“The UK’s best and most convincing take on Joni Mitchell.” ~ The Guardian

Hejira formed for a one-off gig in 2023 to celebrate the songs of Joni Mitchell, specifically from what is often called her “jazz period.” Roughly lasting from 1974’s Court and Spark to 1982’s Wild Things Run Fast, the period also includes the 1976 album Hejira and the 1980 live album, Shadows and Light.

That initial gig – performed at Oxford jazz club The Spin – was so well-received that Hejira decided to do another. The seven-piece now performs between 40 and 50 shows a year in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Guitarist Pete Oxley put the act together with the intention of replicating the vibe and spirit of Shadows and Light. (Oxley has a Vancouver connection – he’s a longtime friend and musical colleague of Vancouver producer/bassist Kerry Galloway, who plays in his own cover band, Steelin’ In the Years). As Hejira has gained traction, Oxley had found himself increasingly focussing on the project, putting time into arranging the music in a way that gives Hejira its own identity while always respecting the original intent and character of the songs.

We came across Hejira thanks to writer and critic Ted Gioia, who included their rendition of “Help Me” in his 2025 Substack list of My Favourite Videos on YouTube. As 2026 is the 50th anniversary of Hejira, the album, we invited Oxley to talk about the band and find out what might lure Hejira to Canada.

The Snipe: How UK audiences are engaging with you guys performing this era of Joni’s music?

Pete Oxley: Well, there seems to be a lot of fans out there that are clamouring to hear this repertoire. Comments we often hear at our shows are to the effect of “I never thought I’d hear this music played live.” There are quite a few UK-based bands playing the earlier folky-period of Joni’s works – Blue and the like. But there seems to be no other band dedicating themselves to the albums from the next phase of her canon. We’re really drawing on the material from the albums Court & Spark through to Shadows & Light.

Snipe: Some might say that modelling yourselves on the Shadows & Light band was an ambitious proposal, given that the original personnel included jazz greats Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays and Michael Brecker. How difficult was to put this line up together?

P.O.: I consider that I got myself lucky there in that I got the line-up six-out-of-seven right on day one! That’s to say, aside from the percussionist who left after the first gig, we have maintained exactly the same personnel as were on that first date. I’ve been running The Spin jazz club for 26 years now and in that time have got to know and play with a lot of great musicians. So, when I came to putting this band together, I had a big pool of players to select from, but I needed a team that, importantly, would be fans of the music and would have the understanding of serving the song as opposed to being hired to be virtuoso soloists. Our vocalist, Hattie Whitehead is truly outstanding in every way: she sings with Joni’s pitch-perfect accuracy – but with her own sound – and has also assimilated Joni’s open-string guitar mannerisms.

Hejira celebrates Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell’s jazz period.

Snipe: You mentioned that Hattie has her own sound; I’ve noted that you have stressed in other publications that you are not a tribute band. Can you expand on that?

P.O.: When we did the first gig, I said to the band members, “Listen to Shadows and Light and take what you want from your respective players parts, but also bring yourselves to the gig.” This is what you can her on our videos of “Black Crow,” “Coyote,” and “Hejira.” These videos were taken at the band’s second performance, so the repertoire was still very new to us. You can hear that bassist Dave Jones plays some of Jaco’s lines. However, Jaco’s lines are so strong, they sound like parts to me, and I would have missed them if Dave hadn’t included them. As the band developed, I began getting more deeply into the arranging process. I have a broad palette of colours to draw from, what with a front line that includes vocals, two guitarists, keyboards and from Ollie Weston, soprano and tenor saxophones and bass clarinet. 

Snipe: As you alluded to earlier, it’s highly unlikely that we will ever hear Joni Mitchell, who after all is from Saskatchewan, performing the likes of “Song For Sharon,” “Black Crow,” The Hissing of Summer Lawns etc. – all songs that you are covering. Canada is ready. When can we hope to see you over here?

P.O.: Thank you! We would absolutely love to come and perform in Canada. It seems that we have just picked up interest from a well-established Canadian booking agent, so watch this space for 2027!