Personnel: Joni Mitchell (vocals, guitar); Michael Gibbs (conductor); Chaka Khan, Glenn Frey (vocals); Larry Carlton (electric guitar); Wayne Shorter (saxophone); Michael Colombier (piano); Jaco Pastorius (bass, congas); John Guerin (drums); Airto (bass drum); Don Alias (percussion, background vocals); Manolo Badrena (congas, coffee cans, background vocals); Alejandro Acuna (percussion, background vocals); El Bwyd, J.D. Souther (background vocals).
Recorded at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California and Basing Street Studio, London, England.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Canadian songstress Joni Mitchell never really considered herself a folkie. While adding jazz textures to her literate lyrics in the mid-'70s may have confused her fans and infuriated jazz purists, to her it was as natural as rain. On DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER, she collaborated with the cream of the '70s jazz crop including Wayne Shorter, Don Alias, Airto, Larry Carlton and a young bassist by the name of Jaco Pastorius.
The sound on DON JUAN is lean, with a stripped-down band largely relying on bass and percussion to back up Mitchell's voice and acoustic guitar. Pastorius in particular proves himself an able and sensitive accompanist, flexing his considerable chops, but also laying low and letting his singular tone do all the work when necessary. Wayne Shorter's soprano sax blends perfectly with Mitchell, the stark, emotional sound complementing her frank vocal style. The percussion-only backing of "Dreamland" and the instrumental "The Tenth World" underscores this while proving that in following her own muse, Mitchell blazed new trails that the rest of the world caught up to 20 years later.