassandra Wilson, and Dianna Krall as well of countless effeminate songwriters cite Joni as a being a major influence.

Joni was stricken with polio as a child, no one knew how she contracted the disease. She was flown to St. Paul Hospital in Saskatoon to receive treatment. Ramps were used as a detour to the annex away from the main hospital where Nuns presided over the young patients.

She wanted to be home for Christmas, but she could not walk and was not allowed to go home. Her mother came to visit and brought a small Christmas trees with tiny decorations to her room. Joni was more determined to be home for the holidays. She endured harrowing painful treatments consisting of hot scalding towels on her legs followed by the therapist bending and stretching of the afflicted limbs to be malleable once again, she was able to walk once again and was home for Christmas. Joni showed tenacity and courage which follows her life.

Mitchell briefly studied classical piano until the music teacher informed her, she played by ear which is a sin and she memorized pieces, not read them. She dropped the class because she would not conform into the system.

As a child, she wanted to play with the boys because she was not interested playing the girly role, instead she wanted to play Roy Rogers. She asked her parents to purchase a Roy Rogers costume, to their chagrin, they bought it for her. She waited for the first warm day to don the outfit ready to assume the role of Roy Rogers.
She asked again to play Roy Rogers and was told by the boy she could not. They told her she can play Dale Evans. The boys told her she can cook and clean, this episode prepared her for the male dominated music industry in her future.

Mr. Kratzman was her outspoken teacher who noticed Joni's painting talent. He critiqued her paintings because she would duplicate a picture. He challenged her and made her dig deep into her talents. He said to Joni,  If you can paint with a brush, you can paint with words. Mr. Kratzman was the catalyst her love of writing poetry.

When I was in my teens, Rock 'N Roll was only on the radio from 4:00 PM TO 5:00 PM after school and two hours on Saturdays. If you didn't have a record layer and you had to hear those sounds, you went there was a juke box. I hung around two cafes that had juke boxes. The AM Cafe was near my house, and the CM Cafe was on the other side of town and was forbidden to go there.


As a teen in the 1950's, she enjoyed dancing, she would listen to Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and the Everly brothers. Rock 'N Roll went through a banal period, Folk Music came along to fill the void. She had friends who hosted parties where they sat around listening to The Kingston Trio, she sang along with her ukulele. Joni wanted a guitar, but her mother was opposed because of their rural roots and because of the "hillbilly" connotation,

 Before Rock 'n Roll, the guitar was primarily used in Country and Western music as it is today. Eventually she got a guitar and taught herself to play using a Pete Seeger songbook. Her left hand weaken by the effects of polio made some fingerings difficult or impossible. She devised alternative tunings that allowed her to play. Later, this improvisation approach would be a tool to break free of standard accession to harmonies and structure in her own songwriting.

She landed a few gigs in coffeehouses in Saskatoon and got her first  paying gig at a club that featured Folk and Jazz performers. Joni had an extensive record collection of American Folk Revivalist who help expand her repertoire to her personal favorites Edith Piaf and Miles Davis. Her jazz background began with early Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross albums.

She married and moved to Michigan, while in Detroit, she and her husband Chuck Mitchell were regular performers at area coffeehouses as well as the Alcove Bar near Wayne State University and the Rathskeller on the campus of University of Detroit.  Oscar Brand featured Joni on his CBC television program Let's Sing Out in 1965-1966 broadening her exposure. In 1967 she and her husband divorced and Joni moved to New York City to peruse her musical dreams as a solo artist. She played  assorted venues on the east coast from Philadelphia, Boston, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Mitchell performed frequently in coffeehouses and folk clubs creating original material and became known for her unique songwriting and innovative guitar . Folk singer Tom Rush  met Joni while in Toronto and was impressed with songwriting ability. He took Joni's composition Urge For Going to Judy Collins, but she was not interested in the song at the time, instead, Tom Rush recorded the song himself. Country singer, George Hamilton IV heard Rush and recorded a hit Country version.

David Crosby spotted Joni at the  "Gaslight South" a club in Coconut Grove, Florida. He was promptly in awe by her ability and appeal as an artist. The two went to Los Angeles, California and he introduced her to his friends. He convinced a record company to authorize Mitchell to record an acoustic album with out Folk Rock overdubs that everyone was doing at the moment. David's clout earned him a producer's credit on her debut album, Joni Mitchell or Song to a Seagull. She immediately began touring supporting her freshman effort. Her sophomore effort Clouds was released on April 1969 producing successful singles Chelsea Morning, Both Sides, and Tin Angel also covered by other artists; Judy Collins scored a major hit with Mitchell's authored Both Sides Now, Fairport Convention covered Eastern Rain, and Tom Rush recorded The Circle Game. Joni Mitchell developed a strong following.

