Hejira – Celebrating Joni Mitchell

‘Hejira’ is a 7-piece band set up to celebrate and honour the masterpiece works of Joni Mitchell, mostly from the late ‘70s. 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’; it is from this album that the band Hejira is drawing the body of its repertoire. Comprising highly experienced jazz musicians, this 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. 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!

The band comprises of:

Hattie Whitehead ~ vocals & guitar

Ollie Weston ~ tenor & soprano saxophones

Chris Eldred ~ keyboards

Pete Oxley ~ guitar

Dave Jones ~ bass

Rick Finlay ~ drums

Marc Cecil ~ percussion

Since their formation less than a year ago, the band has been a tremendous success, with sold out shows, standing ovations, a total of over 70K views on their YouTube channel with more than 1,200 enthusiastic comments and audience reviews.

• Thursday 13th June at 7.30pm
• Running time: 50 minutes each half with a 20-minute interval
• Ticket Prices: £25 (Gen) & £22.50 (Concs)

Audience comments:

“Almost brought to tears so incredible!”
“Shadows and Light is far and away the crowning glory of Joni’s discography. And this is a glowing,
wonderful tribute. Bravi!”
“What a superb rendition of Coyote. Easily the best version (next to JMs) in yt. Thanks.”
“As a lifelong worshipper of the greatest songwriter that has ever lived, Joni Mitchell, I can honestly
say this is the best rendition next to the Goddess herself, I have ever heard… excellent, excellent,
excellent!”
“Just watched them tonight…at Gothforth…totally astonishing performance from the band…to sit
back and hear those beautiful layers of sound wash over…wonderful vocal performance…”
“I had the pleasure of seeing the band live at Peggy’s Skylight – they were absolutely stunning. It
takes special musicians to fill the shoes of Pastorious, Metheney et al but these guys are top drawer
and make it all sound effortless.”
“This is how you celebrate another artist’s creation. Reverent, beautiful, masterful and respectful.”
“Good lord that was stunning! To do justice to Joni Mitchell’s incredibly personal and poignant Hejira
takes artistry, taste and serious chops. What a fabulous band, what a fabulous singer!”
“This band is phenomenal. Standing ovations abound at their recent Colchester concert. Definitely a
must see performance and excellent musicianship!”