Joni

Barbara Charone, New Musical Express, 9 February 1974

Joni Mitchell, no longer an innocent folkie, has turned her back on the garden for rockier pastures. Yep, the times certainly are changing.

The first lady of the acoustic guitar is now backed by a real live, real loud electric band – namely Tom Scott and his L. A. Express. And Ms. Mitchell’s present American jaunt with the outfit has audiences begging for more. Maybe Asylum records boss David Geffen really does own the world? First Bob Dylan’s majestic tour and now this …

While the Dylan tour flies about in Starship One, the ultimate in rock luxury, Joni and gang are getting to gigs on a comfortable bus decked out with colour TV and eight-track stereo. More than a few parallels exist as Joni hits cities Dylan’s just left. Asylum’s silent partner, Mr Elliot Roberts, travels with Joni, just to make sure everything is all right. And damn if it isn’t a coincidence that both Dylan’s and Joni’s brand new albums are released simultaneously.

Anyway, how did Joni discover veteran jazzer Tom Scott and his all-star friends?

‘I met her through a weird quirk of fate,’ Scott smiles, relaxing after a Chicago concert. About four years ago, Quincy Jones started a record company and I was one of the artists. Quincy suggested that I record “Woodstock” and I said “Oh, yeah, the one CSN&Y do.” Well, Quincy played me Joni’s version and I was floored. Especially with her voice. So I did the tune using a recorder, kind of imitating Joni’s voice. She heard the track and asked me if I’d like to play on her new album, which at the time was For The Roses. A few nights later we went to the studio and struck up a very rewarding relationship.’

But before there was For The Roses, Scott was learning a thing or two about every kind of reed instrument you’ve ever heard. He’s played clarinet since eight and took up baritone sax in high school as it was the only vacant chair in the dance band. A modern jazz fanatic, he cites people like Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan as inspirations.

Tom Scott is what you’d call into playing and play anywhere he did, from weddings to bar mitzvahs. Eventually he started playing with everyone from Oliver Nelson, Lalo Schifrin and Wayne Newton to David Cassidy. How’s that for variety?

And the L.A. Express contains a few surprises; like lead guitarist Robben Ford, fresh from a year-long stint with Jimmy Witherspoon, drummer John Guerin, who’s worked with everyone from Roger McGuinn to veteran jazzers, as has bassist Max Bennett and keyboard player Roger Calloway.

But back to Joni …

‘One day this summer Joni came to see the band at the Baked Potato, a North Hollywood club. She asked us to play on a couple of tracks on her next album. Immediately I knew it was going to be more than a coupla tracks,’ Scott smiles.

When the L.A. Express recorded Court and Spark, the new Mitchell delicacy, Larry Carlton and Joe Sample were on lead guitar and piano respectively, but other commitments prevented them from touring.

‘The L.A. Express had just made an album for Lou Adler’s label, Ode, when Lou informed me one day that Joni had passed down word that she’d like to go out on tour with us, and would we consider. “I said, ‘Yes, we’d consider’,”’ he laughs. ‘Up until the tour we weren’t sure if Larry Carlton was going to come. It looked like we’d need a guitarist. So we went to see Robben Ford. Now it just so happened that Robben was on the verge of quitting Witherspoon. So he took the L.A. Express and Joni Mitchell albums home with him. A week later he called us up and said, “Yeah, it looks interesting!”’

Pretty crazy story: one princess of folk music surrounded by a harem of veteran blues, jazz and rock fanatics. Not your typical get-it-together-in-the-country band.

In concert, the L.A. Express kick things off with forty minutes of steaming rhythm and virtuoso solos ranging from original compositions to stuff by John Coltrane. And when Tom Scott introduces Joni, the crowd goes crazy. It happens every night.

In Madison, Wisconsin, one dedicated fan waited most of the day to give Joni a present with a personal note: ‘I give you apples and cheese, you give me songs.’ They love her all right, no doubt about it.

The first few dates had people screaming out for solo Joni, but that was to be expected. Those kids came to see a lady and one acoustic guitar. They got all that and more. In Chicago, someone yelled out, ‘Turn down the volume.’ Joni’s reply was: ‘What’s the matter, do we have a hall full of purists? I thought Chicago liked to boogie.’ This speech was delivered all innocent-like, emphasizing the ‘oogie’, so it sounded real cute.

‘There were a few hard moments in the beginning,’ Scott recalls. ‘In St. Louis someone screamed out, “Let’s hear her without the band.” But a minute later someone hollered, “Let’s hear her with the band.” But audiences have been receptive to us generally speaking. We couldn’t ask for anything more. We’re practically an unknown group.’

It’s a new woman up there on stage this time around. Quick with the jokes, lightning fast with the riffs, as always in amazing voice. ‘“White Rabbit”’, one crazy man requests and Joni answers, much to everyone’s amusement, ‘I’m slick but not that slick.’

What with both Joni and the L.A. Express getting solo spots, then coming together for the bulk of the show, everyone seems to be satisfied. Show stealers like ‘Raised on Robbery’ (imagine Joni Mitchell doing rock’n’roll) or a very rhythmic, jazzed-up ‘Woodstock’ keep the place jumping.

Says Scott: ‘We rehearsed for ten days before the tour, mostly learning Joni’s material because it’s so intricate. Her music is very delicate and needs to be treated very carefully. We worked hard to be as true to her tunes as we could. It evolved very spontaneously. Maybe instead of just playing the melody on sax we’d try guitar and sax. That really seemed to click so we’ve done several tunes constructed around that tension. Joni’s lyrics aren’t as easily accessible as Dylan’s. Dylan’s lyrics are universal messages at his best but Joni’s are more transparent – you have to look a little deeper.’

Meanwhile, remembering Joni on stage, I have this picture of her putting on this very sophisticated cabaret routine for a rousing encore of ‘Twisted’. As she stands there, swaying to the sleazy beat, she looks like no folkie you’ve ever seen.

‘Singing without her own instrument is revolutionary for Joni,’ Scott goes on. ‘The first time we rehearsed “Twisted” she said, “Oh, I feel like Helen Reddy.” But she’s getting into it. She’s been trying to record that song for over two years. It’s merely coincidental that Bette Midler put it out. It’s funny that after all these years, when the tune has been sitting on that Annie Ross record, two heavy lady singers release it in the same month.’

Memories of another gig: two hours, twenty-one tunes, and several shouts of ‘Joni, you’re beautiful’ later, the show is over.

Backstage, Joni Mitchell looks radiant, even prettier with the spotlights off. A few brave fans gather the courage to mumble ‘nice show’ or ‘I like the record’. She sits there in a big, floppy hat and grins thank-yous.

‘There’s a certain amount of polish in the show that you won’t find from your average folkie,’ Scott quips. ‘Now, she defies categorisation altogether. Don’t know what she is except a very talented lady.’