All of the notes that I had about Joni Mitchell that didn't make it into the deep dive.

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⁠⁠Listen to my playlist Joni Mitchell: Love From Both Sides⁠

Part 2 of my deep dive into the creative process of Joni Mitchell, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in history.

⁠Get the Joni Mitchell recap newsletter⁠

⁠Listen to my playlist Joni Mitchell: Love From Both Sides⁠

It’s a peculiar thing that one of the greatest singer-songwriter’s in history had no intention of ever being a singer, or a songwriter. Ever since she was a child, Joni Mitchell wanted to be a painter. This calling led her from her home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to the Alberta College of Art. However, her time at art school was short lived, when after becoming pregnant, she fled for the anonymity and opportunity of Toronto.

While in Toronto, her passion for painting had to be put to the side, and making money became the priority. Unsurprisingly, there was little opportunity for an unmarried, pregnant, art school drop out, so Joni turned to her most recent way of making money, singing. While at school, Joni had performed at a local coffee house in Calgary simply, as she put it, to make some money for cigarettes and to go to the movies.

The music scene was more developed in Toronto than Calgary, and so work did not come easily to an unknown Joni. Unable to afford the union dues, she was relegated to performing non-union gigs in church basements and YMCA meeting halls. Unable to support herself, no less a child, she made the difficult decision to put her daughter up for adoption.

Joni never was able to get her daughter back, but she was able to get steady work in coffeehouses in Detroit… as a duo with her new husband Chuck Mitchell. People were quick to catch on that there’s a large gulf in talent between Joni and her husband, and after issues in their relationship, their marriage ended in divorce less than two years after it began.

Now single, Joni devoted all of her time to her music, and her songs became famous before she did. Anyone who saw her perform was struck by her songwriting, Joni’s own hits were hits for other popular artists first, most notably The Circle Game by Tom Rush, and Both Sides Now by Judy Collins.

While her songs were hits on the radio, Joni was on the road. Touring extensively across the Eastern seaboard in 1967, and in 1968 to promote her debut album, Songs to a Seagull. The following year, her sophomore album Clouds would see her increase in popularity, before becoming a household name with 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon, featuring Joni’s most popular song, Big Yellow Taxi.

Feeling like she was getting famous too fast, Joni fled to Greece, a place she could be anonymous once again. When she did return (much to the delight of her manager), she had written not only her most vulnerable album, but arguably the most vulnerable album by anyone up to that point, Blue. While reception to the album was mixed, Blue has gone on to be considered one of the greatest albums ever made. Rolling Stone, who were initially critical of the album, ranked the album as #3 of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On June 22, 2021, exactly 50 years to the day of its release, Blue charted at #1 on iTunes.

After raging against the machine in the “greedy 80s” as she described them, Joni’s popularity surged into the 1990s, with a young generation of songwriters citing her influence, she won a Grammy for Best Pop Album for 1994’s Turbulent Ingo, and every publication in the world jumping onto her popularity by awarding her some form of honorary award.

Shortly after reuniting with her daughter in 1997, Joni Mitchell didn’t write another new song for a decade, instead enjoying her newfound life as a mother and grandmother. After suffering an aneurysm in 2015, it was thought Mitchell would never sing again, however, the odds were never something she paid much attention to. Mitchell returned to the stage in 2022. Ever the artist, Mitchell continues to both sing and paint to this day, and she will continue to do so until the day she dies.

Part 1 of my deep dive into the creative process of Joni Mitchell, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in history.

Get the Joni Mitchell recap newsletter

Listen to my playlist Joni Mitchell: Love From Both Sides

It’s a peculiar thing that one of the greatest singer-songwriter’s in history had no intention of ever being a singer, or a songwriter. Ever since she was a child, Joni Mitchell wanted to be a painter. This calling led her from her home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to the Alberta College of Art. However, her time at art school was short lived, when after becoming pregnant, she fled for the anonymity and opportunity of Toronto.

While in Toronto, her passion for painting had to be put to the side, and making money became the priority. Unsurprisingly, there was little opportunity for an unmarried, pregnant, art school drop out, so Joni turned to her most recent way of making money, singing. While at school, Joni had performed at a local coffee house in Calgary simply, as she put it, to make some money for cigarettes and to go to the movies.

