David Lahm - More Jazz Takes on Joni Mitchell

Jazz pianist/composer David Lahm continues to demonstrate that Joni Mitchell's songs fit perfectly into the world of Jazz while maintaining their own distinctive flair with his CD David Lahm: More Jazz Takes on Joni Mitchell, a follow up to the critically acclaimed Jazz Takes on Joni Mitchell. David Lahm's first album of Mitchell compositions featured a revolving cast of players and was praised in Jazz Times as being both reverent and adventurous. This time around, Lahm has assembled a core rhythm section of bassist Ratso Harris and drummer Ron Vincent (who appeared on the first volume) to propel front line saxophonists Vincent Herring and Roger Rosenberg and trumpeter Randy Brecker. Although the instrumentation is more consistent than on volume one, the album is no less diverse in it's approaches to Mitchell's evocative Folk-Rock songs, as well as several Lahm original compositions which shine through in this vibrant and striking session. David Lahm's rich harmonic imagination and rhythmic incisiveness, along with his genre-crossing insights into Mitchell's music yield this rich and varied album. Lahm's own compositions represent mainstream Jazz at it's best, with strong melodies and chord changes, and inventive arrangements that provide creative challenges for the soloists, but with this 2nd volume, and taking inspiration from Mitchell s musical prowess, he displays his own ability to renew and reinterpret the conventions of mainstream Jazz.