August 2, 2002

Posted August 02, 2002

Joni has finished recording her new double CD (for more information on the CD, check out the JoniMitchell.com news posts from 3/6/02 and 12/4/01). Although a release date hasn't been announced, one possible timeline I've heard about for release at this point is next spring, as that's now the expected air date for Joni's American Masters documentary on PBS. I'll post additional information as it becomes available.

Joni is a featured guest on Eric Andersen's recently released Live at the Mudd Club compilation. She joins Eric on stage during the 1982 appearance to sing harmonies on "Blue River," considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. According to the newspage on EricAndersen.com, this is the only live recording of Eric and Joni performing the song. Live at the Mudd Club and more albums from Eric Andersen are available for purchase from mp3.com; you can also listen to and download his "Blue River" duet with Joni—and a few more of Eric's songs—for free.

Popular music journalism suffered a loss on June 27 with the death of Billboard magazine editor-in-chief Timothy White, who died at age 50 of an apparent heart attack after suddenly collapsing in an elevator at the magazine's New York office. White, whose long résumé included senior editor positions at Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy, was a longtime supporter of Joni in the press; Joni's receipt of the prestigious Billboard Century Award happened on his watch at the magazine. He was also a vocal supporter of press coverage for breaking artists. White had interviewed Joni numerous times over the course of his career at Billboard, most recently in his "Music to My Ears" column of September 2001.

Sing a Song of Joni: In addition to the list of songs other writers have written about Joni (in the "Songs About Joni" section of the site) there are plenty of songs that, while they're not written about Joni, mention her (or one of her songs) in the lyrics. Simon has researched this subject extensively and provided me with the information for the new "Songs That Mention Joni" page.

Michelle Kort's new book "Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro" (©2002, St. Martin's Press) has quotes from Joni and notables including Rickie Lee Jones, Suzanne Vega, Mary Travers, Patricia Romanowski, Donna Summer and Roseanne Cash on the back cover. Speaking of Nyro, the legendary singer-songwriter who died in 1997 and left us, among many others, classic songs including "And When I Die" and "Stoney End," Joni says: "Laura Nyro you can lump me in with, because Laura exerted an influence on me. I looked to her and took some direction from her." There are sixteen references to Joni listed in the index of the book, which at one point refers to Joni as someone "who would become Nyro's preeminent singer-songwriting peer."

Joni recently received an alumni award from The Alberta College of Art & Design at their 75th Anniversary Celebration, which was held June 13 at the Fairmount Palliser Hotel in Calgary, Alberta (Joni was an ACAD student in 1963 and 1964). According to an ACAD spokesperson, the "75 Alumni were chosen by a jury of gallery owners, faculty, artists and fellow alumni. Those chosen have demonstated a superior understanding and practice of their craft or art form. Each honouree is dedicated to excellence in their chosen field of visual arts and their efforts have contributed to the visual arts community at large: curating, promoting, arts administration or through other creative venues."