Joni Mitchell - Mingus (CD 1988)

Not one of her best, to most fans she was in decline after Court And Spark, or Hejira.
The ailing Charles Mingus contacted her, requesting her collaboration on a T.S. Elliot project, when she demurred, he asked her to write lyrics for 6 of his new tunes. 3 found there way onto the album, A Chair In The Sky being the most successful. She also added words to one of Mingus’s classic tunes, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, (a tribute to the late saxophonist, Lester Young), which are better than anything I’ve heard the Jazz World produce. The 2 songs where she contributes both words and music are probably the most successful. The opening pages of Mingus’s autobiography inspired one of them, God Must Be A Boogie Man. Her vocal performance on the album is excellent, no Mingus fan (and I’m one) would complain about what she does with his music. The problem is there are parts, which keep reminding you of her previous work.
Although Mingus attended some of the rehearsals, the recording didn’t take place until after his death in Jan. 79.