It seems the jazz world has finally made Joni Mitchell an official member of the jazz composers canon. Vocalist Laurie Antonioli is the latest to delve into the rich songbook of the contemporary icon. Her voice has a hint of Mitchell’s ironic folksiness, but with a dash of a harder edge. She teams up with the intriguing mix of reeds supplied by Sheldon Brown, Matt Clark’s keyboards and along with dave MacNab/g, John Shifflett/b and Jason Lewis/dr do some intriguing things as on a skating take of “Rainy Night House” with Brown’s soprano sax and some brooding “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” that has luriking bass clarinets. A tune not previously recorded by Mitchell titled “Eastern Rain” is a highlight, mixing guitar and clarinet into a rich Mediterranean formula, while the start take of “I Don’t Know =Where I Stand” with piano and soprano is a haunting delight. Theo Blackman blends in his voice on a folksy “People’s Parties” and some nimble vocals is delivered by ANtonioli on the flexible “This Flight Tonight.” A respectable tribute.
Origin Records