Joni Mitchell - Shadows and Lights

This one-hour concert video was shot at the County Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA, in September 1979. Joni Mitchell is backed by a distinguished group of jazz musicians: Pat Metheny (guitar), Jaco Pastorius (bass), Lyle Mays (keyboards), Michael Brecker (saxophone), and Don Alias (drums). A cappella group The Persuasions provide backup vocals on two songs. Mitchell, who directed the film, occasionally tries conceptual ideas, especially in the beginning, borrowing 1950s film clips of James Dean and Frankie Lymon. But, for the most part, this is a performance work, and though the song list is drawn largely from Mitchell's more problematic albums of the late '70s (The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, etc.) rather than her early hits, Mitchell succeeds in putting across such poetic pieces as 'Amelia' (complete with clips of aviator Amelia Earhart). Meanwhile, Metheny and Pastorius especially provide excellent jazz-fusion soloing.