The first in the Alberta Ballet's series of portrait ballets, The Fiddle and The Drum, dedicated to Joni, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a tour. Created with input from Joni herself, The Fiddle and the Drum offers a contemporary interpretation of 14 of her songs, including three that were written for the piece. Performances are May 1-4 in Calgary, and May 9-11 in Edmonton. More information here

3rd Avenue in Saskatoon is decked out today with a series of street posters in honor of Joni. Tonight, the Saskatoon Symphony is honoring Joni with a concert of her music featuring Vince Mendoza, Sarah Slean, and Peter Erskine. Stay tuned for a review of this amazing evening on JoniMitchell.com in the coming days. (Photos by Mike Sainsbury)

Joni graces the cover of the newest edition of UNCUT - the UK music magazine - released today. "50 years after the release of her debut album, Uncut tells the full story of the singer, songwriter and guitarist’s remarkable rise to fame – from the Newport Folk Festival, via New York clubs to the hillside cottages of Laurel Canyon. 'She was stunningly good, right off the bat,' says David Crosby." For those who can't find it in stores, the digital edition is available.

The cover of Susan Whitall's new book "Joni on Joni: Interviews and Encounters with Joni Mitchell" has been revealed. The book will be released on November 6, the day before Joni's 75th birthday. We'll keep you posted!

In December 2015, the Smithsonian called on rock and roll lovers around the world to collect photos and stories of their favorite moments in music. Fans dug through attics, basements, closets, shoeboxes, digital cameras, and photo albums to contribute. Artists ranging from the Who to Nirvana to Chuck Berry to the Jimi Hendrix and many more are celebrated in the resulting book entitled "Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen". There is a photo of Joni included in the book taken by Jim Marshall that we had not seen before!

Verve and UMe will reissue Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters for its 10th anniversary this Friday, December 15. The original album, mostly featuring songs of Joni Mitchell, will be paired with a bonus EP of four additional recordings from the sessions. Two of them – covers of “A Case of You” and “All I Want” – were previously only available on an Amazon-exclusive pressing of the album, while the other pair, “Harlem In Havana” and “I Had a King,” were exclusive to iTunes. More information here.

The multiple fires threatening southern California have forced nearly 200,000 people in the Los Angeles and Ventura areas to evacuate. Those concerned about Joni can rest assured that she is safe and out of harm's way.

Jon Hendricks, a jazz singer who became famous in the 1950s with the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross by putting lyrics to well-known jazz instrumentals and turning them into vocal tours de force, died today in New York City. He was 96. Joni often cites the group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross as a major early influence. Joni recorded their song Twisted on Court and Spark, the first song not written by herself that she released on one of her albums.

In a 1986 interview, Joni said "Friends of mine who were older than me and in college began talking about Lambert, Hendricks and Ross as the hottest new sound in jazz. Their record flipped me out, but it was already out of print. I had to finally buy it off somebody and pay a lot, maybe fifteen dollars, which was unheard of at that time. But you couldn't get the record anywhere. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were my Beatles. In high school, theirs was the record I wore thin, the one I knew all the words to."

Susan Whitall, former Creem editor and Detroit News staffer for 30 years, will be releasing a new book called "Joni on Joni: Interviews and Encounters with Joni Mitchell" to be published by the Chicago Review Press in time for Joni's 75th birthday (November 2018). This book will be a compilation of interviews with Joni throughout the years. Susan told JoniMitchell.com "I don't think there have been enough books on Joni, not when you think of how many have been written about Dylan, or the Beatles." We agree. We're making space on our bookshelf. More info here as we get it.

Happy 74th birthday to Joni on the 7th! Leave your birthday greetings for her at WeLoveYouJoni.com. And the seasons, they go round and round...

Put your ear to the pavement on Military Street in downtown Port Huron, Michigan and you just might hear the beat of an almost unimaginably vibrant live music scene - one that vanished more than a half-century ago with the burning of the Dome in 1971.

"In the '50s, there were 17 clubs in Port Huron doing music almost seven nights a week," said Chris Troy, the St. Clair-based producer and director of the new film "Something in the Water: The History of Port Huron Music, Part I."

Good things come in threes! Yet another book is in the works on Joni. This one will be called "Joni Mitchell: New Critical Readings", to be published by Bloomsbury late 2018 or early 2019. It’s a collection of critical essays (in the academic, not the negative sense) about Joni, and includes writings by Eric Lott, Gus Stadler, Pam Thurschwell and many others. The book is edited by Ruth Charnock, who hosted the Joni Mitchell Symposium in July of 2015. Further details will be posted here as we have them.

October 17 sees the release of David Yaffe's new book, "Reckless Daughter". "In this intimate biography, drawing on dozens of unprecedented in-person interviews with Mitchell, her childhood friends, and a cast of famous characters, Yaffe reveals the backstory behind the famous songs―from Mitchell’s youth in Canada, her bout with polio at age nine, and her early marriage and the child she gave up for adoption, through the love affairs that inspired masterpieces, and up to the present―and shows us why Mitchell has so enthralled her listeners, her lovers, and her friends. Reckless Daughter is the story of an artist and an era that have left an indelible mark on American music."

The US version of Barney Hoskyns' anthology releases on October 3. "From album reviews, incisive commentary, and candid conversations, Joni: The Anthology includes, among other things, a review of Mitchell's first-ever show at LA's Troubadour in June of 1968, a 1978 interview by musician Ben Sidran on jazz great Charles Mingus, a personal reminiscence by Ellen Sander, a confidant of the Los Angeles singer-songwriter community, and a long "director's cut" version of editor Barney Hoskyns' 1994 MOJO interview. A time capsule of an icon, the anthology spans the entirety of Joni's career between 1967-2007, as well as thoughtful commentary on her early years."

The musical lineup has been announced for PazFest IV, the New Orleans Tribute to Joni Mitchell to benefit the Ruth Paz Pediatric Surgery and Burn Hospital in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

This event takes place Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, 7-11 p.m. at the beautiful Civic Theatre New Orleans. Tickets are $25 and are available in advance at https://www.civicnola.com/event/1531984

Musical lineup to feature: Chuck Mitchell, Judith Owen, Harry Shearer, Tommy Malone, Deacon John w/Sonny Schneidau, Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band/Flecktones), Paul Sanchez, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, A Celebration of Joni Mitchell featuring Kimberly Ford (from Santa Barbara California), Sean Ardoin, Debbie Davis, Matt Perrine, Alex McMurray, Phil DeGruy with Emily Robertson, Leslie Smith, Cary Hudson, Jim McCormick, Renshaw Davies, Henley Douglas, Jr., Krewe de Groove, Brandon Tarricone, Joe Tullos w/Randy Ellis and Kevin Aucoin, Dayna Kurtz, Kevin Stylez, Joshua Thomas, Jahida Esperanza (from Colorado), Enid (From Ottawa Canada), Christina Friis (from Denmark) with Larry Sieberth, Bryan Thomas, Cassie Krebs, Dirk Billie, Fatsy Cline, and surprise guests.

Read the full press release here.

Playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director Sam Shepard has passed away. Shepard, who had been ill with ALS for some time, died peacefully on July 30 at home in Kentucky, surrounded by his children and sisters. He was 73 years old.

Shepard is the author of forty-four plays - "True West" among them - as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff.

Sam also toured with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review and wrote the Rolling Thunder Logbook. Allegedly, Joni's song "Coyote" was written in large part about Sam.

Joni's "Blue" album made Number One in National Public Radio's "The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women". Hejira was the only other Joni album to make the cut. This list was accompanied by another article entitled In Pop Music, Women Belong At The Center Of The Story.

Die-hard fans of Joni will know better, but there is a person 'selling tickets' to a Joni concert that is, of course, not happening. This person is using the email cassandrahood09@gmail.com, the twitter handle @jonimitchell070, and goes by the name Cassandra Hood or Cassandra Newton. This person asks for a payment through Western Union to another person, Jessica A Grimm with a New Market, Tennessee address. The scammer is also using an IP blocker to hide their real IP address. All this, of course is a fraud. Hopefully this news item will save a person or two from falling for this scam.

Uncut Magazine has just released an "Ultimate Music Guide" issue devoted solely to Joni, available now and in limited supply. More information here

It is with regret that we announce the passing of John Uren, "the Godfather of Canadian Folk". John hired a young Joni Anderson to play at his coffeehouse in Calgary in September of 1963 - the first regular gig of her career. Joni at the time was an art student and John's belief in her talent arguably had an influence on Joni switching gears and pursuing a musical path.

John was an adventurer and a visionary, tackling many varied careers - cab driver, horse owner/trainer, magazine publisher, coffeehouse owner, folk festival promoter, filmmaker, and much more. Last September, John attended the 20th Anniversary Jonifest on BC's Sunshine Coast, just a few miles south of his home. He can be seen speaking at the event here.

John died Tuesday at his home in Powell River, BC. He was 81 years old. At his request there will be no service, celebration, or published obituary (although the Globe and Mail has done so). Many articles, spanning the decades, can be found on his rich life here on the website: 1963, 1972, 2005, and 2014.

Eric Anderson sings for Joni backstage before his performance at McCabe's in Santa Monica last night. (Photo by Steve Postell)

Joni attended Elton John's 70th birthday party last night in Los Angeles. More info here.

Introduced by a teary-eyed Jennifer Aniston, Sara Bareilles performed Joni's "Both Sides Now" as the vocal backing to an exceptionally powerful In Memoriam segment at the 2017 Oscars. The piece honored all who the academy and film industry had lost in the past year including singer/actor Prince, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Gene Wilder, Mary Tyler Moore, Debbie Reynolds, her daughter Carrie Fisher and many more. Watch the video here.

Joni made a rare public appearance last night, attending Clive Davis' annual Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was escorted by writer and filmmaker Cameron Crowe and author Daniel Levitin (pictured with Joni).

Joni was honored as one of the greatest songwriters whose work has touched everyone in the music industry.

She had a good time and was particularly moved by Chance the Rapper and Mary J. Blige’s performances. Herbie Hancock came by and said an extended hello, as did many other well-wishers, including Stephen Stills and Clive Davis.

This Thursday - in addition to being Thanksgiving day in the USA - marks the 40th anniversary of The Band's Last Waltz, the legendary concert event held in San Francisco. "The one I remember most was Joni Mitchell," says John Simon, musical director of the event. "The chords she played on the guitar were not standard. The guys would look at her left hand and go, 'What? I remember this one quote from her: I said ‘What’s that chord?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know the name of it. I tune my guitar this way, to make myself stupid’ – in other words, to not fall into pre-determined patterns, patterns she was used to." Rhino has released a 40th Anniversary 5-disc set to commemorate the event. (Photo of Joni and Robbie Robertson © Steve Gladstone)

Joni going out on her birthday!

Joni and Leonard Cohen, both Canadians, met at the Newport Folk Festival in 1967. "For Cohen as well as Mitchell, Toronto played a pivotal career-making role. It was Jack McClelland who almost single-handedly created CanLit, and turned Cohen into a literary star by publishing his work. Joni and Leonard were both blazingly original talents on the verge of breaking into American mainstream culture. Indeed, both would eventually settle in Los Angeles and remain there for decades." Our hearts go out to all those who loved Leonard Cohen.

Joni's birthday is on November 7, and there are many musical tributes to her this year - check out the list. Be sure and attend if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. Also, you can wish Joni a Happy Birthday yourself at WeLoveYouJoni.com.

Oscar Brand, who brought folk music to many generations of people, has left us at 96. He featured a young Joni Anderson on his 'Let's Sing Out' program in October of 1965. Oscar was the host of the 'Folk Song' show for 70 years, and it eventually earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for “longest-airing radio show with the same host.” You will be missed, sir!

