5 Things to Know About Joni Mitchell’s Hejira

  1. It was released in 1976 on Asylum Records.
  2. The album was inspired by a series of cross-country road trips Mitchell took.
  3. Its title comes from the Arabic word for a journey or migration.
  4. The music features a spare, jazz-influenced sound with prominent fretless bass work by Jaco Pastorius.
  5. Critics often rank it among Mitchell’s most introspective and lyrically dense works.