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 25^th 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 :

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

From a gypsy campfire to the lowdown bluesy sounds of New Orleans to the South American street party to the sophisticated inner city salon. The Date Brothers happily invoke these sounds and styles and play in a virtuosic manner on their acoustic guitars. A selection of tunes from Johann Sebastien Bach to Bud Powell.

Music spanning 300 years from North and South America, France, Scotland and Norway performed by this Australian trio. The emphasis is on original arrangements rendering beautiful melodies and improvisations played with passion and great style on acoustic guitars and double bass.

Latest recording is available online at http://date brothers.bandcamp.com

Nigel Date and Ian Date will be playing their excellent guitar styles, with Natalie Morrison on double bass, and as usual with these cats you can expect a few special guests.