The Polaris Music Prize, established in 2006, is an annual award honoring albums by Canadian artists, based on artistic merit rather than sales. But what about all those great Canadian albums that came out before the Polaris Music Prize existed? Well, those records also get some love, courtesy of the Polaris Heritage Prize.

The (Canadian) Heritage award, which was first presented last year, is for albums that would likely have been nominated for the Polaris Prize had it been around back in the day. Ten albums are nominated from each of four time periods: 1960-1975, 1976-1985, 1986-1995 and 1996-2005.

This year's nominees in the 1960-1975 period include Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush, The Band's Music from Big Pink and its self-titled effort, Gordon Lightfoot's Lightfoot! and Leonard Cohen's Songs of Leonard Cohen.

Cast your vote through mid-October.

Victoria Roberts says it all in this NewYorker cartoon.

We are thrilled to see Joni out and about again! Last night she attended a Chick Corea concert at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles. L-R: Joni, Chick Corea, Gayle Moran Corea, Herbie Hancock. (Photo by Toshi Sakurai)

Christopher Cross is working on a new album, and has completed a track called "Roberta" - a tribute to Joni. He's offered to share it with the Joni community, saying "'Roberta' is the first [song] I have completed [on my new album], which is very much influenced by her later work 'Hejira' and beyond." Thanks to Christopher for sharing this preview with the community, we hear the influence!

  Roberta by Christopher Cross

Joni said in 2006 (in a video message broadcast during Prince's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame) "Prince. The most amazing performer I have ever witnessed." Prince was also a big fan of Joni's and said that The Hissing of Summer Lawns was "the last album I loved all the way through." As Joni remembered, "Prince attended one of my concerts in Minnesota. I remember seeing him sitting in the front row when he was very young. He must have been about 15. Prince used to write me fan mail with all of the U's and hearts that way that he writes." Prince credited Joni with teaching him "about color and sound." He quoted "Help Me" in his song, "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker." An album by his side project band, The Time, was named Ice Cream Castle. And he covered "A Case of You," with "U" spelled the Prince way, of course. JoniMitchell.com wishes to express its condolences to Prince's family, friends, and fans.

Before his death last week, Sir George Martin and his son Giles teamed with PBS to create an upcoming eight-part documentary series called "Soundbreaking." The series features interviews with over 150 artists and producers, who tell the studio stories behind some of the best music ever made.

The first two episodes of the show are premiering today at SXSW. The series will air on PBS in November.

The series will feature interviews with Paul McCartney, Brian Eno, Nile Rodgers, Quincy Jones, Rick Rubin, Tony Visconti, RZA, Joni Mitchell, Dave Grohl, Questlove, Bon Iver, Beck, Ad-Rock, Roger Waters, Daniel Lanois, Mark Ronson, Ringo Starr, Roger Daltrey, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Debbie Harry, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and many others.

Joni already has a new Grammy Award as the pre-show honours were handed out in Los Angeles today. The legendary singer-songwriter won for best album notes on Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced.

Fellow Canadians Jan Haust, a native of London, Ont., and Hamilton's Peter Moore captured the honour for best historical album for The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11, featuring the music of Bob Dylan and Toronto's The Band. The duo shared the award with Steve Berkowitz, Jeff Rosen and Mark Wilder.

Chaka Khan relays good news about Joni in an interview published today: "...we're good friends and she's doing very well, by the way. I want everyone to know that she's getting better and better every day." Read the interview and news about Chaka's upcoming Joni tribute album here.

The Telegraph placed Joni at the top of their list today. No disagreement here, but these lists are always subjective and lend themselves to much debate. Check out the list here and let the disagreements begin!

Joni has been nominated for a Grammy for "Best Album Notes" for her "Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced" release. You can read the notes here.

Happy 72nd Birthday to Joni! Wish her a happy birthday at WeLoveYouJoni.com.

Joni has been nominated in the fourth annual Older People in the Media Awards run by older people’s charity, Independent Age, in collaboration with Gransnet, the social network for the UK’s 14 million grandparents. She has been nominated in the “Everyday ageism hero” category for her work with Yves Saint Laurent.

The other nominees in this category are: L'Oréal for Age Perfect campaign with Dame Helen Mirren, and Other Stories and Vans collaboration for SS2015 campaign with Daphne Selfe.

Nominations were put forward by members of Gransnet and the winner in each of the three categories will be decided by a public vote. CAST YOUR VOTE HERE!

The Older People in the Media awards are a celebration of the best representations of older people’s issues in the media. They hope to shine a light on the characters, marketing campaigns and individuals that have either positively portrayed older people, or sensitively highlighted the issues they face.

Winners from previous years have included, among others, Dame Judi Dench for her role in the film Philomena and Anne Reid for her portrayal of the character Celia in Last Tango in Halifax.

Buenas noticias! Malka Marom's book "Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words" is currently being translated to be released in both Spanish and Chinese. Malka told JoniMitchell.com "This book was meant to be my birthday present for Joni's 70th. Almost as a personal gift from me to all who love Joni's work and would appreciate and celebrate this insight into her unique brilliant genius. So imagine how happy I am that now, approaching Joni's 72nd birthday, I find that it would be translated into Spanish and Chinese!" Chinese rights have been sold to Jiangsu People’s Publishing House in a deal arranged by Acacia House Publishing Services and Big Apple Tuttle-Mori Agency. Release dates will be posted here when they are known.

Hey hippies! Pull that turntable out of storage and dust it off. Barnes & Noble is hosting a “Vinyl Day” on November 21st, where they’ll be stocking the stores with an abundance of LPs and generally celebrating the vinyl format that they are now supporting. They'll have Blue and Hejira vinyl stock in all of their stores for the event. Relive those moments 39 and 45 years ago when you first picked up shrink-wrapped copies of the classics. The only differences will be the price... and, you know, the fact that you're old now.

One of Joni's guitars from the '79 and '83 tours is up for auction. It is an Ibanez George Benson GB10 guitar in brown sunburst. The inlays are mother-of-pearl, with "Joni Mitchell" engraved at the 21st fret. The interior label is signed by George Benson, serial number D794944. The guitar is accompanied by a copy of a letter signed by Joni, stating that this is one of six guitars played on the Shadows & Light and Refuge tours. The auction will be held on November 7, 2015. More information here.

Graham Nash currently has a new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, entitled "Graham Nash: Touching the Flame"". We noticed a 1969 painting done by Joni in the exhibit which we had not seen before. Check it out!

No news about Joni today - but when there is you can be alerted by email. Register at the site (free), log in, then click the "MyPage" link. You'll notice the "My Alerts" section where you can choose to be alerted by email whenever various new content is added to the site. Real good emails, for free.

Official news about Joni is as hard for us to get as it is for anybody else. But Judy Collins has recently posted the following encouraging note to her Facebook page: "I have just heard from a close mutual friend that Joni is walking, talking, painting some, doing much rehab every day, and making good progress -- I have another friend who went through something similar - it does take a long time, three years for my friend, who has really totally recovered professionally and personally. I will try my best to see our songbird when I am in LA in the coming weeks." Continue to send your well-wishes to Joni at WeLoveYouJoni.com.

Albums by Joni Mitchell, Cowboy Junkies, Sloan and Peaches have been chosen by the public as the inaugural winners of Canada’s Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize.

A five-titled short list per time period was initially selected by a jury of 25 people from the music media and industry before the lists were released to the public for them to vote online.

They chose: Blue by Joni Mitchell ('60s & '70s), The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies ('80s), Twice Removed by Sloan (90s) and The Teaches of Peaches by Peaches ('00s, 2000-2005).

"This is the Polaris version of a hall of fame. As with the main Prize, we hope this award will lead to more discussion and discovery of timeless recorded art from our history," said Polaris founder and executive director Steve Jordan.

JoniMitchell.com is sad to announce the passing of Arthur Kratzmann, an early and powerful influence on Joni's life. Joni dedicated her first album to him, writing a single line as the liner notes to the album - "This album is dedicated to Mr. Kratzmann, who taught me to love words." Joni speaks about him in this interview from the American Master Series entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind.

Mr Kratzmann told Joni early in her life "if you can paint with a brush you can paint with words", a phrase Joni has repeated many times throughout her life - even using a version of it as a title for her special concert event from 1998. More on Arthur's life is in this interview from 2002.

Arthur is being honored with a special ceremony on October 10th. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family at this time.

JACO, a compelling story of prodigious talent, personal adventures and raw human vulnerability, will be released on November 27. 'JACO' presents the world of the bass guitar phenomenon Jaco Pastorius through the eyes of his family and various musical collaborators. Produced by the Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, and directed by Paul Marchand and Stephen Kijak, this blistering biopic contains incredible unseen footage and photography from the Pastorius family archive, and takes viewers into the heart and soul of this hugely influential cross-genre artist. Featuring interviews with an array of artists (Flea, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Geddy Lee) and friends, 'JACO' unveils the story of his music, his life, his demise, and ultimately the fragility of great artistic genius. More information here.

Today, we unveil a completely revised JoniMitchell.com. In the works for a few months, the new site is fully responsive - meaning that it will adapt to whatever device you are using: desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc. Special thanks go out to designer Raffaele Malanga and HTML/CSS wizard Els. Both of these experts went above and beyond the call of duty to help ensure that JoniMitchell.com stays on the cutting edge!

Leslie Morris, Joni's conservator, has approved the following statement to be made through JoniMitchell.com: "Joni did in fact suffer an aneurysm. However, details that have emerged in the past few days are mostly speculative. The truth is that Joni is speaking, and she's speaking well. She is not walking yet, but she will be in the near future as she is undergoing daily therapies. She is resting comfortably in her own home and she's getting better each day. A full recovery is expected." You may leave your well wishes for Joni at WeLoveYouJoni.com

JoniMitchell.com issues its statements and updates according to the wishes of those closest to Joni, with the interest of privacy, medical confidentiality, and Joni's well-being of highest priority. To this end, Leslie Morris, who is with Joni in the hospital, has approved the following statement to be made through JoniMitchell.com: "Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet today, Joni is not in a coma. Joni is still in the hospital - but she comprehends, she’s alert, and she has her full senses. A full recovery is expected. The document obtained by a certain media outlet simply gives her longtime friend Leslie Morris the authority - in the absence of 24-hour doctor care - to make care decisions for Joni once she leaves the hospital. As we all know, Joni is a strong-willed woman and is nowhere near giving up the fight. Please continue to keep Joni in your thoughts." You may add your well wishes for her at the website WeLoveYouJoni.com

Sources with Joni in the hospital have approved the following statement to be made through JoniMitchell.com: "Joni remains under observation in the hospital and is resting comfortably. We are encouraged by her progress and she continues to improve and get stronger each day." We've created a simple web page to aggregate Facebook and Twitter messages so that Joni can see all the well wishes people are sending her way, check it out!

Joni has been hospitalized. We are awaiting official word on her condition and will post it here as soon as we know.

Joni was found unconscious in her home this afternoon. She regained consciousness on the ambulance ride to an L.A. area hospital. She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits. More updates to come as we hear them. Light a candle and sing a song, let's all send good wishes her way.

