Revisit Joni Mitchell’s finest
A must for fans of the iconic US singer songwriter’s music
Comprising highly experienced jazz musicians, the band is fronted by the brilliant Hattie Whitehead who not only has - in her own way assimilated the poise, power and beauty of Joni’s vocals, but also plays guitar with Joni’s stylistic mannerisms
HEJIRA are a seven-piece band set up to celebrate and honour the masterpiece works of Joni Mitchell, mostly from the late
70s and they are coming to Hungerford as part of their UK tour.
They stop off at Croft Hall on Saturday.
Having released the albums The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus, regarded as her ‘jazz period’, Joni then toured briefly with a band formed from the crème de la crème of contemporaneous jazz musicians (Metheny, Mays, Brecker, Pastorius and Alias).
The tour was recorded, producing the outstanding live album Shadows And Light and it is from this that the band Hejira draw the body of their repertoire.
Comprising highly experienced jazz musicians, the band are fronted by the brilliant Hattie Whitehead who not only has – in her own way – assimilated the poise, power and beauty of Joni’s vocals, but also plays guitar with Joni’s stylistic mannerisms. Singer songwriter Hattie grew up surrounded by music and musicians – her father is the outstanding saxophonist Tim Whitehead. In 2016, she won the ‘Emerging Talent’ competition at Glastonbury Festival. Her original songs have been listened to hundreds of thousands of times on
nd various streaming platforms.
Expect an evening of the ‘great’ songs from Mitchell’s back catalogue, such as Amelia, Woodstock, A Case Of You, Song For Sharon, Edith And The Kingpin etc.
Guitarist Pete Oxley grew up in a family of classical musicians, fell for jazz in his late teens, went on to study at the Leeds College of Music, then moved to Paris in his mid-20s. There he began gigging intensively and developing his career as a guitarist, composer and bandleader. He has produced 16 critically-acclaimed albums.
Since graduating from Leeds College of Music, saxophonist Ollie Weston has toured the world with such outfits as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He has also worked extensively in the West End and also at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Pianist and keyboardist Chris Eldred came to prominence while playing in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, winning the Yamaha Scholarship Award for Outstanding Jazz Musicians. He is now a regular performer at Ronnie Scott’s and is one of London’s most in-demand pianists. Dave Jones is one of the most brilliant bass players, both electric and acoustic, that the UK has produced. He has worked with John Etheridge, Bill Bruford, BBC Big Band, Jacqui Dankworth, Willard White and Scott Hamilton.
Drummer Rick Finlay has for several years been hosting the North London Just East Jazz Club, accompanying most of the UK’s jazz glitterati.
Marc Cecil is a percussionist who has performed at premier venues such as The Royal Opera House, Wembley Arena, The 02, Glastonbury Festival, The Jazz Cafe – Camden and Ronnie Scott’s. His extraordinary drive, groove and use of sonic colours is an essential element of the whole Hejira soundscape.