Joni's Jazz [4CD]

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.

Disc 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
 6. CHEROKEE LOUISE
 7. COME IN FROM THE COLD
 8. IN FRANCE THEY KISS ON MAIN STREET
 9. NOTHING CAN BE DONE
 10. SEX KILLS
 11. EDITH AND THE KINGPIN
 12. COLD BLUE STEEL AND SWEET FIRE
 13. THE JUNGLE LINE
 14. SHADES OF SCARLETT CONQUERING
 15. YVETTE IN ENGLISH
 16. MARCIE
 17. A BIRD THAT WHISTLES

Disc Two:

 1. LOVE 
 2. COMES LOVE 
 3. THE MAN I LOVE – Herbie Hancock feat. Joni Mitchell 
 4. AT LAST
 5. YOU’RE MY THRILL
 6. SOMETIMES I’M HAPPY
 7. STAY IN TOUCH 
 8. THE CRAZY CRIES OF LOVE
 9. FACE LIFT
 10. SWEET SUCKER DANCE – Early Alternate Version
 11. YOU DREAM FLAT TIRES
 12. ANSWER ME, MY LOVE 
 13. LOVE PUTS ON A NEW FACE
 14. BOTH SIDES NOW

Disc Three:

 1. HARRY’S HOUSE/CENTERPIECE
 2. SUNNY SUNDAY  
 3. HANA
 4. LAST CHANCE LOST 
 5. SMOKIN’ (EMPTY, TRY ANOTHER)
 6. HEJIRA - Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 
1979
 7. REFUGE OF THE ROADS 
 8. PAPRIKA PLAINS 
 9. BLUE MOTEL ROOM 
 10. BLACK CROW
 11. OFF NIGHT BACKSTREET
 12. JUST LIKE THIS TRAIN 
 13. NO APOLOGIES 
 14. NOT TO BLAME
 15. THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES

Disc Four:

 1. THE SIRE OF SORROW (JOB’S SAD SONG) 
 2. GOD MUST BE A BOOGIE MAN
 3. A CHAIR IN THE SKY
 4. GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT – Live at the Santa Barbara County 
Bowl, September 9, 1979
 5. THE TEA LEAF PROPHECY (LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS) – Herbie 
Hancock feat. Joni Mitchell
 6. SHINE
 7. IF I HAD A HEART
 8. IMPOSSIBLE DREAMER
 9. ONE WEEK LAST SUMMER
 10. SUMMERTIME – Live at Newport Folk Festival, July 22, 2023 
 11. STORMY WEATHER
 12. TWO GREY ROOMS – Demo
 13. THE DRY CLEANER FROM DES MOINES
 14. TWISTED 
 15. IF