Head to any of the following record stores, each is giving away a print from Joni's latest boxed set, signed by Joni herself:
Waterloo Records, Austin, TX
The Record Exchange, Boise, ID
Monster Music, CHARLESTON, SC
Shake It, Cincinnati, OHv Dearborn Music, Dearborn, MI
Twist & Shout, Denver, CO
Skip's, Eugene, OR
Luna Music, Indianapolis, IN
Disc Exchange, KNOXVILLE, TN
CD Central, LEXINGTON, KY
Fingerprints, Long Beach, CA
Amoeba, Los Angeles, CA
Strictly Discs, Madison WI
Record Den, Mentor OH
Electric Fetus, Minneapolis, MN
Grimeys, NASHVILLE, TN
Park Ave CDs, ORLANDO, FL
Exclusive Co, Oshkosh, WI
Zia Records, Phoenix, AZ
Bull Moose, Portland, ME
Darkside Records and Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
Music Millennium, Portland, OR
BK Music, Richmond, VA
Plan 9, Richmond, VA
Record Archive, Rochester, NY
Streetlight, San Jose, CA
Silver Platters, Seattle, WA
Graywhale, Taylorsville, UT
OZ Music, TUSCALOOSA, AL
Looney Tunes, West Babylon, NY
The Mad Platter, West Chester, PA

SFJazz will honor the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell with a lifetime achievement award for her artistic vision and contributions to modern music at its annual gala, to be held May 8, 2015, organizers announced on Wednesday.

Mitchell, 71, the Canadian native who came up busking on the sidewalks of Toronto before moving to Southern California to find mainstream success with songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "River," will make a rare live appearance at the black-tie event, which will also feature musical tributes by Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band and the award-winning SFJazz Collective.

While best known as a leading light of the '70s West Coast folk-pop scene, Mitchell frequently dabbled in jazz, recording with musicians such as Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius and Michael Brecker.

She recently released the box set "Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced," a four-disc collection of songs tracing her career back to the '60s. In the liner notes, Mitchell, who is also an artist, describes herself as "a painter who writes songs."

The gala, to be co-chaired by Chronicle Books Publisher and SFJazz Trustee Nion McEvoy and longtime foundation supporter Penny Coulter, raises funds for the organization's youth education programs.

Previous SFJazz honorees include Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Stevie Wonder.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer reminisces about her music career, from her coffee house days to playing some of the biggest venues in the world. More info

"Court and Spark: An international symposium on the work of Joni Mitchell" July 3rd, 2015, University of Lincoln, UK. Call for Papers! The School of English and Journalism at the University of Lincoln invites you to join in considering all things Mitchell. Academics, music critics, fans are encouraged to attend. Paper proposals that mix personal with critical, historical, musicological, or cultural-studies analyses are welcome. More info

"Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced" will be released on November 17. This is a 4-CD boxed set with 53 previously-released tracks, although the tracks have all apparently been remastered. More details as we find out!

Joni Mitchell is one of only two women to have made it onto Rolling Stone magazine's '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'. She's received eight Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award - the citation on which called her "one of the most important female recording artists of the rock era" and "a powerful influence on all artists who embrace diversity, imagination and integrity".

The programme (to be broadcast June 30) includes the music that influenced her, her love of art, and examines how she writes her songs - as well as reflecting on her eclectic and prolific back catalogue.

Joni writes lyrics that speak to the listener and in a career spanning over five decades she's produced folk, jazz and electronic influenced work which is known and loved around the world.

But it's for her guitar playing that many fans love her, and many fellow musicians look up to her. Almost every song Joni has written on the guitar uses non-standard tuning. This and her highly rhythmic strumming style creates a rich and unique guitar sound.

Originally Joni tried to teach herself how to play from a Pete Seeger songbook. She never finished the book - her left hand had been weakened by polio, and some of the fingerings were difficult. Joni didn't give up though - she started to create alternative tunings that allowed her to play each song. The programme features a demonstration of how those tunings were achieved.

Contributors include legendary folk singer Judy Collins who had hits with Joni's 'Both Sides Now' and 'Circle Game', synth-pop producer Thomas Dolby who worked with Joni in the 1980s, musician Max Bennett who worked on her earlier albums and toured with her, TV and Radio Producer Trevor Dann who profiled Joni for the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, cultural commentator Kate Mossman and musicians Jennifer Crook and Eddi Reader.

More info here.

Coming in September, a new book on Joni by Malka Marom. See the details here.

The signed edition of the Joni Mitchell: Complete So Far book sold out in a matter of minutes. There were only 50 copies. The unsigned books will come available soon. Click through at this link to save money on the book, and help support the website at the same time.

Joni Mitchell: Complete So Far contains 167 songs drawn from her 18 landmark studio albums. The songs and lyrics are transcribed accurately and include Joni’s critical guitar tunings (over 40 are cataloged in the book). This collectible hard cover, 512 page book contains a beautiful photo section, a foreword about Joni’s ground breaking guitar style and an extensively cross-referenced Tuning Index for those in search of a deeper understanding of her approach to guitar.

Retail price is $64.99.
50 limited autographed editions will also be available for $300 each.

Order your copy here, through the website - save money and help support JoniMitchell.com at the same time!

The Joni Mitchell World Premiere Ballet presented by Alberta Ballet has been postponed. Joni Mitchell has come to the conclusion that she cannot produce a song list that encompasses all that she needs to say about the theme of Love in one ballet. Joni Mitchell has never been known for compromising when it comes to her art and music, and this is no exception.

Following their internationally acclaimed 2007 mega-hit ballet The Fiddle and Drum, music legend Joni Mitchell and Alberta Ballet’s Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître are reuniting once again. Inspired by the greatest love songs she has ever written, this world premiere will be a profound meditation on the theme of Love. It will be a poignant reminiscence as well as a deep and personal reflection on her entire career as a composer, a poet and a visual artist.
CALGARY: MAY 1-3, 2014
EDMONTON: MAY 9-10, 2014

Joni recited a new poem at the Luminato festival last week. The poem is based on the writings of Emily Carr and is part of one of Carr's journals. Thanks to Catherine McKay (with assistance from Vincenzo Mancini) for the transcription.

Is this the wettest place on earth?
My little fire is sputtering.
Oh, now my hot water bottle's gone and burst,
And I'm mean mad about it
And I'm muttering
Soggy biscuits!
Boggy sheets!
The bucket brimming where the canvas leaks.
I smack my dogs for muddy feet.
Oh, this rain, this rain
will not retreat.

That painting I made yesterday -
Who would want to look at it?
It's just a mess!
The greens and greys.
I threw a stupid book at it.
I'd hoped to capture tree-souls in paint.
But hope! That's for idiots and saints.
My trees are incomplete.
Oh, this rain, this rain will not retreat

I wish I had a real good pal,
Someone I could stand to listen to.
I don't care - a guy, a gal,
Just someone who could stand me too.
If I was nicer, less astute,
Less compelled to spew the truth...
For truth is seldom soft and sweet,
And this rain, this rain, this relentless rain
This rain, this rain
Will not retreat.

All big cities make me sick,
Except New York, I don't know why.
Big buildings stretching up brick by brick.
Like my cedar groves, they scrape that sky.
It doesn't rain like this back there.
Oh, it rains enough, just enough to wash the air
and sweep a little litter off the street.
But THIS rain, oh,
This rain will not retreat

I wrote this poem for Emily Carr,
Though she's been dead for quite some time.
Most of these words are hers,
But some are mine.
I made them rhyme.

This rain,
This rain,
Oh, this nasty rain
This rain, this rain.

© Joni Mitchell

JONI: A PORTRAIT IN SONG – A BIRTHDAY HAPPENING LIVE AT MASSEY HALL will be airing on CBC’s “Canada Live” program on both the Radio 2 and Radio 1 networks, starting on Monday (Canada Day):

RADIO 2
Part 1 of the concert: July 1st, 7:00pm
Part 2 of the concert: July 8th, 7;00pm

RADIO 1
Part 1 of the concert: July 5th, 2:00pm
Part 2 of the concert: July 12th, 2:00pm

The recording will also be able to be streamed online, on demand, for the next year (once the concert has aired).

The concert will be rebroadcast again in November (on the 7th) to celebrate Joni's birthday.

Look for this new interview to be broadcast on the CBC "Q" radio program on June 11th. Host Jian Gjomeshi travelled to Los Angeles to interview her at her home. It was a wide-ranging conversation and CBC will be devoting a full hour of Q to it. More info here.

The new book "Gathered Light: The Poetry of Joni Mitchell's Songs" by Lisa and John Sornberger is now available to order. David Geffen, Larry Klein, (song for) Sharon Veer, Wally Lamb, Richard Flynn, and many others contribute. More details here.

Just published! An exclusive JoniMitchell.com interview with Jean Grand-Maitre where he announces, among other things, that a new Joni ballet is to premiere in May 2014. Thanks to Mark Scott for conducting the interview.

Gathered Light: On the Poetry of Joni Mitchell by Lisa and John Sornberger, press release:

Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest poets and songwriters of the late 20th century. For over forty years her powerful lyrics have compelled listeners to dig deeper. This one of a kind collection finally allows even her most passionate fans to do just that.

Gathered Light: On the Poetry of Joni Mitchell, includes more than fifty original contributions by acclaimed writers such as Wally Lamb and Fred Wah, Canada’s poet laureate, as well as some of Mitchell’s long-time friends and creative collaborators. These diverse voices celebrate Mitchell’s poetic craft and offer their insight in the form of original essays, poetry, short fiction, photographs, and collages. Each contributor shares his or her connection to, interpretation of, and inspiration from their favorite Mitchell poem. Many comment on a larger societal or political issue explored therein. All share their experiences of why Joni’s work has been so important to them, and honor her as a poet and source of inspiration. According to sources close to her, Joni said was excited about and highly honored by the project... that she felt that it will finally set the record straight; that she is an actual poet. Also, that the individual responses make it "personal" and bring it around to complete the circle. She touched on how much the First Nations’ poets’ presence in our book mattered to her, and that she was pleased with the entire contributors list of poets, writers, artists, and friends.

Gathered Light is the collection that fans of this legendary artist have been waiting for.

Available April, 2013, by Lisa and John Sornberger, from Sumach Press

Time to wish Joni a happy birthday! [expired] 69 years young!

We've received a copy of the new boxed set from Rhino (featuring all studio albums through Mingus) and are pleasantly surprised at the quality. Each CD is an exact replica of the original gatefold LP as released, a nice touch. It's a little tough to read some of the lyrics, downsized as they are into CD packaging, but still, a nice set. The package is to be released on November 6, a day before Joni's birthday. More info here.

Rhino will release a Joni Mitchell box set on 29 October 2012.

The Studio Albums 1968-1979 gathers together Joni’s ten albums from that period, including all the classics such as 1971′s Blue and the acclaimed The Hissing Of Summer Lawns from 1975.

Expect the albums to be housed in simple card sleeves and held in a lift-off lid box. The design of the packaging is likely to be very similar to the Madonna Complete Studio Albums box that came from the same label a few months back (that box held 11 discs). Indeed, the graphic design for the top of this Joni box with the ‘grid’ of album covers is not dissimilar to Madonna’s box.

Albums included in this Joni Mitchell box set are listed below:

• Song To A Seagull (1968)
• Clouds (1969)
• Ladies of the Canyon (1970)
• Blue (1971)
• For The Roses (1972)
• Court and Spark (1974)
• The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (1975)
• Hejira (1976)
• Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977)
• Mingus (1979)

Joni - The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell, the new book by Katherine Monk, is now available for ordering. This new portrait of the reclusive icon examines how significant life events -- failed relationships, the surrender of her infant daughter, debilitating sickness -- have influenced her creative expression. Katherine Monk captures the rich legacy of her multifaceted subject in this offbeat account, weaving in personal reflections and astute cultural observations, and revealing the Mitchell who remains misunderstood.

A new Joni tribute album by Peter Herbert and The Koehne Quartett has been released. Called Joni (12 Songs By Joni Mitchell), we find this to be one of the more unique tribute albums released in the past few years.

David Geffen is reportedly "wooing" Joni to perform a series of shows at his Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Herbie Hancock, is also supposedly encouraging this venture, which could include some of the musicians who worked with Joni back in the day. If all that is planned and hoped for comes about, there will be a concert highlight - a track by track re-creation of Court and Spark album. More info here.

