Joni Mitchell will forever be associated with the Laurel Canyon folk music scene of the late Sixties and early Seventies. The scene was a cornerstone of California’s predominantly white, beatnik counterculture; other proponents included The Mamas & the Papas, Carole King, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. But this categorisation overlooks the huge influence of jazz and soul music on the career of Mitchell, who turned 80 recently. Indeed, Mitchell’s relationship with black music is one of the most underappreciated yet defining characteristics of her decades in the spotlight.
