The Uncarved Blog

Brandi Carlile & Friends were scheduled to perform a Joni Jam at the Newport Folk Festival Sunday, July 24, 2022. Brandi surprised everyone when she announced that Joni Mitchell was joining them on stage. She first appeared at that festival in 1967, and again in 1969, 53 years ago!

This would be Joni’s first public performance after a long recovery period from a brain aneurysm in 2015 that nearly took her life. She had to relearn many basic things, as well as how to sing and play her guitar again, which she picked up by watching herself on YouTube videos.

CBS Mornings correspondent Anthony Mason spent the weekend there. Brandi told him about the Joni Jam, where musician friends would gather together over the years to sing songs in Joni’s California living room. She’d sip her wine and listen, until one day, she started to sing and play. It was Brandi’s idea to bring the Joni Jam to Newport.

Anthony asked Joni if she was nervous about singing in front of an audience again. Joni replied that she’s never been nervous in front of audiences. “But I want it to be good. And I wasn’t sure I could be. But I didn’t sound too bad tonight!” They all share a laugh.

Read Anthony’s wonderful report: Joni Mitchell makes triumphant surprise return to Newport Folk Festival, and see Anthony’s report as he answers co-host Gayle King’s questions: Joni Mitchell performs in public for first time in nine years.

Update: The Extended Interview

CBS Mornings later posted the extended interview (5:32) with this description. Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile spoke with Anthony Mason after rehearsing for their surprise “Joni Jam” set at the Newport Folk Festival. Mitchell returned to the festival stage after 53 years, performing for the first time in public since a brain aneurysm in 2015.

Both Sides Now

I love this song! I first heard Joni sing Both Sides Now live in Montreal at a Place Des Arts concert in 1969. She stood on stage, a young innocent woman in a floor-length green dress and just her guitar, mesmerizing us all with her amazing talent.

Decades later, in An All-Star Tribute to Joni Mitchell, 2000, she performed a slower more melancholic version of her song with a full orchestra. Wearing a floor-length blue dress, she humbly sang from a different perspective, having looked at, reflected upon, her experiences of love and life from both sides, win and lose, illusions like clouds, which she sang, “I really don’t know (clouds, love) life at all.”

But this Newport Folk Festival performance was different. Joni was showing her audience, the musicians, and herself, that she can still sing, from both sides now—from before and after her aneurysm.

Her deep baritone-sounding voice is richly colored like dark mahogany. Brandi, hand over her heart, holds back from crying out loud. As the song comes to an end, we see and hear Joni’s happiness spilling over in laughter. She can still deliver. Everyone’s wildly cheering and applauding. Smiles everywhere; not a dry eye in the place. What an emotional return!

Summertime

“Summertime” is one of the most recorded songs in history. More than 2500 by now. Joni delivers the best jazz version of this Gershwin classic that I’ve ever heard! Not only does she still have it, she’s also matured like a rare vintage wine. A big thanks to Amy Karibian for posting the 14-song set.

Recent Awards, Honors, Tributes

Last year, the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors acknowledged 5 outstanding artists. They started the evening with a special Joni Mitchell Tribute featuring famous musicians and friends. In 2002, she was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This year, Joni appeared in person to receive her 10th Grammy, for Best Historical Album for her collection, Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963–1967). The night before, Joni Mitchell was recognized as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year. The MusiCares 2022 Person Of The Year Tribute featured old friends and new faces, touching testimonials, and some of the greatest songs ever written. It did the songwriting pioneer proud.

Where will she go from here?

Where will Joni Mitchell go from here? She will probably continue to sing and play music. Maybe write new songs? Anything is possible. This ongoing recovery is turning out to be a gift for Joni, and her fans.

She told Anthony Mason what her surgeon had said about her recovery, that she has will and grit. It helped her overcome polio as a child, and now this brain aneurysm. Miracles are continuing to happen for Joni. She’s not done yet. Visit JoniMitchell.com and her socials for updates.

Elton John interviews Joni Mitchell

Nov 12, 2022: Joni Mitchell Talks ‘Blue’, “Both Sides Now”, & Newport Folk Festival with Elton John | Apple Music || Elton John’s Rocket Hour with Joni Mitchell.