It is with sorrow that we relay the news of William Anderson's passing - Joni's father. Our sincere condolences to Joni and all those lives whom William has touched.

Click here [expired] to leave your birthday wish for Joni!

A new book, tentatively titled "Blazes All Across The Sky: Writers Respond to the Poetry of Joni Mitchell", will be published in Spring 2013 by Three O’Clock Press of Toronto.

According to sources close to her, Joni is excited about the project because it is about her work as a poet, and the creative process itself, and has many incredible contributors, including First Nations authors. They also said she will be contributing to the project in some way herself.

Many authors and artists are involved; some are famous, some friends of Joni. Wally Lamb, Kim Addonizio, and Sharon Veer ("Song for Sharon") are among the cast of contributors, to name a few.

The book is a compilation of original essays, poetry, short fiction, a scene from a new play, and a few original photographs, paintings, and collages.

Each contributor shares his or her connection to, interpretation of, and inspiration from their favorite Mitchell poem. Many comment on a larger societal or political issue explored therein. All share their experiences of why Joni’s work has been so important to them, and in doing so, touch yet transcend the personal.

"Blazes" is the vision of Lisa Sornberger, a poet who created this project to honor Joni as one of the finest poets of our time. "It is my way to say thank you to someone whose work has resonated so deeply, brought me great joy, and solace, and sparked my own creative process. I think I can safely say the other contributors feel similarly."

John Sornberger is Lisa’s co-editor, and brings his talents as a poet, author, editor, and left-brained thinker to the project.

"We expect the result will be a meeting of the minds and hearts of those everywhere who have been moved by Mitchell’s poetry. It is high time Joni got her due as the poet she is", say the Sornbergers.

Does this border on gossip? Perhaps, but it sure is nice to see a recent picture of Joni looking healthy and happy. And, due the lack of Joni news lately, we'll take the risk. Here's Jane Fonda's blog post about her dinner with Joni, Bonnie Raitt, and others on Saturday night.

According to an article published today, author Eric Lott is working on a new book about Joni. More details as we know them!

In an interview published yesterday with filmmaker Laura Archibald [regarding her new film Greenwich Village: The Music that Defined a Scene] she states that she asked Joni to participate in the project. The reply from Joni's management was "Joni wishes you the best of luck, but she doesn't do anything regarding her career any longer." Read the article here.

Bread & Roses Presents: The Fine Art of Music Legends

TWO JONI MITCHELL PIECES INCLUDED

ONE DAY ONLY - SUN, MAY 15, 2011, 4 - 6 pm
Reception & Art Show/Sale
Donna Seager Gallery
851 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA

Preview the art here.

Please join Bread & Roses for a not-to-be-missed one-day benefit sale featuring fine art created by some of the music world’s most extraordinary music legends and curated by renowned gallery owner Donna Seager. Pieces to be shown include two meticulously clean wood block prints from Hejira signed by both Joni Mitchell and print artist Cynthia Marsh; a signed, lithographic self-portrait by Leonard Cohen; an extremely rare, signed Tom Waits photographic triptych; a limited edition thirteen-color and separated serigraph of Jerry Garcia painted by Grace Slick;, a limited edition giclee print by Stanley Mouse featuring the classic skull and roses Grateful Dead art; two hand-printed signed photographs by the late Jim Marshall, a Gary Houston silk screen poster for the Grateful Dead hand signed by Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Jimmy Herring, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, Jeff Chimenti, and more.

To bid remotely please email or call Elizabeth Share (415) 945-7120 x113

Bread & Roses brings hope, healing and joy through live music to 28,000 children, teens, adults and elders who are isolated or institutionalized in the San Francisco Bay Area. We do this by presenting 600 live performances each year in hospitals, shelters for the abused and homeless, special needs schools, drug and alcohol rehabs, convalescent homes and more.

"Spoony" wrote with more info on the new SHM CDs: 'As it turns out, it appears they will be more widely available, but still at a heftier price than the standard issue CDs of Joni Mitchell. Amazon is advertising what appears to be the upcoming releases (very little info is offered). Amazon states that they will be available April 12th of this year (less than a week after their Japanese release) for $40.07 each (regular price $47.98). The forthcoming releases will cover Joni Mitchell's entire studio catalog up to Mingus (1979). They are being produced on the WEA Japan label.'

Warner Japan is releasing remastered, repackaged reissues of Joni's back catalog in mini-LP sleeves on April 6th. SHM-CD, or Super High Material CD, is an improved version of the Compact Disc material that uses super quality, enhanced transparency polycarbonate material developed for use in LCD screens. They will play in any CD player. Perhaps these will hit the western hemisphere soon, but for now they seem to only be available in Japan. We'll post more information as we get it. [Thanks to Michelle Mercer for the news]

John Sayles, the Oscar-nominated writer of Passion Fish and Lone Star, has been hired by Sony to adapt Girls Like Us, the 2008 bestseller written by Sheila Weller. First-time feature director Katie Jacobs, a producer and director on the Fox series House, is helming and producing the project, along with Lorenzo DiBonaventura, Amy Pascal and Elizabeth Cantillon. The book traces the personal histories of singer-songwriters Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King from childhood through their burgeoning professional careers.

Greystone Books publisher Rob Sanders has acquired world rights to journalist Katherine Monk's Joni Mitchell, a new portrait of the reclusive musical icon. This book taps into Mitchell's evolving philosophy to examine how significant life events like failed relationships, the surrender of her infant daughter, and debilitating sickness have influenced her creative expression. Author Katherine Monk moves beyond standard biography to capture the rich legacy of her multifaceted subject, weaving in personal reflections and cultural observations as she explores everything from Mitchell's lifelong obsession with Nietzsche to her current struggle with Morgellon's syndrome to reveal the Mitchell who remains misunderstood. More info here.

Michelle Mercer, author of Will You Take Me As I Am, has posted an audio clip of a conversation with Joni on her Facebook page [listen to the clip here]. Of the clip, Michelle writes: In honor of Joni Mitchell's birthday, a brief excerpt from one of our marathon phone conversations. Joan discusses the journey behind Hejira, the effect of her meeting with the Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa, and "Refuge of the Roads."

Leave a birthday greeting for Joni here... [expired]

NEW YORK, NY.- Newly established publisher/editor Thurston Moore (founding member of Sonic Youth) is ecstatic to present as lead title in his first fall season: a luxury format, hardcover volume of the sumptuous photography taken by his favorite American music photojournalist, James Hamilton, entitled: You Should Have Heard Just What I Seen (Ecstatic Peace Library; November 2010)

James Hamilton's portraits of music world luminaries, reveal a previously unearthed master photographer, with compelling and rarely seen images of visionaries and artists from Madonna and Nico to Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. This very first book devoted to James Hamilton's music photography unveils a treasure trove of arresting images, previously unpublished, or available until now only fleetingly in print periodicals.

James Hamilton served as staff photographer for the seminal music magazine Crawdaddy! in the1960s, before later serving on staff at The Herald, Harper's Bazaar, the Village Voice, and The New York Observer in turn. During his tenure at these iconic publications he recorded the rock, punk, disco and hip-hop eras as they simmered in Manhattan . His images capture such emerging artists Suzanne Vega, and Run DMC posing with a young Russell Simmons to relaxed visions of Joan Jett, and poet/songstress Patti Smith with Television's Tom Verlaine. James Hamilton's work moves beyond the label of "photojournalism" and into the realm of art, bringing a rarely seen soulfulness to the oversaturated world of celebrity photography.

Enter the world of James Hamilton, and gain access to a secret stash of rarely seen and previously unpublished celebrity images, predating the age of the internet, and existing for years only in print archives. Peter Tosh, LL Cool J, John Zorn, James Brown, Yoko Ono, Jerry Garcia, Joey Ramone, Rick Rubin, Charles Mingus, Joni Mitchell, Sarah Vaughan are all captured with stunning sensitivity and clarity - in 300 delicate duotone images - granting the viewer unprecedented contact to subtleties of his subjects' personalities. Hamilton visually embraces his subjects, capturing them in all of their glorious humanity, and presenting portraits of celebrity in a light that is more personality than persona.

Featuring rare and previously unpublished photographs of: Patti Smith * Count Basie * Debbie Harry * Iggy Pop * Sonic Youth * Nico * Glenn Branca * Carole King * Ronnie Spector * Yoko Ono * Tom Verlaine * James Brown * Rick Rubin * Beastie Boys * Run DMC & Russell Simmons * Pussy Galore * John Fogarty * Ray Davies * BB King * Joni Mitchell * Dolly Parton * Jerry Lee Lewis * Paul Weller * John Zorn * Joey Ramone * Liberace * Laurie Anderson * Madonna * Jerry Garcia * John Lurie * Stevie Wonder * Roberta Flack * Dusty Springfield * Dizzy Gillespie * David Johansen * Danny Fields * Joan Jett * Jimi Hendrix * Bono * Phillip Glass * Rod Stewart * Prince * Bing Crosby * Captain Beefheart * Frank Zappa * Bette Midler * Van Morrison * The Feelies * Sun Ra * Suzanne Vega * Sarah Vaughn * Sean Cassidy * Bob Marley * Bobby Womack * Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young... and more

To be released August 31st:
LEGENDS OF THE CANYON delivers the story of the advent of rock music spawned in the garden of the Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon. Many of rock music's legendary artists of the late 1960's brought to life the anthems of a generation in these hills, in a commune-like setting. CROSBY STILLS and NASH, The Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell, America,, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds and many others...

Adding depth, color and certainly authenticity to the film, famed rock photographer Henry Diltz, (CSNY official photographer) contributes as narrator and with a variety of original photographs, some never before exhibited, and rare footage shot amongst the musicians' tribe of Laurel Canyon. Visually stunning, intensely captivating and musically inspiring, this CLASSIC ARTISTS' film brings us to a time and place where some refused to let go of a dream of a life where harmony ruled the Earth, their music still echoes through the hills of Laurel Canyon to this day.

More information here.

Joni Mitchell has been nominated to receive the 2011 John James Audubon Center Award for Art Inspiring Conservation. This award honors an individual who, through their body of work or a single seminal work, uses art to communicate the real and intrinsic value of the nature, interpret conservation challenges, and inspire humanity to take actions that will protect and preserve birds, other wildlife and the world we share. Scott Weidensaul, the Pulitzer prize nominated writer of "Living on the Wind" was the 2010 recipient.

Joni's version of "All I Want" will be included on the soundtrack to the film "The Kids Are All Right", starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. August 3rd is the scheduled release date. "Filmmaker Lisa Cholodenkob's Sundance hit 'The Kids Are All Right' is an intimate portrait of a "modern family" consisting of mom and mom, daughter and son, with the "dad" role narrowed down to a specimen selected from the local sperm bank. When the kids become teenagers they decide to look for their biological father - cue dramatic tension and the upheaval of the uncomplicated (if traditionally unconventional) family life. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as the middle-aged lesbian partners, Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (the Alice of Tim Burton's 'Wonderland') as one of the teenage kids, and Mark Ruffalo as the sperm donor father."

Folks, we are quite confident that the website has gone down for the last time. Our previous (unnamed) hosting company suspended the site a half a dozen times for "overloading the server". Each time, we obliged by rewriting our databases and tweaking our code to try to comply with their requests. Ultimately, over the past few days, we made our hejira from the host in question and moved to another host with a better understanding of our code base and a much more helpful attitude. Our apologies for all the downtime - we no longer plan to weave a course of grace and havoc and vow to remember that you get what you pay for.

"Safaris to the Heart: The Songs Of Joni Mitchell" is being released today. Recorded, in part, at the SoCal JoniFest 2009, this CD features San Diego's finest. Place your order here. Partial proceeds go to support JoniMitchell.com.

