Joni's Jazz [8LP]

Joni Mitchell introduces JONI’S JAZZ, a passion project years in the making. This career-spanning collection features recordings chosen by Mitchell that reflect jazz’s profound influence on her music.

Spanning 61 tracks, JONI’S JAZZ includes studio recordings, live performances, rare alternate takes, and material drawn from multiple decades and record labels, among them are two previously unreleased 1980 demos.

The set features contributions from some of Mitchell’s most important collaborators in jazz, among them Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, and Charles Mingus. Mitchell, who calls Shorter her favorite collaborator, dedicates the collection to him following his passing
in 2023. 

Covering nearly every era of her recording career, the collection includes selections from SONGS TO A SEAGULL, THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS, HEJIRA, MINGUS, TURBULENT INDIGO, BOTH SIDES NOW (a 2001 GRAMMY® Award winner), and more. It also features her guest appearances on projects like Hancock’s GRAMMY® Award-winning album, RIVER: THE JONI LETTERS.

Across the collection, the music follows Mitchell’s artistic growth — from the rhythmic layering of “Harry’s House / Centerpiece” to the bold experimentation of “The Jungle Line,” the narrative scale of “Paprika Plains,” and the airy, improvised feel of “A Chair In The Sky.”

It draws from more than five decades of Mitchell’s recordings, going back to 1968 for “Marcie,” from SONG TO A SEAGULL. The most recent is her performance of “Summertime,” recorded live at the 2023 Newport Folk Festival. It marked Mitchell’s first full-length concert in over two decades — a powerful return that resonated around the world.

As a self-portrait in sound, JONI’S JAZZ captures an artist in conversation with jazz over a lifetime — never imitating, always inventing. Last year, in the liner notes for JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES – VOL. 4, she joked, “People ask me my favorite of my albums, it’s going to be Joni’s Jazz.” Now it is.

Side One: 
 1. BLUE
 2. TROUBLE MAN – Kyle Eastwood feat. Joni Mitchell
 3. MOON AT THE WINDOW - Demo
 4. BE COOL – Demo
 5. HARLEM IN HAVANA

Side Two:
 1. CHEROKEE LOUISE
 2. COME IN FROM THE COLD
 3. IN FRANCE THEY KISS ON MAIN STREET
 4. NOTHING CAN BE DONE 

Side Three: 
 1. SEX KILLS
 2. EDITH AND THE KINGPIN
 3. COLD BLUE STEEL AND SWEET FIRE
 4. THE JUNGLE LINE

Side Four: 
 1. SHADES OF SCARLETT CONQUERING
 2. YVETTE IN ENGLISH
 3. MARCIE
 4. A BIRD THAT WHISTLES

Side Five: 
 1. LOVE
 2. COMES LOVE
 3. THE MAN I LOVE  – Herbie Hancock feat. Joni Mitchell

Side Six: 
 1. AT LAST
 2. YOU’RE MY THRILL
 3. SOMETIMES I’M HAPPY
 4. STAY IN TOUCH 

Side Seven:
 1. THE CRAZY CRIES OF LOVE
 2. FACE LIFT
 3. SWEET SUCKER DANCE – Early Alternate Version

Side Eight:
 1. YOU DREAM FLAT TIRES
 2. ANSWER ME, MY LOVE
 3. LOVE PUTS ON A NEW FACE
 4. BOTH SIDES NOW

Side Nine:
 1. HARRY’S HOUSE/CENTERPIECE
 2. SUNNY SUNDAY
 3. HANA
 4. LAST CHANCE LOST
 5. SMOKIN’ (EMPTY, TRY ANOTHER)

Side Ten:
 1. PAPRIKA PLAINS 

Side Eleven: 
 1. HEJIRA - Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 
1979
 2. REFUGE OF THE ROADS
 3. BLUE MOTEL ROOM

Side Twelve:
 1. BLACK CROW
 2. OFF NIGHT BACKSTREET
 3. JUST LIKE THIS TRAIN
 4. NO APOLOGIES
 5. NOT TO BLAME
 6. THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES

Side Thirteen: 
 1. THE SIRE OF SORROW (JOB’S SAD SONG)
 2. GOD MUST BE A BOOGIE MAN
 3. A CHAIR IN THE SKY

Side Fourteen:
 1. GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT – Live at the Santa Barbara County  Bowl, September 9, 1979
 3. THE TEA LEAF PROPHECY (LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS) – Herbie  Hancock feat. Joni Mitchell 
 4. SHINE 

Side Fifteen: 
 1. IF I HAD A HEART
 2. IMPOSSIBLE DREAMER
 3. ONE WEEK LAST SUMMER
 4. SUMMERTIME – Live at Newport Folk Festival, July 22, 2023 

Side Sixteen: 
 1. STORMY WEATHER 
 2. TWO GREY ROOMS – Demo
 3. THE DRY CLEANER FROM DES MOINES
 4. TWISTED
 5. IF