Although they rarely appeared together on the same bill, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni moved in many of the same circles early in their careers- most notably, each appearing often at the Riverboat, the famous Toronto coffeehouse. This was the premier area club at the time, and Joni and Gordon (along with Neil Young) were the top talents.

For Canadians, Mr. Lightfoot was a national hero, a homegrown star who stayed home even after achieving spectacular success in the United States and who catered to his Canadian fans with cross-country tours. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m being called an icon, because I really don’t think of myself that way,” Mr. Lightfoot told The Toronto Globe and Mail in 2008. “I’m a professional musician, and I work with very professional people. It’s how we get through life.”

Gordon died Monday night. He was 84.

Text adapted from William Grimes at the NYT.

On the horizon... Cary Raditz' new memoir "Carey: Genesis of the Song" to be released in June. An excerpt:

Ahhh. “California.” I heard it first in London with James’s guitar backing her dulcimer. And then Henry Lewy played it for me at A&M. It’s a great song, although I’m not flattered with “Redneck on a Grecian Isle . . . ,” and “ . . . he kept my camera to sell.” That goddamn camera. People are always asking me about it. She gave me the camera to film Matala, to film its fragile presence like Brassaï had captured an essence of Paris in 1930—but that would be a flattering comparison—it was about recording a point in time and space. Joni had witnessed the fragility of Matala, how the police had closed down the caves while she was there. She knew Matala and its cultural lifestyle were bound to change and disappear, not unlike Paradise in “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Stay tuned for more information!

The PBS broadcast of Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will be available in Canada as well as the USA. The program can be viewed on PBS.org or with the PBS App - available for Roku, Apple TV 4, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV in Canada.

Also, the broadcasts from these PBS border stations will be available to Canadian viewers:

WMED-TV (available in New Brunswick)
KFME-TV Fargo (available in Winnipeg/Northwestern Ontario in high-definition)
KGFE-TV Grand Forks (available in Winnipeg)
KTCI Minneapolis (available in Thunder Bay)
WCFE-TV Plattsburgh (available in Montreal)
WPBS-TV Watertown (available in Ottawa)
WNED-TV Buffalo (available in Southern Ontario)
WQLN-TV Erie (available in London)
WTVS Detroit Public Television (Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Halifax, St. Johns and Ontario. Well watched in Québec and have wonderful reach in communities of all sizes, from the Atlantic Provinces to the Yukon.)

More information here.

Musical artists joined the national library and American leaders to honor music legend Joni Mitchell in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, March 1, as she was awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during an all-star tribute concert.

The lineup included performances by James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Angelique Kidjo, Diana Krall, Celisse, Lucius and Ledisi.

PBS stations will broadcast the concert — “Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” — at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, March 31 (check local listings) and on PBS.org and the PBS App as part of the co-produced Emmy Award-winning music series. It will also be broadcast to U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world via the American Forces Network. More information.

I love Wayne Shorter. He's the best saxophonist ever, in my opinion. Miles thought so too. Even over Coltrane and the people who were much more famous than Wayne, really. Everything was magical about him. I remember I was playing with Jaco Pastorius, who had just joined Weather Report. Wayne, of course, was one of the founding members of that band. Jaco was supposed to be in the studio recording with me, and he didn't show up. So I said to Henry, the engineer, ”I know where he is. Let's go get him.” So we went down to the rehearsal studio. Zawinul and Jaco were tossing a Frisbee on the ground. They were throwing it with their hand and priding themselves on how good they were at catching a Frisbee and everything.

At a certain point, they threw it at Peter Erskine, who was a new drummer in the band. It came towards him and he was terrified. He reached up and grabbed it and threw it. It wobbled all the way back. Jaco looked at him and kind of gave him the stink eye for a bad throw. Up on the stage meantime was Wayne with his horn tucked under his left arm. He was playing the keyboard with his right hand. Joe threw the Frisbee at Wayne, and it was coming straight at Wayne’s head, out of his peripheral vision. Wayne reached up, caught it and threw it back perfectly. You know, Wayne was more than a musician. He was like a little Zen master. He was mystical. He was the only musician that I could direct metaphorically or theatrically. I would say to him, “Come in here and get out here. Then come in really sad, and by the time you get to here… get really young.”

And he would play that! Or, I’d tell him, okay, Wayne, “you're the bird.” So he'd go out in the studio, put his horn in his mouth, and the first lick that came out of him was so like a bird. It was amazing. Then his hand was in the air waving for “one more take,” and I said, “no way. I'll punch you in, but I won't start over.” So I punched him in and I left the first lick that he played on the record. It was magnificent. He was just kind of unconscious when he played it, but it was so bird-like and so unusual. He was a beautiful musician. He will be sorely missed.

Joni brought “Both Sides Now” of the political aisle together, as lawmakers and musical artists celebrated her life and career at the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Joni was honored Wednesday in a star-studded ceremony at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington.

The annual honor from the Library of Congress, named after George and Ira Gershwin, is considered the “nation’s highest award for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.” Mitchell’s music, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden told the packed audience at the tribute concert, “hits you straight to your heart, down to your soul.” -Kyle Balluck

Wayne Shorter, the enigmatic, intrepid saxophonist who shaped the color and contour of modern jazz as one of its most intensely admired composers, died this morning in Los Angeles. He was 89.

Mr. Shorter had a sly, confiding style on the tenor saxophone, instantly identifiable by his low-gloss tone and elliptical sense of phrase. His sound was brighter on soprano, an instrument on which he left an incalculable influence; he could be inquisitive, teasing or elusive, but always with a pinpoint intonation and clarity of attack. - Nate Chinen

Wayne was Joni's 'go-to' sax player, and she asked him to record with her often- first on the Don Juan's Reckless Daughter album in 1977. He last recorded with her on 2002's Travelogue. Read more...

James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Diana Krall and Angelique Kidjo have been confirmed to perform on Wednesday, March 1, as Joni is awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during an all-star tribute concert in Washington DC.

Joni will also appear at the Library on Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET as part of the Live at the Library series in conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The event is open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis. More information here

“It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away,” his wife wrote in a statement to Variety. “He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers.”

David Crosby produced Joni’s first album and aimed to protect the integrity, originality, and purity of Joni’s music. "We did get the actual songs down without a bunch of other crud on it, and that made me happy," Crosby remembered. "That's the thing I'm proudest of."

David Crosby was 81 years old.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today announced that Joni will be the next recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Mitchell will be honored with a tribute concert March 1 in Washington, D.C., that will premiere on PBS stations nationwide on March 31. More information here.