Vocalist Robin Adler and her husband, multi-instrumentalist and music producer Dave Blackburn, have been lifelong fans of the music of Joni Mitchell and, in early 2006, embarked on the ambitious project of learning her music in all its complexity and through all its epochs. To realize this goal, they formed a band dedicated solely to this music, named Mutts of the Planet, after a lyric from one of Mitchell's songs. The band features several of San Diego's finest musicians, many with long pedigrees in the jazz world, including Adler herself.

Mutts of the Planet explore Joni Mitchell's music from both a jazz improvisatory angle and as a traditional homage. The band has evolved many original jazz inflected arrangements of iconic Mitchell standards such as "Woodstock", "River" and "Both Sides Now" and tackles some of the most challenging material from the later periods in Mitchell's career. The early years are also represented in an acoustic duo setting for part of the show.

The result has been a hugely successful series of sold out concerts over a four-year period. The music is presented along with backstory and biographical details of Mitchell's life and work, and this has been a favorite aspect for many listeners. Mutts of the Planet celebrate the release of their new CD "Safaris to the Heart: The Songs of Joni Mitchell" It is the culmination of several months of work, from both the musicians themselves and members of the international Joni Mitchell web community, known as the JMDL.

As of 2010 it appears that Joni Mitchell herself has retired from the performing stage and this project endeavors to keep her music alive in all its beauty, as a live show and now as an album of lush reinterpretations. The February 2010 edition of the San DiegoTroubadour features Adler & Blackburn and this project as their feature story in which the author writes: "I can honestly say that I wasn't in the least prepared for the 'world class-ness' of Robin's voice"

Audience testimonials from the RobinAdler.com guestbook:
"Robin's vocals were dead on. I thought Joni was actually in the room!"
"Robin was incarnating the soul and spirit of our beloved Joni"
"Was it worth the 2,281 miles I traveled to hear it? Oh, heck yeah!"

Robin Adler (lead vocals)
Dave Blackburn (guitars and vocals)
Dave Curtis (bass, keyboards and vocals)
Barnaby Finch (keyboards and vocals)
Jeff Olson (drums)
Britt Doehring (backup vocals)

Available June of 2010, Experience Music Project (EMP) presents Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock 'n' Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash. This dynamic new exhibition showcases some of the most memorable photography in the history of popular music: iconic performance shots of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Nirvana; portraits of Bo Diddley, Joni Mitchell, and Johnny Cash; as well as intimate photographs of Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. All chosen by a legendary musician who is also highly regarded as a photographer, collector, and pioneer in digital imaging and printing.

As guest curator, Graham Nash brings his rich musical history, keen eye, and storytelling skills to an exhibition of 98 rock 'n' roll images taken by 40 renowned rock photographers, including Anton Corbijn, Lynn Goldsmith, Annie Leibovitz, Daniel Kramer, Jim Marshall, Neal Preston, Mick Rock, Francesco Scavullo, Alfred Wertheimer, and Nash himself. More information here.

JoniMitchell.com is back on-line after a bit of an extended absence. Seems the site is getting a little too popular for its own good and is overwhelming our server. In light of this, we regret having to announce that you must now be logged into JoniMitchell.com in order to access the Library of Articles and to do a site-wide search. Registering is a quick process and all we need is to verify that you are a human being with a valid email address. We will never use your email address for anything.

The Library of Articles relies on frequent database access and has come to be "hammered" by automated bots across the globe, overwhelming the server. The only way to keep them out, keep the site up, and keep the site free to everyone is to require a log in. Consider it your own personal Joni Mitchell Library Card. Thanks for your understanding.

As Winston Churchill famously said, "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key." The key to the mysterious boxed set seems to be Joni herself. In an interview with the Vancouver Sun published today, Joni says "I was trying to put together a box set, which I think I'm going to abort, I don't know that I'm going to do it or not. I don't like listening back, no I don't." So there we have it, not a definite no but pretty darn close.

On Friday evening, March 17, 1967, Ed Sciaky went to the 2nd Fret (operated by Manny "Money" Rubin) in downtown Philadelphia (on Sansom Street) and recorded an interview with Joni Mitchell. Recorded between sets, this recording was mastered at 7 and a half IPS on Shamrock recording tape, a cheap brand of audio tape but all that college student Ed Sciaky could afford. It was recorded on an Ampex 354 mono tape recorder with an RCA 44 microphone. Ed Sciaky spoke into one side of the mic and Joni into the other. Since Joni spoke softly, her level was lower than Ed. The interview was engineered by Mike Biel, a student executive at the station at that time.

The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia (of which Ed is now a member), an organization of 350 area broadcasters, has recently equalized and adjusted the levels of the interview and the complete audio interview is now available on their website. They are proud to make this priceless interview again available to the public. The entire interview has not been heard since it was aired the next evening, Saturday, March 18th on Ed's folk music show called "Broadside," which was broadcast Saturday evenings from 8 pm and 12 midnight over WRTI-FM, the campus radio station of Temple University in Philadelphia. The 1974 airing over WMMR was an excerpt.

In January 2010, NPR will launch a year-long exploration of 50 great voices in recorded history. The series isn't an attempt to catalog the so-called "greatest" singers. Instead, they hope to discover and re-discover awe-inspiring vocalists from around the world and across time. Earlier, NPR asked the public to nominate artists for the series and received thousands of options. NPR and a panel of experts are in the process of whittling them down to about 100 singers - a mix of familiar names and surprising discoveries. Currently, down to around 130 singers, Joni is still in the running! Let's help Joni get recognized as one of the 50 great voices. Cast your vote!

Also, the word from the man on the street is that Reprise has begun handling the new releases from Rhino. There was some concern about Rhino's health and it appears now that there still may be hope for the release of Joni's boxed set what with Reprise stepping in. Sorry for the mere speculation, but the status of this set seems to be the most closely guarded secret since the appointment of the pope. Thanks to Greg for the tip.

Joni's birthday is November 7th. Wish her a Happy Birthday here [expired]. There is no guarantee that she'll see it, but one never knows!

Who says the 70's are over? Three of Joni's albums will be re-released on 180 gram vinyl, yes vinyl! Ladies of the Canyon, Court and Spark , and The Hissing of Summer Lawns will all be released on December 8. Get your order in at the links above then head to the basement and find that turntable. Yes, the 70's may be back but those 70's prices are long gone.

On August 14, 2008, sixty of the Washington D.C. areas' finest musicians & singers gathered together to pay tribute to the songs of Joni Mitchell at the Music Center at Strathmore. The 2,000 seat concert hall was sold out and the crowd was treated to a wonderful career retrospective of one of musics' immortals as more than 30 of Mitchell's songs were performed. The show was produced by Bandhouse Gigs, a DC based not for profit entity that has organized nine successful tribute concerts in the area since their beginnings in 2004. Other tribute honorees include The Band, Neil Young, Warren Zevon, Nick Lowe, Allen Toussaint, Bob Dylan, the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and Nils Lofgren.

We are pleased to announce that a CD featuring 16 songs performed that night is now available through Bandhouse Gigs.

Among the evenings performers were some of the shining lights in DC music including; Grammy award winners John Jennings, & Jon Carroll, Mary Ann Redmond, Lea, Grace Griffith, Laura Burhenn, Naked Blue, Chaise Lounge, Luke Brindley, Margot MacDonald, Chelsea Lee, Heidi Martin, Diane Rosenthal, Esther Haynes, Carey Creed, One Horse Town, Cairo Fred, Deeme Katson, Cal Everett, and guitarist Steuart Smith of the Eagles who recorded with Mitchell on her Turbulent Indigo album. More than 25 of D.C.'s finest musicians backed this array of singers throughout the concert.

Getting news on the previously announced boxed set is harder to come by than an appearance by Joni herself. Some sources say November (highly unlikely), some say February (more likely), but most official sources say nothing at all. As soon as we get some reliable information, we'll have it for you here.

The track listing for the new Amchitka CD release has been revealed. Looks like we get to hear a couple of unique medleys from Joni!

DISC ONE
Phil Ochs
1. Intro Irving Stowe
2. Intro Phil Ochs
3. The Bells (E. A. Poe/P. Ochs)
4. Rhythms of Revolution
5. Chords of Fame
6. I Ain't Marching Anymore
7. Joe Hill
8. Changes
9. I'm Going To Say It Now
10. No More Songs

James Taylor
11. Intro James Taylor
12. Something In The Way She Moves
13. Fire and Rain
14. Carolina In My Mind
15. Blossom
16. Riding On A Railroad
17. Sweet Baby James
18. You Can Close Your Eyes

DISC TWO
Joni Mitchell
1. Intro Joni Mitchell
2. Big Yellow Taxi/Bony Maroni (Larry Williams)
3. Cactus Tree
4. The Gallery
5. Hunter
6. My Old Man
7. For Free
8. Woodstock
9. Carey/Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan)
10. A Case Of You
11. The Circle Game

Five "unseen" drawings of Joni's are currently featured in a new exhibition at the Scream Gallery in west London. The gallery is currently home to the music industry’s greatest legends’ artwork, some of which has never been seen before. Frank Sinatra, for example, painted himself as a cheerless, unkempt clown while coping with a divorce from his third wife, actress Ava Gardner. The self-portrait, which will be available this month for £25,000, is just one of more than 30 pieces, ranging from paintings to drawings to sketches, featured in the Original Artwork by Pop Culture Artists exhibition. The show, which opened on September 24, also includes works from Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, and Kurt Cobain. Jamie Wood (son of musician Ronnie Wood), who runs the Scream gallery, said that he hoped the exhibition would establish these prominent musicians as “great visual artists in their own rights” due to the art world’s usual scorn of non-artist celebrities entering that realm. Wood assures that the 30-plus works on display “actually show so much more emotion than we see in much contemporary art these days, because they are by multifaceted artists whose creativity extends beyond just one dimension.” Those who can't make it to the event can view the artwork online. The exhibition closes on October 31st.

In November, Greenpeace will release "AMCHITKA", a 2-CD set of a benefit concert that was performed by Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, the late Phil Ochs and Chilliwack in Vancouver, Canada, on October 16, 1970. The $18,000 raised at that time enabled Greenpeace to launch its first action, sailing a fishing trawler to Amchitka Island in the Aleutians to protest underground nuclear weapons tests. Stay tuned for details on how to purchase the CD.

Many thanks to all who helped support this website by making financial contributions. Enough money was raised to pay for the costs of hosting the site for an entire year.

JoniMitchell.com is the official site, yet 100% funded by fans. Our fund raising efforts only desire to cover actual monetary expenses for hosting the site - the cost of presenting this to you over the Internet. If the staff of this website were fully paid, certainly this site's cost would run into 6 figures annually. We're hoping only to raise $1800 (usd) for the year.

Did you know?:

The Chronology section is the result of over four decades of work by Simon Montgomery. Rivaled only perhaps... maybe... by the Bob Dylan chronology, this incredible archive of concert dates is presented, like everything else on the site, absolutely free.

The Library is the result of a decade of research by fans across the globe, all contributing their own time, money, and energy to bring a searchable goldmine of more than five decades of articles and books written about Joni. We know of no other such archive devoted to a single artist anywhere else on the Internet.

Joni Undercover is also an unrivaled one-of-a-kind archive. The product of years of research by Bob Muller and contributors across the world, this collection of "covers" has become the standard by which others are judged.

The Guitar and Piano sections present, for free, hundreds of transcriptions of Joni's music. Again, this section - decades in the making - has proven to be the definitive source (so far) for information on Joni's many unique tunings. Sue, Marian, Howard, and Dave collect, create, and present this exhaustive archive for all to use.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. From the site's original vision by Wally Breese and Jim Johansen - to the interactive nature of the site today, JoniMitchell.com presents a depth and wealth of information worthy of the great artist herself. We refuse all advertisements, and we refuse to EVER charge to view any of the content. Please consider making a donation to keep this site alive.

