Janiece Jaffe & Monika Herzig: Both Sides of Joni

Today’s musical question  has to be “100 years from now, what composer from the 20th Century will singers use for their songbooks?” Judging by today’s releases, it seems to be a neck and neck race between the Beatles and Joni Mitchell. Here, singer Janiece Jaffe and pianist Monika Herzig take on Ms. Mitchell’s wide ranging catalogue with guests Jeremy Allen-Peter Kienle/b, Greg Ward/sax, Cassius Goens/dr and Carolyn Dutton/vi .

The team gets loose and artsy on a prismatic take of ”The Hissing of Summer Lawns”, with Jaffe sounding street wise with Dutton and a strong but dainty “The Circle Game” with Kienle. The interpretations are clever, and Jaffe is flexible enough to know when to sound wide-eyed or world weary. The team courts the sparks.

 

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