Ladies of the Canyon (1970) sold even better on the strength of the single Big Yellow Taxi, also including Woodstock, she journeyed into the foray of Pop oriented enclave with the single You Turn Me On (I'm on the Radio). Court and Spark (1974), her ascension into Jazz proved to be much advantageous  reaching number 2 on the album charts and instituted three hit singles: Help Me, Freeman in Paris, and Raised on Robbery. Backed by Tom Scott and the LA Express: Robben Ford, Larry Nash, Max Bennett, and John Guerin recorded Miles of Isles (Live), during  the Court and Sparks tour.

Like years ahead, she delved into World Music before it was in vogue with The Hissing Summer Lawns (1975). Bold and exciting employing the sounds of African Drums, along with labyrinthine lyrics which were avaunt-garde. Hejira (1976) recorded with Weather Report's bassist Jaco Pastorius used a minimalist technique to give a velvety texture to the complex edges of the recording. Joni performed Coyote, the album's first single at the Band's Last Waltz concert.

Joni enlisted illustrious talents such as: Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter, Larry Carlton, and an array of percussionists on another inspired maneuvers. A collection of extensive, improvisational pieces were served up on  Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977). Charles Mingus invited her to work with him on an interpretation of TS Elliot's, Four Quartets. Mingus was suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease, sketched a series of melodies while Mitchell provided the lyrics. Sadly, Mingus passed away January 5, 1979, before the project was completed. She aptly named the album Mingus and was  released the following summer.

Shadows and Light (1980), her second live recording was released with an all star band backing her consisting of Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Don Alias, and Jaco Pastorius. Wild Things Runs Fast (1982), was a return to Pop music, with her cover of Elvis Presley's (Baby Your So Square), But I Don't Care became her first chart reaching single in years. She married bassist/sound engineer Larry Kline soon after the release  of her album.The pair collaborated on 1985's Dog Eat Dog, a synthesizer governed collection co-produced by Thomas Dolby. Joni delved into Electronica on Chalk Mark in the Rain, featuring Peter Gabriel, Billy Idol, Willie Nelson, and Tom Petty.

Spotlighting her voice and acoustic guitar, Joni returned to her roots, with the folk inspired release, Night Ride Home (1991). Although, the pair separated, Kline co-produced the acclaimed Turbulent Indigo (1994). In 1996, she released a set of anthologies, Hits and Misses which her overlooked works found chart success, Taming of the Tiger (1998) soon followed. In 2000, Both Sides Now, a collection of benchmark recordings were released.

Two years later, Mitchell unleashed a double disc offering, Travelogue. She announced her retirement and Travelogue will be her last album, she grew jaded with the recording industry. Copious remasters and compilations were issued between 2002-2006, Joni released Shine in 2007.

Joni Mitchell stands as one of the most important, iconoclastic, female recording artists of the late 20th century. Her lucid, thought provoking lyrics rivals the sonnets of Shakespeare and cascades fearlessness of  Mya Angelou. Restlessly innovative, her music and songwriting withstands the test of time.

jonimitchell.com
www.allmusic.com/artist/joni-mitchell-mn0000270491

 

                                     
                                     
                                           
 VIDEOS
BIG YELLOW TAXI - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg
HELP ME- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOEE-kR-Txg
FREE MAN IN PARIS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXBba77U1_Y
EDITH AND THE KINGPIN - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1KjvntsCpg
HEJIRA - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQPB_HAQyB4

 DISCOGRAPHY -  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joni-mitchell-mn0000270491

1968		Song to a Seagull	Reprise
1969		Clouds	Reprise
1970		Ladies of the Canyon	Reprise
1971		Blue	Reprise / DCC Compact Classics
1972		For the Roses	Asylum
1974		Court and Spark	Elektra / Asylum
1974		Miles of Aisles	Asylum
1975		The Hissing of Summer Lawns	Asylum
1976		Hejira	Asylum
1977		Don Juan's Reckless Daughter	Asylum
1979		Mingus	Asylum
1980		Shadows and Light	Asylum
1982		Wild Things Run Fast	Geffen
1985		Dog Eat Dog	Geffen
1988		Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm	Geffen
1991		Night Ride Home	Geffen
1994		Turbulent Indigo	Reprise
1998		Taming the Tiger	Reprise
2000		Both Sides Now	Reprise
2002		Travelogue	Nonesuch
2007		Shine	Hear Music (Starbucks) / Hear Music