National Public Radio's World Cafe with host David Dye will be broadcasting an interview with Michelle Mercer, author of the book Will You Take Me As I Am - Joni's Blue Period, Thursday, August 13th, 2009. The session will air in the 2nd hour of the show as part of World Cafe's Summer Reading Series. Find when your local station will broadcast the show and tune in. Worldwide, you can listen to the audio stream from 2-4pm EST. An archived copy of the audio can be found here.

Four more dates have been announced for The Fiddle and The Drum ballet:
- Vernon, British Columbia, January 18, 2010 at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre.
- Victoria, British Columbia, January 27 and 28, 2010 at The Royal Theatre.
- Nanaimo, British Columbia, January 30, 2010 at The Port Theatre.

Joni Mitchell is one of the defining artists of contemporary music. As a recording artist, she has gathered the highest accolades in popular music, including nine Grammy awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The poetry, insight and originality of her music have influenced so many artists that contemporary songwriting without her is unimaginable, and the sheer beauty of her songs have thrilled music lovers through the five decades of her career.

This October, an ensemble of Australia's foremost singers and musicians will present an extraordinary series of concert tributes to this legendary artist. Katie Noonan, Wendy Matthews, Kristin Berardi, Tania Bowra, Louise Perryman, Virna Sanzone and Rachel Gaudry, together with an outstanding 12-piece band, will pay homage to one of the most respected singer-songwriters in music.

Sure to sell out fast, three Australian capital city concerts are confirmed at this stage - Sydney (30 Oct), Brisbane (4 Nov), and Melbourne (23 Oct). Watch the mini documentary preview here. More infomation here.

Obie Award-winning performance artist John Kelly will bring his acclaimed performance piece Paved Paradise Redux: The Art of Joni Mitchell to San Francisco's Rrazz Room, July 30-August 2. The show, which recently played New York's Abrons Arts Center, will be directed by Kevin Malony.

Kelly, who has performed the work of the Canadian singer-songwriter for many years, will evoke Mitchell's own smoky soprano as he sings songs from the various stages of her career in their original key. He also plays dulcimer and replicates Mitchell's guitar style by way of her signature open tunings.

For tickets, visit RRazzroom. For more information, visit John's website.

In November 2009, Rhino Entertainment will be releasing a Joni Mitchell box set. The 4 CD and 1 DVD package will have over 85 songs, from the mid-sixties up to Joni's last album "Shine". Several unreleased songs and alternate versions will be included, plus very rare and previously unissued video performances spanning Joni's incomparable career. Joni will be contributing notes to the package and overseeing the photo edit and design.

Instead of traditional liner notes, Joni would like to invite the community to send in a statement of why they enjoy the music. It can be one sentence or a short paragraph and the best will be chosen for the liner notes for the project. It can be a personal experience with the music or why in general you like it.

An example of which might be...
"Joni, you make race-less, gender-less music."
"Girl, you make me see pictures in my head."

Joni feels it might be more interesting to hear from the people who truly like the music rather than from a critic or PR person. [Joni is no longer taking submissions]

It's not Joni up on stage, but if you were there you might actually have to think twice about that. JoniMitchell.com reporter Patrick Leader attended the event - events, actually - and has a report. There's still time for you New York area people to get in on the show! Both Paved Paradise Redux and the art exhibition run through June 27th. Check Patrick's review for links and details.

East-coasters! Be sure and get your tickets to Pave Paradise Redux this month in New York City. Here's the official press release:

Obie Award Winner John Kelly Premieres
PAVED PARADISE REDUX:
The Art of Joni Mitchell
Limited Engagement runs June 18 - 27 at Abrons Arts Center

"There's drag and then there's transformation through spiritual osmosis, and that's what John Kelly accomplishes with this tribute... Magnificent." -- New York Times

"Sounds like pure camp on paper, but when the willowy Kelly sings Mitchell's songs, his haunting, crystalline countertenor is somewhere between male and female, human and angel."-- New York Magazine

"It is an homage that transcends" -- Daily News

After an eight-year absence, two-time Obie Award winning artist John Kelly once again inhabits the persona of Joni Mitchell in an entirely new evening of songs and stories. Conceived and performed by John Kelly, produced by TWEED TheaterWorks in association with Robbi Kearns, and directed by Kevin Malony, PAVED PARADISE REDUX: The Art of Joni Mitchell runs for 7 performances only beginning June 18 at Abrons Arts Center.

In PAVED PARADISE REDUX: The Art of Joni Mitchell, John Kelly's performance is a musical and visual homage to the great Canadian singer/songwriter. His countertenor uncannily evokes Mitchell's own smoky soprano as he sings songs from the various stages of her career in their original key. He also plays dulcimer and replicates Mitchell's guitar style by way of her signature open tunings. Kelly is accompanied on keyboard by musical director Zecca Esquibel, as well as additional musicians. The evening also features an original video component featuring Kevin Joseph (Broadway's Threepenny Opera, a.k.a. Flotilla DeBarge) as journalist Tavis Smiley in a recreation of his PBS interview with Mitchell.

"As a kid growing up in New Jersey, I would put on my headphones and be swept into Joni's world," explains Kelly on his love for Mitchell's music. "Hers is a world rich with wanderlust, emotion and innuendo. Her songs have the power to transport a lonely individual into another world. I suppose it was the words as much as the music. The combination of the two was, and remains powerful, beautiful and compelling." The Boston Globe recently wrote, "No less a critic than Joni Mitchell herself has been surprised by the impact of Kelly's cabaret tribute. »I was braced for a lampooning,' she told The New York Times after seeing "Paved Paradise" in Manhattan in 1997. »I didn't expect to be so touched. I cried in two places.' Mitchell is now one of Kelly's biggest fans."

An exhibition of Kelly's self-portraits will be on display at Alexander Gray Associates in Chelsea from May 20 - June 26. Kelly will also sing The Joni Mitchell Songbook in "Songs for a Shiny Hot Night" at Castle Clinton in Battery Park on August 6th as part of the annual River to River Festival.

John Kelly is an author, choreographer, director, performance and visual artist. He has received numerous awards including two Bessies, two Obies, the American Choreographer Award, a CalArts Alpert Award, and fellowships from The Guggenheim Foundation and The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Last year he was a Rome Prize Fellow in Visual Art at The American Academy in Rome. In a career that spans over two decades Kelly's works have been staged at venues including BAM, Lincoln Center, PS 1, The Warhol Museum, London's Tate Modern, PS 122, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop and Carnegie Hall. In 2004, he appeared as the opening act for Natalie Merchant's Ophelia tour. Kelly was also an original cast member of James Joyce's The Dead on Broadway and won an Eliot Norton Award for Best Actor in the American Repertory Theater production of Dido, Queen of Carthage. In 2010, he will be an artist-in-residence at The Park Avenue Armory and at The Civitella Ranieri Foundation. He recently staged a workshop of The Escape Artist as part of Music Theatre Group's Here/See Series, which includes original songs written in collaboration with singer/songwriter Carol Lipnik. He is also developing a project with writer/director Moises Kaufman. For more information visit his website

TWEED TheaterWorks was founded by Kevin Malony in the early eighties and has grown from tiny late night shows in East Village dives to full-scale productions at premier Manhattan venues. For two decades TWEED has produced innovative and unusual live theatrical work, including performance art, plays & musicals, dance theater and category-defying extravaganzas. The TWEED New Works Festival (1985-1995) presented the early work of many of today's recognized theater artists, including John Kelly. TWEED's long involvement with Kelly began in the late eighties with the first theatrical incarnation of Pass The Blutwurstte, Bitte, and has continued in one form or another, for the past 20 years. The TWEED Fractured Classicks Series, a cult phenomenon, presents staged readings of classic American plays and films employing unique casting choices.

Robbi Kearns and Kearns Artists Services has produced and managed concerts, events, and theater projects worldwide since 1995. He has produced concerts both small and large, ranging from performances with singer/songwriters to The Lord of the Rings Symphony composed by Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore with over 200 musicians performing on stage. Robbi has produced Posteriors, Extra-Ordinary People and FOLLY: Vaudeville for the New Depression with Kevin Malony and TWEED TheaterWorks.

PAVED PARADISE REDUX: The Art of Joni Mitchell runs June 18 - 27, Thursday - Sunday at 8pm, Abrons Arts Center is located inside Henry Street Settlement at 466 Grand Street (accessible from the F train to East Broadway or Delancey, D/B trains to Grand Street and J/M trains to Essex Street). All performances are at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20 on Thursday & Sunday, $25 on Friday & Saturday. For information and reservations call 212-352-3101 or https://www.TheaterMania.com.

New dates have been announced for the Alberta Ballet's performances of Joni's The Fiddle and The Drum, all in 2010. Four performances total - Seattle, Washington on February 23, Irvine, California on February 25, and Los Angeles, California on February 26 and 27. Click the links for more information. (Thanks to Richard for the information).

Back in 1996, Jack Mittleman and Irma Schultz recorded and released one of the first tribute albums to Joni and entitled it 'A Bird That Whistles.' It was never available outside Sweden in any format and has been very difficult to find. JoniMitchell.com is pleased to announce that because of the album's inclusion on this site, EMI Sweden has re-released (after 13 years) 'A Bird That Whistles' and made it available as a digital download on Amazon and iTunes. To coincide with the re-release, Jack has written the story of the album's origin, including Joni's reaction to hearing it. Thanks to Jack, Irma, and EMI for making this great album available again.

News about the news? Is that really news? Anyway, the RSS news/events feed is back. Once again, you can subscribe to the Joni news and events notifications as they happen. Or at least as we get around to putting them up! The link is here.

Joni's ballet will be performed 3 times during the Winter Olympics in January. Performance dates are January 22-24 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Two Canadian cultural luminaries join forces in this dazzling ballet, which blends the music and images of legendary singer-songwriter and visual artist Joni Mitchell with the choreographic invention of Alberta Ballet's artistic director Jean Grand-Maître. A searing social commentary, the work gives passionate expression to the many shades of the human spirit: its capacity to create and destroy, to love and hate, and for war and peace.

First introduced to audiences in 2007, this expanded full-length production features four additional Mitchell songs, illuminated by her latest artwork and Grand-Maître's choreography.

More information can be found here.

The authors are talking about Joni these days! Lloyd Whitesell, author of the recently published book The Music of Joni Mitchell was interviewed on the WICN-FM public radio program Inquiry on April 10th. Listen to the interview here. Also, Michelle Mercer, author of the just published book Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period will be interviewed live tomorrow morning (April 21) on Canada's Q with Jian Ghomeshi at 9:30 AM Eastern US time (1:30 PM GMT). Tune in or catch the (hopefully) archived podcast here.

Back by popular demand, the Discussion Forum has returned to the website [obsolete again!]. It's been off-line for some time, tending to technical difficulties. Add your voice to the discussion of all things Joni.

Speaking of your voice... JoniMitchell.com has been completely redesigned with you in mind. In addition to the forum, you can add your voice to almost every aspect of the site. Comment on articles, books, and DVDs in the Library; comment on songs, albums, paintings, and videos; add your memories of the times you've seen Joni in concert - even upload photos, ticket stubs, and other concert memorabilia - the list goes on and on. Take some time to explore and contribute to one of the most in-depth artist sites on the web.

Citing a burst of creative energy, Joni has completed recording on an album she calls a "masterpiece of a response to a masterpiece." The tentative title for the album, due to release next week, is "Blue Too." Joni plays piano, guitar, and dulcimer, and the songs are, in her words, "the most beautiful and touching that I've ever written." Joni will also launch a world tour to support the album beginning in May with jazz legends Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and others. And as if all this wasn't enough, there's one more thing...APRIL FOOL!

