What sets Hejira apart from other celebrants of Joni Mitchell is their focus on her “jazz period,” from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, especially material from her album Hejira (the clue is in the band’s name) and the live record Shadows and Light. You won’t hear the familiar hits from her Laurel Canyon years.
They are a seven-piece jazz ensemble comprising Hattie Whitehead on vocals and guitars, a spectacularly trousered Pete Oxley on guitar, Ollie Weston on saxophones and bass clarinet, Chris Eldred on keyboards, Dave Jones on bass, Rick Finlay on drums, and Marc Cecil on congas and some curious percussion utensils.
Fittingly, the band opened with ‘Coyote’, the first track on the Hejira album, and was immediately greeted with applause, clearly, there were some die-hard Mitchell fans in the audience. Next came ‘Just Like This Train’ from Mitchell’s 1974 album Court and Spark. Hattie then introduced herself and described what a significant part Mitchell’s music had played in her life growing up. She even named her dog “Joni Bitchell”! Hattie proceeded to sing ‘The Hissing of Summer Lawns’ and ‘In France They Kiss on Main Street’, followed by a new arrangement of Love from Mitchell’s 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast.
Guitarist Pete Oxley, acting as compère, introduced the next piece, an instrumental titled ‘Phase Dance’, written by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. It allowed him to showcase what a technically accomplished and musically expressive player he is. ‘Song for Sharon’ and ‘Be Cool’ concluded the first half of the set. he band returned to the stage and performed ‘Help Me’, which featured an impressive percussive introduction by Marc Cecil. Undoubtedly the highlight of the night was a trio of songs from Shadows and Light that seamlessly segued into each other: ‘Amelia’, sung beautifully by Hattie, ‘Pat’s Solo’, and ‘Hejira’.
Pete introduced a band original, ‘The Surging Waves’, which gave Rick Finlay’s drums and Dave Jones’s bass space to improvise while blending with Oxley’s guitar demonstrating that the whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts. The set concluded with ‘Free Man in Paris’.
For the encore, Hattie sang her own song ‘The Last to Come Away’ before the band rejoined her for a powerful rendition of ‘A Case of You’ from Mitchell’s classic album Blue.
Hejira isn’t just a regular cover band—they aim to capture the spirit and tight musicianship of Mitchell’s Shadows and Light, while infusing each performance with their own distinctive arrangements and touches.
The tour continues and tickets are available here, https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/hejira-celebrating-joni-mitchell
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 26.06.2025
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