At Colbourne Ave, we have a half-arsed kind of tradition where on the anniversary of the first gig we ever put on (it was Bill Risby) we have a jazz tribute night to a pop band. Kind of like Frisell plays Lennon. Or Eckleberg plays Jackson.

It’s Thursday the 25th of Feb, and we’re doing Joni Mitchell (almost a year since the aneurysm from which she's still recovering). Three songs per musician, no song twice, more interpretations than covers. There will be moments of genius from :

Spike Mason (and Barney Wakeford)
Leonie Cohen
Bonnie Stewart
Jonny Maddox
Bill Risby
Joseph Zarb

and they'll be playing, in chronological order of publication :

 

album

year

Song to a Seagull

Song to a Seagull

1968

Both Sides

clouds

1969

The Fiddle and the Drum

clouds

1969

Woodstock

ladies of the canyon

1970

For Free

ladies of the canyon

1970

Blue

blue

1971

a case of you

blue

1971

the last time i saw richard

blue

1971

Don't interrupt the sorrow

the hissing of summer lawns

1975

Amelia

Hejira

1976

Dry cleaner from des Moines

Mingus

1979

Good bye pork pie hat

mingus

1979

Be Cool

wild things run fast

1982

Chinese Cafe

wild things run fast

1982

Hejira

shadows and light

1990

Coyote

shadows and light

1990

cherokee louise

night ride home

1991

the sire of sorrow

turbulent indigo

1994

And we leave the last work to Chaka Khan, who in an interview a couple of months ago said :

See, Joni Mitchell, she's actually funky, she just doesn't know it, and I'm bringing that forward. The jazz is in there. You get her, but I've slowed a lot of the stuff down because a lot of the lyrics - she's a very fast singer, so sometimes it's hard to catch her words - but I think she's so relevant

As a freelance trumpetplayer and vocalist, Elizabeth has supported James Morrison, Gene Pitney and Harry Secombe and was a feature vocalist and soloist with Swing City before taking up songwriting. After performing her songs extensively in the US and Europe in 2007, Elizabeth released her third album,  'On Patrol With The Jazz Police' and in 2009 her song The Dream won Best Song in international competition IAC and was featured on the American US  Smooth Jazz Compilation Album in 2010.

With Bill Risby and Nic Cicere. Have a listen:

http://www.myspace.com/elizabethgeyer

http://www.elizabethgeyer.com/

 

16 solo pianists over four weeks.  This series was largely responsible for our decision to host concerts more often.

Four Thursdays in November, 2006 : Barney Wakeford curated this incredible series of solo pianists.

2 Nov:
Bill Risby | Barney Wakeford

9 Nov:
Matt McMahon | Peter Locke

16 Nov:
Free For All : Piano Orchestra

23 Nov:
Judy Bailey | Kevin Hunt

30 Nov:
Mike Nock | Kenny Powell