Joni's music is featured in the soundtrack of a new DVD release - "A Single Woman." The film, about the life of first female Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin (R - Montana), is a timely and provocative look at a true American maverick and reformer who changed the American political landscape forever.

The Alberta Ballet has announced it's continuing to tour Joni's The Fiddle and The Drum across British Columbia and the western United States. They've planned more than 60 performances in 12 different cities, yet to be named. We'll provide details when we know more.

One of the features of the old site that hadn't made it to the new revision was the 'Joni in Fiction' section. Due to creator Bob Murphy's declining health, the section was in disrepair and it was decided it would be left off the new site. But with the recent unfortunate death of Bob, and a new person eager to keep his vision alive, JoniMitchell.com is proud to announce that Joni in Fiction is back. Renamed more accurately "Cultural References," the new section has become a part of the Library and is now proudly managed by Laura Oppermann, in Bob's memory.

'The Fiddle & The Drum' ballet continues to be a hit wherever it goes! The Alberta Ballet is raising funds with exclusive ballet merchandise, including a soundtrack CD available nowhere else. Also available are black T-shirts (unisex SML or women's fitted M) that feature the green image of company artist Anthony Pina (as seen on the DVD cover) with 'The Fiddle & The Drum' in white lettering on the back. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all 'The Fiddle & The Drum' merchandise through the Alberta Ballet Calgary office goes towards touring 'The Fiddle & The Drum' in future. You can also purchase the 'The Fiddle & The Drum' DVD, including behind-the-scenes footage with Joni Mitchell, artistic director Jean Grand-Maître, and Alberta Ballet Company artists. To order the CD, shirts, or the DVD, please send an email to Laurie or call 403.245.4222 (extension 0) for more information. The Alberta Ballet thanks Joni Mitchell and JoniMitchell.com for their assistance in supporting this innovative, non-profit Canadian dance company!

Welcome to the new look! JoniMitchell.com has been extensively reworked and redesigned. Primarily, we've made the site much more interactive and community-based.

- Nearly every section has a comment area, where you can tell us how you feel.
- Simon Montgomery's amazing Chronology section now allows you to add your concert memories and upload photos, concert tickets, and other memorabilia.
- The old JMDL song/album poll system has given way to a 1-10 rating system that's quick and easy.
- Album and Lyric sections have been expanded so that relevant information is at your fingertips - music transcriptions, footnotes, album notes, etc.
- The Library has been expanded to include books, DVDs, and photographs as well as the articles.
- Links to purchase Joni things abound, helping support the site in the process.
- The site now features guitar and piano transcriptions
Links to purchase Joni things abound, helping support the site in the process.
- And, you can listen to sound clips of all of Joni's songs.

It's important to register to get the most out of the new site. It's quick and free as always. It is, however, a new database so your old registration won't work, sorry. And for those who are totally confused, there's a new sitemap [obsolete] as well. Enjoy!

The DVD of Joni's ballet "The Fiddle And The Drum" was released February 10th and is ready to be added to your library! You can find it at your favorite local shop or purchase from Amazon.com as well as other web outlets.

Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum explores Mitchell's life-long concerns about environmental neglect and the warring nature of mankind within a ballet performed to a select soundtrack of her eternal songs. The unique combinations of three art forms - music, dance and art - comprise an engaging spectacle that Joni calls "...the best project of her career." Legendary Canadian artist Joni Mitchell and internationally acclaimed choreographer Jean Grand-Maître of the Alberta Ballet Company are the co-creators of Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum.

Features the Song Selections: The Fiddle and The Drum, Sex Kills, Passion Play (When All the Slaves Are Free), Three Great Stimulants, For the Roses, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The Beat of Black Wings, If I Had a Heart, If, Big Yellow Taxi

Also Includes Exclusive Bonus Features! -Behind the Scenes with: Joni Mitchell and Jean Grand-Maître, Kelly McKinlay and Nicole Caron (Alberta Ballet Dancers), and Mario Rouleau (Director of Filming) -Joni Mitchell's video installation from the set

Tomorrow marks the opening of the GREEN FLAG SONG exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon. The show will run from February 6 through March 29, 2009. The opening reception is Friday, February 6 at 8pm. No word if Joni will be attending.

From the press release:

The Mendel Art Gallery is pleased to present a new body of photographic work by iconic singer/songwriter and visual artist Joni Mitchell. As moving as her musical works, Green Flag Song depicts a deeply personal response to the consequences of war and humanity's struggle with itself. The exhibition consists of a series of large green-toned triptychs created from digitally modified combinations of photographic images, printed on canvas.

The impetus for this work began when Mitchell's malfunctioning television began emitting images that resembled green-tinted photographic negatives. Mitchell began to take photographs of the dying screen, and when enlarged and printed on canvas, the result is a collection of intense, dark, semiabstract images. Through photographic expression and rich, saturated colours, Mitchell invites audiences to participate in a collective awareness of a need for change. Primarily recognized as a singer and songwriter, Joni Mitchell brings to these vivid and arresting images the same profound social, political, and spiritual conviction that informs her music.

The Mendel is the only scheduled venue in Western Canada for Green Flag Song.

JoniMitchell.com has received an advance copy of Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni's Blue Period, a book by Michelle Mercer that will be released in early April.

We were a little worried that this might be a "making of an album" book centered on Joni's 1971 album Blue. Thankfully it is not. Michelle Mercer has written a seriously entertaining and imaginatively thoughtful study of Joni Mitchell's autobiographical songwriting. Mercer's treatment of what she calls Mitchell's "Blue Period" encompasses the songwriter's career from 1970 to 1976. As she tells the story of this Blue Period, Mercer skillfully covers subjects as diverse as Augustine, Beat Buddhism, the songwriting of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and the influence of landscape on music.

The book contains plenty of fresh quotes - this is the first book about Joni and her work to include original interviews with the artist herself. Mercer makes the most of her access to Joni, often quoting her at length on previously unexplored subjects. And though Mercer is not interested in gossip (she's "more interested in how songwriters make their work personal than in what they get personal about") she does turn up some revelations: the backstory of the song "Court and Spark;" the identity of "Richard" from the "The Last Time I Saw Richard" (no... it's not Chuck).

But the real strength of the book is Mercer's expansive examination of Joni's autobiographical work. Anyone who's applied the "confessional songwriter" tag to Joni Mitchell might think differently after Mercer's careful study of the history of literary confessionalism and personal songwriting. Mercer argues persuasively that Joni's work departs from the confessional model: "She doesn't strive to tell the truth about herself. She strives to find and express human truths, and in the process, she happens to reveal quite a bit about herself."

The story of Joni's childhood has been often told, but Mercer brings it new meaning by focusing on its prairie setting. With this focus, Mercer illuminates in great clarity and detail the "sound of open spaces" that have been so vaguely referred to in descriptions of Joni's music in the past. Along the way Mercer makes a sweeping examination of the connection between music and landscape, considering everything from Beethoven symphonies to Neil Young's prairie songs. (This chapter, "Eyes On The Land And The Sky," includes a priceless quote from Joni in which she inventively links the sound of Jamaican tree frogs to the rhythm of reggae.)

For all the book's interview material, Mercer is not afraid to argue with Joni. She takes issue with Joni's devaluing of her autobiographical period, and more controversially takes on some of Joni's most sacred self-mythology. For example, the author doesn't buy that her bout with childhood polio was the originating moment of her artistry: "Sometimes artists and their fans try too hard to come up with a source for unusual creativity, even resorting to pathologizing it. A gift for art may be deepened or otherwise influenced by tragedy, but it doesn't necessarily have to be born of it."

Mercer addresses a couple periods in Joni's career that have been previously overlooked. Joni's post-Blue meltdown and retreat to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in 1971 is fully considered for the first time here. Mercer situates Joni's retreat within a broader discussion of the value and hazards of autobiography for an artist. (A fascinating interview with songwriter Loudon Wainwright III livens up this discussion). With many supporting quotes from Joni herself, Mercer makes a compelling case for this hermitage as a major turning point in her career, a time when she began to cultivate her need for both love and freedom into an artistic strategy: "A serial romantic life allowed her to experience an affair's stream of small episodes and feelings, which would be followed by the stillness of solitude, when she could then worry those passing events into the big themes of her songs."

Another interlude considered in great depth is Joni's 1976 meeting with Chogyam Trungpa, which fans know was commemorated in the song "Refuge of the Roads." As Joni tells it, Trungpa, a Tibetan lama, forced her into a space "beyond ego," where she experienced great equanimity. Mercer builds an analysis of Hejira from Joni's story, suggesting the album was Joni's attempt "to write her way back to that temporary state of equanimity, to compose herself into the grace" that she experienced when meeting Trungpa.

Mercer's background as a National Public Radio essayist is evident in her clear, accessible prose. She often aspires to a lyricism reminiscent of her subject: Joni's traveling songs, she writes, are "aural postcards from the edge of feeling."

The photo insert is an added bonus that features many unseen childhood shots (Joni with Sharon Bell), a photo of Joni and Carey Raditz together outside the Mermaid Cafe, and even one of Joni during her solo "hejira" back to LA in 1976.

This book is highly recommended.

Will You Take Me As I Am is available for pre-order (click the link here to help support JoniMitchell.com)... We've also arranged to feature an interview with Michelle Mercer upon the book's publication in early April.

(DISCLOSURE: JoniMitchell.com provided some research assistance to the author of this book.)

Joni's Ballet, The Fiddle And The Drum will debut in Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday, January 23-24, 2009. According to a recent interview, Joni plans on attending both performances.

A new book on Joni entitled Will You Take Me As I Am will be released on April 7, 2009. It looks very promising! Here's the copy from the book jacket:

Joni Mitchell is one of the most celebrated artists of the last half-century, and her landmark 1971 album Blue is one of her most beloved and revered works. Generations of people have come of age listening to the album, inspired by the way it clarified their own difficult emotions. Critics and musicians admire the idiosyncratic virtuosity of its compositions. Will You Take Me As I Am looks at Blue to explore the development of an extraordinary artist, the history of songwriting, and much more.

Writer Michelle Mercer spent a significant amount of time hearing firsthand about Mitchell's internal and external journeys as she composed the largely autobiographical albums of what Mercer calls her "Blue Period," which lasted through the mid-1970s. Incorporating biography, memoir, reportage, criticism, and original interviews into an illuminating narrative, Mercer moves beyond the "making of an album" genre to arrive at a new form of music writing.

In 1970, Mitchell was living with Graham Nash in Laurel Canyon and had made a name for herself as a so-called folk singer notable for her soaring voice and skillful compositions. Soon, though, feeling hemmed in, she fled to the hippie cave community of Matala, Greece. Here and on further travels, her compositions were freshly inspired by the lands and people she encountered as well as by her own radically changing interior landscape. After returning home to record Blue, Mitchell retreated to British Columbia, eventually re-emerging as the successful leader of a jazz-rock group and turning outward in her songwriting toward social commentary. Finally, a stint with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and a pivotal meeting with the Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa prompted Mitchell's return to personal songwriting, which resulted in her 1976 masterpiece album, Hejira.

Mercer interlaces this fascinating account of Mitchell's Blue Period with meditations on topics related to her work, including the impact of landscape on music, the value of autobiographical songwriting for artist and listener, and the literary history of confessionalism. Mercer also provides rich analysis of Mitchell's creative achievements: her innovative manner of marrying lyrics to melody; her inventive, highly expressive chords that achieve her signature blend of wonder and melancholy; how she pioneered personal songwriting and, along with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, brought a new literacy to the popular song. Fans will appreciate the previously unpublished photos and a coda of Mitchell's unedited commentary on the places, books, music, pastimes, and philosophies she holds dear.

This utterly original book - the first one about Joni Mitchell written with her participation - offers a unique portrait of a great musician and her remarkable work, as well as new perspectives on the art of songwriting itself.