The music scene was more developed in Toronto than Calgary, and so work did not come easily to an unknown Joni. Unable to afford the union dues, she was relegated to performing non-union gigs in church basements and YMCA meeting halls. Unable to support herself, no less a child, she made the difficult decision to put her daughter up for adoption.

Joni never was able to get her daughter back, but she was able to get steady work in coffeehouses in Detroit… as a duo with her new husband Chuck Mitchell. People were quick to catch on that there’s a large gulf in talent between Joni and her husband, and after issues in their relationship, their marriage ended in divorce less than two years after it began.

Now single, Joni devoted all of her time to her music, and her songs became famous before she did. Anyone who saw her perform was struck by her songwriting, Joni’s own hits were hits for other popular artists first, most notably The Circle Game by Tom Rush, and Both Sides Now by Judy Collins.

While her songs were hits on the radio, Joni was on the road. Touring extensively across the Eastern seaboard in 1967, and in 1968 to promote her debut album, Songs to a Seagull. The following year, her sophomore album Clouds would see her increase in popularity, before becoming a household name with 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon, featuring Joni’s most popular song, Big Yellow Taxi.

Feeling like she was getting famous too fast, Joni fled to Greece, a place she could be anonymous once again. When she did return (much to the delight of her manager), she had written not only her most vulnerable album, but arguably the most vulnerable album by anyone up to that point, Blue. While reception to the album was mixed, Blue has gone on to be considered one of the greatest albums ever made. Rolling Stone, who were initially critical of the album, ranked the album as #3 of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On June 22, 2021, exactly 50 years to the day of its release, Blue charted at #1 on iTunes.

After raging against the machine in the “greedy 80s” as she described them, Joni’s popularity surged into the 1990s, with a young generation of songwriters citing her influence, she won a Grammy for Best Pop Album for 1994’s Turbulent Ingo, and every publication in the world jumping onto her popularity by awarding her some form of honorary award.

Shortly after reuniting with her daughter in 1997, Joni Mitchell didn’t write another new song for a decade, instead enjoying her newfound life as a mother and grandmother. After suffering an aneurysm in 2015, it was thought Mitchell would never sing again, however, the odds were never something she paid much attention to. Mitchell returned to the stage in 2022. Ever the artist, Mitchell continues to both sing and paint to this day, and she will continue to do so until the day she dies.

Lessons and stories I learned studying Keith Jarrett that didn't make it into the deep dive.

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Read: ⁠⁠Keith Jarrett: The Man and his Music by Ian Carr⁠⁠

Watch: ⁠⁠Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation

Subscribe to the Artwell newsletter: ⁠https://jacobkelly.substack.com/⁠

About Keith Jarrett

Becoming one of the greatest jazz pianists, classical interpreters, or composers of your generation is an incredible feat… Keith Jarrett is considered all three.

A prodigious talent, Keith was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1945, and began learning the piano at age three, two years later — at the age of 5, he had his first TV appearance, by seven he played a two-hour classical solo concert in his home town, and by nine he performed solo at Madison Square Garden as part of a Lion’s Club Convention.

In his teens, Keith was personally invited to train in France under legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, who trained many of the greatest classical musicians of the 20th century. However, he declined the invitation and instead opted to attend Berklee School of Music in Boston to learn Jazz.

His stint at the renowned music school was short lived as he was thrown out after a year, which led him to New York City, there he scraped by until he found consistent work in the jazz world — briefly joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, becoming a mainstay in Charles Lloyd’s innovative quartet, and eventually playing in Miles Davis’ electric band, before striking out on his own.

The 1970s was a busy period for Jarrett, in addition to leading two popular jazz bands, known respectively as the “American Quartet” comprised of Dewey Redman on sax, Charlie Haden on bass, and Paul Motian on drums, and the “European Quartet” with Jan Garbarek on sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums — Keith also pioneered a new kind of performance, the improvised solo piano concert.

