February 10, 2004

Posted February 10, 2004

Good news from the Grammies:Vince Mendoza picked up a Grammy award for his work on Joni's Travelogue Sunday night, in the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) category. This award is given for arrangement work on one song or track; Mendoza's award is for his arrangement work on "Woodstock."

Court and Spark, the 1974 album that contains Joni's biggest chart hits, is in the Grammy news too these days. It's one of the 33 albums added by the Recording Academy to the Grammy Hall of Fame list. Court and Spark is Joni's second album on the list, the first being 1971's Blue, added to the Hall of Fame list four years ago. The Grammy Hall Of Fame was established in 1973 to honor recordings of "lasting qualitative or historical significance" that are at least 25 years old. 33 albums or singles were added this year, bringing the total to 639.

John Guerin's recent death adds a sad note to the Court and Spark news. Guerin, well-known as one of the most frequently recorded drummers of all time, has been heard with everyone from Joni to Frank Zappa, Frank Sinatra to The Byrds, as well as on seemingly countless movie soundtracks and commercials. The drummer-producer's best known work is probably as a member of the popular jazz-informed group LA Express (Joni did the cover art for one of their four albums). Beginning with Court and Spark, Joni worked with LA Express through much of the seventies. During this time they recorded and toured extensively, performing some of her most praised (and best-selling) work; Guerin shared songwriting credits with Joni on the title song for The Hissing of Summer Lawns. He died suddenly on January 14 in Los Angeles from heart failure, aged 64.

Actor-singer-dancer John Kelly returns in New York next month with his third Joni show Get Up and Jive: Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell, opening at Fez in the Village on March 5. The multitalented artist's funny, empathic and evocative recreations of Joni have been a hit in venues across the US and UK since the 1984 Wigstock festival in NYC; Joni is among his many fans. Other works in Obie-winning Kelly's multifaceted career include transformations into Dagmar Onassis, artist Egon Schiele, composer Robert Schumann and transvestite trapeze artist Barbette. Get Up and Jive: Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell runs through March 27. A must-see.