“They came to listen because they love Joni Mitchell, but they went away loving Hejira.” – Jazzwise
Hejira is a project that has rapidly blossomed from an initial ‘one-off gig’ into a highly successful touring band, set up to celebrate the music of Joni Mitchell. In particular, the band performs the masterpiece works that Mitchell captured on her live 1980 album, ‘Shadows and Light’. Much of the success of the group, Hejira, is down to Pete Oxley (Hejira’s bandleader and guitarist) having selected a personnel that are not only great players in their own rights, but also great fans of this music. As with the band of top-drawer players in Joni’s Shadows and Light outfit (Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Michael Brecker, Jaco Pastorius and Don Alias), Hejira comprises highly experienced, world-class musicians whose primary concern is to serve the music.
Since that first gig in Oxford in 2023, audience appetite for Hejira has seen them touring Britain and Ireland at many prestigious venues and festivals, including their return to Oxford this summer for a sell-out show at the Oxford Playhouse, where they celebrated their 100th performance. They played for the EFG London Jazz Festival at The Cockpit, Marylebone (where they recorded for a live album) and they annually sell out at the Jazz Café, Camden.
Their album, ‘Live @ The Cockpit’ is available in two formats: on CD and on the new, music media format developed by Oxley: the ‘LSL’. LSL stands for ‘Look. Scan. Listen.’ The innovative idea combines the old-school glory of liner notes, lyrics, and images, with the current technology of streaming. Hejira’s LSL is a 32-page, hardback book, comprising all those attributes. Each song has two allocated pages, with a discreet QR code providing the listener access to the track. Furthermore, the whole album can be played as ‘The Long Play’, with all the usual choices to skip, fast forward, repeat etc., and there is a bonus page with videos.
The 12 tracks are:
1: Coyote; 2: Woodstock; 3: In France They Kiss On Main Street; 4: Blue Motel Room; 5: Free Man In Paris; 6: Edith And The Kingpin; 7: Amelia; 8: Pat’s Solo; 9: Hejira; 10: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; 11: Black Crow; 12: A Case Of You
The band comprises:
Immy Churchill ~ vocals & guitar
Ollie Weston ~ tenor & soprano saxophones
Chris Eldred ~ keyboards
Pete Oxley ~ guitar
Dave Jones ~ bass
Rick Finlay ~ drums
Marc Cecil ~ percussion
Hejira have beentouring extensively throughout in 2025, performing songs that are beautiful, exciting and, as always with Joni, totally touching in the poignancy of the lyrics. The band never fails to captivate their audiences as they perform the music of, arguably, the greatest singer-songwriter of the 20th century.
“I was mesmerised by this interpretation of the great music of the legendary Joni Mitchell” – John Etheridge
Hejira – Celebrating Joni Mitchell are returning to the legendary Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham on Sunday 7 December 2025.
For tickets visit:
To see the band performing, check out this superb video:
Be Cool:
For band information and tour details, please visit: www.hejira.co.uk