Each concert was completely unique, with Jarrett composing new material for each show, live and on the spot, never to repeat that music again. His 1975 Koln concert has gone to become both the best-selling piano recording and the best selling solo jazz album in history with around 4 million sales. In 2025 the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

With both his quartets disbanding by the end of the decade, the 1980s was an adventurous period for Jarrett. While continuing to perform his popular solo concerts, Keith formed a new trio known as the “Standards Trio” with Jack DeJohnette on drums and Gary Peacock on bass — which would go on to become one of the longest lasting and most celebrated jazz trios in history, he would record the experimental multi-track record Spirits where he played more than a dozen instruments, and he would return to the classical piano world with notable interpretations of Bach, Mozart, and Shostakovich.

In 1996 Jarrett was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which resulted in him stepping away from performing entirely. Thanks to experimental treatment, he was able to record the 1999 album The Melody at Night With You in his home studio, before returning to the stage with the Standards Trio later that year.

Keith Jarrett continued to perform solo, with the trio, and with orchestras until suffering two major strokes in 2018, which left him unable to use his left hand — effectively bringing the seventy year long career of one of the most innovative and prolific musicians this world has ever known to a close.

Dig Deeper

Read: ⁠Keith Jarrett: The Man and his Music by Ian Carr⁠

Watch: ⁠Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation ⁠

Subscribe to the Artwell newsletter: https://jacobkelly.substack.com/

About Keith Jarrett

Becoming one of the greatest jazz pianists, classical interpreters, or composers of your generation is an incredible feat… Keith Jarrett is considered all three.

A prodigious talent, Keith was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1945, and began learning the piano at age three, two years later — at the age of 5, he had his first TV appearance, by seven he played a two-hour classical solo concert in his home town, and by nine he performed solo at Madison Square Garden as part of a Lion’s Club Convention.

In his teens, Keith was personally invited to train in France under legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, who trained many of the greatest classical musicians of the 20th century. However, he declined the invitation and instead opted to attend Berklee School of Music in Boston to learn Jazz.

His stint at the renowned music school was short lived as he was thrown out after a year, which led him to New York City, there he scraped by until he found consistent work in the jazz world — briefly joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, becoming a mainstay in Charles Lloyd’s innovative quartet, and eventually playing in Miles Davis’ electric band, before striking out on his own.

The 1970s was a busy period for Jarrett, in addition to leading two popular jazz bands, known respectively as the “American Quartet” comprised of Dewey Redman on sax, Charlie Haden on bass, and Paul Motian on drums, and the “European Quartet” with Jan Garbarek on sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums — Keith also pioneered a new kind of performance, the improvised solo piano concert.

Each concert was completely unique, with Jarrett composing new material for each show, live and on the spot, never to repeat that music again. His 1975 Koln concert has gone to become both the best-selling piano recording and the best selling solo jazz album in history with around 4 million sales. In 2025 the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

With both his quartets disbanding by the end of the decade, the 1980s was an adventurous period for Jarrett. While continuing to perform his popular solo concerts, Keith formed a new trio known as the “Standards Trio” with Jack DeJohnette on drums and Gary Peacock on bass — which would go on to become one of the longest lasting and most celebrated jazz trios in history, he would record the experimental multi-track record Spirits where he played more than a dozen instruments, and he would return to the classical piano world with notable interpretations of Bach, Mozart, and Shostakovich.

In 1996 Jarrett was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which resulted in him stepping away from performing entirely. Thanks to experimental treatment, he was able to record the 1999 album The Melody at Night With You in his home studio, before returning to the stage with the Standards Trio later that year.

Keith Jarrett continued to perform solo, with the trio, and with orchestras until suffering two major strokes in 2018, which left him unable to use his left hand — effectively bringing the seventy year long career of one of the most innovative and prolific musicians this world has ever known to a close.

Dig Deeper

Read: Keith Jarrett: The Man and his Music by Ian Carr

Watch: Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation

In 1989 Tom Schulman won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Dead Poets Society.

He followed this up with screenplays for two hit comedies, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and What About Bob?.

In 1997 he made his directorial debut with the Joe Pesci led, Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag. He recently returned to the director’s chair for his 2022 film, Double Down South.

Subscribe to the Artwell newsletter: https://jacobkelly.substack.com/

More lessons and stories I cut from the Robin Williams deep dive.

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