Michelle Mercer, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, is the author of the critically-acclaimed biography Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter . Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Down Beat, and elsewhere. She lives in Colorado and Bahia, Brazil.

If you have not been one of the lucky ones to catch Joni's "The Fiddle and the Drum" ballet live, you will be delighted to know that a DVD of the TV broadcast of the event will be released on February 10, 2009. Reserve your copy now!

Happy Birthday Joni, and thanks from the Joni Mitchell community for 40 years of truth, art and beauty!

Sad news for long-time readers of JoniMitchell.com. Jim Johanson, who along with Wally Breese was instrumental in creating this website, passed away on Tuesday morning after a long battle with cancer. Wally conceptualized the site but it was Jim's technical expertise that brought it to life. The two worked together from the beginning, and Jim continued the maintenance of the site after Wally's death in 2000 until just a few years ago. Our thoughts are with Jim's friends and family.

Quick, pull out those 2010 calendars! Joni was interviewed at length this week for the PBS series "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives" to be aired in the fall of 2010. Hosted by Sir George Martin, the 8-hour series traces the history of recorded music and its impact on our lives. Literally hundreds of artists will be featured.

Here's the official PBS press release:

PBS GREENLIGHTS "ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES" HOSTED BY SIR GEORGE MARTIN

New Television Series from Wildheart Entertainment Launches Multi-Pronged Project to Include Companion Web Site on pbs.org, CDs, DVDs, Books and More

(February 7, 2008; Washington, DC) PBS in conjunction with Wildheart Entertainment announced today the greenlighting of a major new television series, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, an eight-hour series that traces the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. Featuring hundreds of artists from all genres of music, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is slated to air nationally as a primetime series in the Fall of 2010 on PBS; Sir George Martin, legendary producer of the Beatles, will host. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey will narrate.

The television series and an extensive educational outreach initiative, including the companion Web site on pbs.org, will be the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-pronged project expected to include a companion CD box-set and branded CD series, 12-hour DVD/home video series, accompanying books, a multi-genre worldwide radio show and broadcasting through internet portals globally.

"ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is a project intrinsically dear to my heart and one that I have been developing with Wildheart Entertainment for over five years," said Sir George Martin, legendary Beatles producer, recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and producer of more than 50 number-one hit records. "I am just thrilled that PBS has joined us as our primetime broadcaster. ON RECORD affords me the opportunity to work again with so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life and to tell a story that has never been told in such a comprehensive way. Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together, regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible."

"I'm delighted to be a part of this remarkable, definitive series for PBS," said Spacey. "ON RECORD illustrates how in a little more than a century recording technology has moved from wax cylinders to digital downloads. These extraordinary changes have come to define not only music, but who we are as individuals and as a society."

ON RECORD has been in development by Wildheart executives Maxim Langstaff and Michele Langstaff with Sir George Martin for more than five years. Both have been working with Sir George for more than a decade in conjunction with the successful "Making of Sergeant Pepper" multi-media events, and both will serve as creators and executive producers of ON RECORD. Also serving as executive producer for the series is Phil Quartararo, former president of EMI Music Marketing, founding president and CEO, Virgin Records, and president of Warner Music. Emmy Award-winning Alan Benson (BBC, Walt Disney) is the series director.

"ON RECORD tells the story of how the most universal mass medium of the 20th century marked the emergence of pop culture worldwide," said project visionary Maxim Langstaff, "how the competition between the urban middle class and the rural working class came to define popular music and in so doing, made possible the breakthrough of minority cultures into mainstream consciousness."

ON RECORD will feature artists from all genres of music including pop, jazz, classical, R&B, folk, rock and country. Told as a narrative tapestry weaving the words of today's living legends with memorable musical moments, landmark cultural events and inspiring inventions/innovations, ON RECORD will consist of new interviews with top music icons and legends, historic archival performances and never-before-seen footage exclusive to ON RECORD. Hundreds of artists will be featured, including the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Benny Goodman, Quincy Jones, Elton John, B.B. King, Alison Krauss, Paul McCartney, Les Paul, Paul Simon, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, the Carter Family, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Muddy Waters, Stevie Wonder, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Guthrie, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald and scores of others. Their comments  punctuated with their music  illuminate and reinforce the impact of the world's most pervasive mass entertainment medium.

"So many of us carry in our heads a musical soundtrack that gives our lives meaning and vibrancy," said John F. Wilson, Sr. Vice President & Chief TV Programming Executive, PBS. "Music is such an important art form for understanding our shared culture and history; this was a natural for PBS to greenlight. We feel confident this project, supported with extensive educational outreach, will be one of those monumental and long-lasting series that PBS is so well known for."

ON RECORD tells the story of how recorded music and its distribution and consumption have transformed American life. The technology spawned radio, movies, television and the Internet and gave birth to popular culture. In little more than a century, recording technology moved from the first tin-foil and wax cylinders to flat discs; from 78 to 33 and 45 rpm speeds; from the acoustic horn to 128-track recording; from magnetic tape to digital downloads. The series' educational outreach will provide teachers with a curriculum guide and source materials to help students discover or reconnect with their history and culture through the universal language of music.

Recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound, ON RECORD: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES is produced by Wildheart Entertainment, L.P. Wildheart Entertainment manages and produces artists, creative content and media products in film, music, television, publishing and the Internet, and was created in response to the changing landscape of entertainment and communications today.

PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a leading provider of digital learning content for pre-K-12 educators, and offers a broad array of other educational services. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

Then & Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock, an essential collection of tracks from multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Herbie Hancock, was released yesterday (September 23rd) on Verve Records. Included on the disc is a previously unreleased live version of "River" featuring Joni. A first-ever career retrospective of the jazz visionary's unparalleled work, the 12-track CD chronicles five decades, featuring music spanning Hancock's illustrious career from Blue Note, Warner Brothers and Sony, to his present days with Verve. The only truly comprehensive collection of Hancock's work covers the genre-stretching musician's expansive repertoire, from his best-known solo works including "Maiden Voyage" and "Rockit" to his collaborations with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Damien Rice, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

"From avant-garde to Gershwin, post-bop to pop standards, electric jazz to electro-funk, Herbie Hancock has been at the forefront of modern music for five decades," explains writer Kirk Degiorgio in the CD's engaging liner notes. Few artists in the music industry have gained more respect and cast more influence than Herbie Hancock. Beginning his incomparable career as a sideman in the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock achieved a career milestone in 2008, winning two Grammy Awards including the main prize, Album of the Year for 'River: The Joni Letters' (Verve Records), the first time a jazz record had won Album of the Year since 1964. Hancock was also named to the Time 100, Time magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world.

Daniel Levitin, author of "This is Your Brain on Music", has a new book out entitled The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. It contains exclusive interviews with Joni and others. Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force. In this rewarding study Levitin, a rock musician turned neuroscientist, argues that music is a core element of human identity, paving the way for language, cooperative work projects and the recording of our lives and history. Through his studies, Levitin has identified six kinds of songs that help us achieve these goals: songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. He cites lyrics ranging from the songs of Johnny Cash to work songs, which, he says, promote feelings of togetherness. According to Levitin, evolution may have selected individuals who were able to use nonviolent means like dance and music to settle disputes. Songs also serve as memory-aids, as records of our lives and legends. Some may find Levitin's evolutionary explanations reductionist, but he lightens the science with personal anecdotes and chats with Sting and others, offering an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society.

More awards for Joni as she capped off a gala event at the Jubilee Auditorium celebrating the first Alberta Arts Day September 8th by accepting an award recognizing her contribution to Albertan and Canadian culture. About 1,300 Calgarians took in the the festivities at the Jubilee, which also included performances by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, singer-songwriter Kris Demeanor, and Alberta Ballet, which performed an excerpt from Fiddle and the Drum, their internationally-acclaimed collaboration with Mitchell.

The Alberta Ballet previews the extended version of Joni's ballet "The Fiddle and the Drum" at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night at the Eric Harvie Theatre, Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta. Tickets are available by calling 800-413-8368. Four songs have been added to the ballet: The Reoccurring Dream, Ethiopia, Woodstock and Shine. Since its Calgary premiere in February 2007, The Fiddle and the Drum has enjoyed a sold-out screening in New York, as well as nine performances at the Luminato Festival, where Alberta Ballet shared the stage for the first time with the National Ballet of Canada.

WNYC's Soundcheck radio program of July 30th featured an interview with Lloyd Whitesell, author of the recently published book "The Music of Joni Mitchell." As the program introduction states, "Joni became a vastly influential singer-songwriter by combining a deep, personal style with the sounds of pop, jazz, and the avant-garde. On this show, Lloyd reveals some of the hidden aspects of her creativity." Download the podcast here.

Lloyd Whitesell's long-awaited book entitled "The Music of Joni Mitchell" is finally available (click graphic for more information). Whitesell presents a thorough exploration of Mitchell's musical style, sound, and structure in order to evaluate her songs from a musicological perspective. His analyses are conceived within a holistic framework that takes account of poetic nuance, cultural reference, and stylistic evolution over a long, adventurous career.

Mitchell's songs represent a complex, meticulously crafted body of work. The Music of Joni Mitchell offers a comprehensive survey of her output, with many discussions of individual songs, organized by topic rather than chronology. Individual chapters each explore a different aspect of her craft, such as poetic voice, harmony, melody, and large-scale form. A separate chapter is devoted to the central theme of personal freedom, as expressed through diverse symbolic registers of the journey quest, bohemianism, creative license, and spiritual liberation.

Previous accounts of Mitchell's songwriting have tended to favor her poetic vision, expansive verse structures, and riveting vocal delivery. Whitesell fills out this account with special attention to musical technique, showing how such traits as complex or conflicting sonorities, dualities of harmonic mode, dialectical tensions of texture and register, intricately layered instrumental figuration, and a variable vocal persona are all essential to her distinctive identity as a songwriter. The Music of Joni Mitchell develops a set of conceptual tools geared specifically to Mitchell's songs, in order to demonstrate the extent of her technical innovation in the pop song genre, to give an account of the formal sophistication and rhetorical power characterizing her work as a whole, and to provide grounds for the recognition of her intellectual stature as a composer within her chosen field.

Even as her work is being exhibited in Toronto, Canada this week, Joni will be traveling to Ireland in July, bringing her Green Flag Song art exhibit for the Arts Festival in Galway.

Leora Cashe and The Ross Taggart Trio have released their Joni tribute titled "Another Side Now - The Songs of Joni Mitchell" and it is available for purchase now. Focusing on Joni's early career, the tracklist is:
1 Carey
2 Chelsea Morning
3 Big Yellow Taxi (2007)
4 Michael From Mountains
5 The Circle Game
6 I Don't Know Where I Stand
7 All I Want
8 The Gallery
9 Both Sides Now
10 Woodstock
11 Rainy Night House
12 A Case of You

New opportunities to see Joni's ballet production "The Fiddle and the Drum" continue to be added. The Alberta Ballet will be performing the show one night only at the Banff Summer Arts Festival on September 5. The Banff Festival is held 80 miles west of Calgary, Canada. According to their website, Joni is in the process of adding another four compositions to the soundtrack, transforming a 48-minute ballet into a full evening work. More information can be found here.

Joni's work will be featured at the Luminato Festival this summer in Toronto. On tap at the festival are both the Green Flag Song art exhibit and the Alberta Ballet company performing the ever-popular Fiddle and the Drum. The Ballet will be performed most days from June 13th through June 22nd - tickets are available on-line. Green Flag Song is a free exhibit available for viewing each and every day of the festival.

Joni's 1972 masterpiece "For The Roses" was among 25 recordings recently added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The registry preserves recorded works that are considered culturally or historically important.