For Katie Noonan, one of Australia’s greatest vocalists of all time, Joni Mitchell’s Blue is far more than just another great album.
“I’m a huge admirer of Joni’s work, and this is my favourite album of hers by a longshot; I think it’s a perfect record,” Noonan said.
“It’s particularly raw, because it documents two major relationships, with James Taylor and Graham Nash, from Crosby, Stills and Nash.
“It’s a very exposed, vulnerable and very real record, but I can relate bits of every song to my life in some way. And I think that’s the sign of a great songwriter, when you can somehow put yourself in there.”
Noonan brings her loving rendered version of Mitchell’s folk opus to the Palais in the New Year, a show intended to be toured in 2021 for the 50th anniversary of the album but pushed back due to the pandemic.
“Folk wasn’t really in my family home when I was young, it was mainly opera and jazz, really,” she said.
“I discovered Joni in my early 20s, and when I was gifted with the album Blue I was just blown away by the artistry of songwriting, musicianship, storytelling, just everything.
“In 2021, it was the 50th anniversary of that record and I was thinking it’d be nice to pay tribute to that. But then, obviously, COVID happened.
“This is just me paying tribute to a woman I admire deeply.”
Ben Hauptmann, one of Australia’s most highly regarded jazz guitarists, accompanies Noonan for the show.
Noonan said Hauptmann’s depth of musical knowledge and masterful technique allowed him to bring her vision to life.
“Benny’s an incredible improviser, he’s got a wide vocabulary of harmonic colours,” she said.
“And he’s recently joined Elixir, my trio with my husband Zach; we’re writing a new record together this year.
“He’s a beautiful dude, a beautiful musician. For the Joni gig, he’s just really beautiful at capturing those incredible, unusual voicings that she used.”
Melbourne indy songwriter Georgia Fields will open the show at the Palais, and Noonan said she couldn’t wait to perform in the newly refurbished venue to a Geelong audience.
“We’ll be very respectfully playing the album in its order, and people can come and forget about the world and listen to some incredible songs for an hour and a half in a beautiful space,” she said.
“I love old buildings like the Palais, where there’s been so much life and storytelling lived in them. It’s really, really special.
“And Georgia Fields is just fantastic, so it will be a nice night of music-making together.
“I haven’t played in Geelong in years, so I’m really looking forward to coming back to that part of the world.”
Katie Noonan and Ben Hauptmann will present Blue at Palais Geelong on Saturday, January 7.