In this special episode of Rocket Hour, Elton John sits down with legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell for a rare and personal interview. The two reminisce on the stories behind some of Joni’s classic tracks, as well as some of the personal favorites she’s selected from other artists. Joni reflects on the music and the stories behind each song. She also touches on her experience performing at the Newport Folk Festival with Brandi Carlile, how the music industry has evolved, and her evolution as an artist, and her vocal shift from a soprano to an alto.

Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

January 12, 2023: The 2023 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song Goes to Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, the singer/songwriter whose poetic lyrics and jazz-influenced arrangements helped define a generation of musicians, is the 2023 honoree for the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Mitchell’s hits include “Both Sides Now,” “Help Me” and “Big Yellow Taxi” as well a rich songbook of elegantly crafted work. She’ll be honored in a PBS concert special on March 31.

March 7, 2023: The Hill: Joni Mitchell Honored With Library Of Congress’s Gershwin Prize

Joni Mitchell arrives at the presentation of the Gershwin Prize, which honors a musician’s lifetime contribution to popular music, hosted at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. She is this year’s winner. Joni Mitchell brought “Both Sides Now” of the political aisle together, as lawmakers and musical artists celebrated her life and career at the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

March 15, 2023: A Conversation with Joni Mitchell

Gershwin Prize honoree Joni Mitchell appears in conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in the historic Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building.

Cameron Crowe to Direct Joni Mitchell Movie

March 23, 2023: Exclusive: Cameron Crowe to Direct Joni Mitchell Movie They’ve Been Developing in Secret for Two Years

Above the Line: Thus, much like Almost Famous, sources say the project is deeply personal for Crowe, which is why he’s been putting it together under the radar during the pandemic. I’m told that the project is very much of Crowe’s singular voice, it just happens to be Mitchell’s story that he’s telling, so it’s basically her life from the inside looking out, according to those familiar with the take.

A Personal Footnote

Joni liked to work with Henry Lewy, a German-born American sound engineer and record producer, who was best known for his work on many critically acclaimed and successful rock and folk albums of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly those by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Henry’s wife, Nadine, was a close friend of Leona Bock, then married to jazz record producer Richard Bock. They had all learned Transcendental Meditation, most likely from Maharishi himself. They had recorded Maharishi talking about TM on Richard’s World Pacific label. I remember buying a copy of each vinyl record: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – The Master Speaks [YouTube] and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ‎– The Seven States Of Consciousness (Recorded Live Los Angeles 1967) [YouTube]. That was the year I learned TM. The next year I met Maharishi at Lake Louise during a course he held there. Interestingly, 40 years after starting TM, I helped in the production of the International History Channel documentary on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. A very fulfilling experience.

I met Nadine in 1978, when I picked her up at the train station. She came to visit Leona at the Canadian TM facility in Huntsville, Ontario. Leona had been teaching TM for years and was appointed National leader by Maharishi.

The subject of Joni Mitchell came up and Nadine said that Joni would stay with them when she came to Los Angeles to record an album. I never knew if Joni had learned TM. She never spoke of it. TM would certainly help her now in her recovery.

It’s interesting that Graham Nash, a close friend of Joni’s, had recently learned TM and wished he’d been doing it for 50 years. Two years ago, Nash joined Sting, Elvis Costello, Angélique Kidjo, and others for the David Lynch Foundation’s virtual “Meditate America” event. The benefit concert also featured Katy Perry, Jim James, and Kesha, among others.

Some other amazing artists I’ve been inspired by and written about are: Angelina Jordan, Yebba, Lissie, Eva Cassidy, Colin Hay, Leonard Cohen, Davy Spillane, Bill Evans, Bobby Hutcherson, Paul Horn, Donovan, Jeff Beck, Christine McVie, Jesse Winchester. For more musicians check the Archive of the ‘Music’ Category on The Uncarved Blog.

Tags: amy karibian, anthony mason, both sides now, brandi carlile, cbs mornings, joni jam, joni mitchell, newport folk festival, post-aneurysm, recovery, summertime

This entry was posted on July 29, 2022 at 10:08 am and is filed under Music, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.