Hi all, hope everyone has had as splendid a weekend as I have. Before the weekend gets away from me, I wanted to post about this Joni tribute CD that just came out in Germany in April, Steve Klink's "Places to come from, places to go - 15 songs by Joni Mitchell. Steve sent me a complimentary copy, and I've been enjoying it for a couple of weeks now. I wanted to give it lots of listens before I reviewed it here. Before I get to the tracks, let me share Steve's comments to me regarding the concept behind this project:
"I will add here a little bit about my basic thoughts on the original > > conception of the record. > > In Germany I have a jazz piano trio (piano, kontrabass, drums). I have > always been interested in "old-fashioned" jazz, the swinging, groovy music > of the 50's and 60's. A good example of this is Miles Davis' "Kind of > Blue" which you said you were familiar with. In this tradition jazz > musicians would take popular Broadway show tunes and play versions of them > instrumentally or with vocals. It was even fashionable for a while to do > complete records of just one composer, like Cole Porter or George Gershwin. > So there exists records like "Ella Fitzgerald sings Duke Ellington" and > there are instrumental jazz trio recordings of Oscar Peterson where he > plays a record's worth of Cole Porter tunes. > > This extensive and interesting tradition of doing jazz instrumental > versions of one composer is what I was interested in continuing with my > Joni Mitchell record." > OK, my turn again. This CD is a wonderful collection, and imo a must for a fan of Joni's music. Steve and his various collaborators mix up styles and arrangements to keep things interesting & diverse. His choice of songs is interesting, & unpredictable...the first time these ears have ever heard other recorded interpretations of Ray's Dad's Cadillac, Cotton Avenue, and The Gallery. With that, let's get to the songs: Part 1: Celebration 1. Ray's Dad's Cadillac - Steve (piano) and the trio (Henning Gailing, bass, & Markus Rieck, drums) come out swinging and find all the hooks in Joni's composition as well as their own original touch. 2. That Song About The Midway - Same lineup, and a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite songs. If you're like me, you'll want to do some karaoke with this one! ;~) 3. Cotton Avenue - If someone asked you what kind of song Cotton Avenue is, what would you tell them? It's not rock, pop, jazz, it's just Joni! The trio really gives this one a nice treatment, well-arranged and played. 4. Big Yellow Taxi - Here the players change a bit...Steve plays a Fender Rhodes, a Hammond B-3, & piano, Ziga Golob plays electric bass, & Kruno Levacic plays drums. And the feel changes, & BYT is a funky number, a very unique & enjoyable arrangement. 5. A Case of You - The trio from the beginning returns to play a knockout and pretty straight rendition of ACOY, finding all the right nuances of the melody and playing with real emotion. 6. Night Ride Home - Try as I might, I can't find Joni's melody in here...it's well played & all, but it comes off sounding more like Carole King's "Way Over Yonder" to me. The only track I skip over. 7. Blue Motel Room - No problem figuring this one out, because the track features Steve's lovely bride Mia Znidaric on the vocal. Mia's no stranger to singing Joni, she & Steve have previously done a beautiful cover of Little Green, and Mia's done Dry Cleaner as well. This version of BMR features a great "walking bass" as well as a tasty piano solo, and is played at a brisk pace. Maybe someday in my lifetime this will become the jazz torch standard it deserves to be. 8. You Turn Me On Im A Radio - Featuring the "Big Yellow Taxi" lineup, and played in the same playful funky style, again Steve turns in a wonderful solo on the B-3. 9. Night In The City - One of my favorites on the disc, again features Mia on vocals, starts out slow & torchy, then quickly jumps into a super-cool piano groove. Steve throws in this little jazz riff that I just love. 10. Both Sides, Now - The trio turns in a pretty & contemplative quieter take on BSN. I suppose it's not a real tribute if you don't do this one! Part 2: Meditation 11. Woman of Heart and Mind - this one (and the next) is a duet with Steve on piano & Barbara Boyle on vocals. Not as much jazz as it is a pretty straightforward vocal/pop arrangement. Barbara sounds like Art Garfunkel, which is to say that her voice has a very pure quality that suits the song well. And to her credit, she doesn't tamper with Joni's lyric like Minnie Riperton did. 12. Sweet Bird - The same set-up, I'll add that Steve does a great job as accompanist, adding some lovely & individual texture without trying to steal the scene from his vocalist. 13. Cactus Tree - Another duet, only this time it's Steve on piano and Sasa Olenjuk on violin, takes about a minute for the recognizable melody to kick in, but it's pretty in a haunting way and definitely rewards repeated listenings. 14. California - Here we return to what Steve calls his "funk unit", and the trio embraces this Joni classic with a slow, pulsating feel. I'd love to hear a sax, or a vocal, or something extra on this one, but it's certainly enjoyable as it is. 15. The Gallery - Perhaps Steve was saving the best for last...stop just for a minute and listen to the opening melody of this song, when Joni sings, "When I first saw your gallery"...it's really a challenging melodic line, certainly one that most composers couldn't come up with. Anyway, the trio really explores the rhythms and textures of the song, and Mia returns for an anchoring vocal on this near 7-minute version of what some would call a "folk song". Pretty. Well, maybe some of you are still reading...if so, thanks. And thanks to Steve for his efforts and for sharing his talents in this Joni-inspired project. It's a worthwhile addition to any Joni fan's collection. It probably won't be available in the US, so I'm arranging with Steve to buy a supply of them to re-sell to JMDL'ers. More on that story as it develops. And according to Steve, he's currently on tour so if you lucky Europeans see him coming to your town, go give a listen. Bob NP: Steve Klink Trio, "Cotton Avenue"
