Joni Mitchell and Brian Blade Interview: TimeTalks Luminato

Joni Mitchell and drummer/bandleader Brian Blade, one of the Grammy Hall of Fame winner's frequent collaborators, will join The New York Times' chief pop music critic, Jon Pareles, to discuss Mitchell's prowess across multiple genres, her skills as both a composer and lyricist, and her role in the evolution of late 20th-century music.
Luminato Festival is Toronto’s international multi-arts festival for people open to having art change their outlook on the world. Join us June 7-23, 2019.
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[@karelvandervelden8819]

This will go down in history as one of her best interviews.

[@danielmcsorley2510]

joni, of course, is not really a pop muician.....she is an artist and, what's more, she can converse articulately about her work. This is marvelously honest, beyond just loving her work I just find myself simply admiring her honesty. Truly a woman of heart and mind.

[@benwaterman8060]

She's made multiple double platinum albums, I'd call her a pop star. She certainly didn't set out with the intent to make pop music, but the people decide what's pop, not the artist.

[@taf44tt8io]

@Rhys Jones "Call it anything" Miles Davis :)

[@hc9848]

She's was always wise beyond her years. Certainly an old soul.

[@34hedgehog]

'It seems you learnt a lot from her...' 'No, I'm not influenced by her...' Way to go, Joni! Very few interviewers have ever got close to her, because she's so much more damn intelligent than they are.

[@jrw344]

She still has a mind like a steel trap. Glad the interviewer didn't interrupt her as she responded to questions. Plus, Brian gets a living history opportunity through listening to Joni.

[@SusanDoran]

she should have a mind like a steel trap in this interview - she was in her late 60s...

[@cbrend22]

Truly brilliant woman

[@ycoz5814]

She’s hilarious and her insight so sharp.

[@bewren1]

The interviewer was at fault not giving Mr. Blade some air time. Perhaps he didn’t know what kinds of questions to ask. I would have liked to hear some of his thoughts. I adore Joni and she has been with me through many of my darkest hours. What a gift she is to humanity.

[@michaelmattice4986]

When Joni spoke the words to Furry Sings The Blues - a song I've listened to countless times - that was a special, special moment...Thank you so much for sharing this...Also, a nod from one drummer to another...Throughout this interview, Brian was the perfect accompanist:)

[@The_Lincoln_Penny]

Brian approached this conversation just like he approaches music. He offers support , stays out of the way , and patiently awaits opportunity to “speak”.

[@clsatc]

The interviewer here was absolutely wonderful. He is keenly knowledgable, let her speak without interruption, so respectful, even when she was a bit disagreeable. I loved this interview. Learned more about joni than i ever have... she's out there on the other side of the mountain and brilliant in a very unique kind of way.

[@skygazer4251]

Carol Spillman: I quite agree with your comment. This is the best interview of Joni I've ever seen, & he gives her lots of room to range in her replies, which, naturally, let's her genius shine.

[@bluelines1]

Except for the fact that he totally ignored the other invited guest sitting opposite him until Joni, after an hour of speaking, urged him to ask BB some questions ..

[@rineric3214]

Also Joni, because of those open tunings you have explored oblique harmony in a new and more complex way than ever was done before. Oblique was stuck in pedal point/drone simplicity, but you are running chords through chords. First time ever.

[@skygazer4251]

I love this interview. Lots of insight into a most creative mind. Thank you Joni for ALL your art! Wishing you perfect health-

[@seancahalane1839]

I was very lucky to have attended this interview as well as both shows at Massey hall. Magic 💙❤️

[@KevinSmith-qn8fn]

I could just sit silently and listen to Joni talk all day

[@Burghound56]

Brian Blade is a fantastically expressive drummer but if you've heard him, he is a quiet, soft-spoken man.

[@ganazby]

I saw him playing with John McLaughlin’s Fourth Dimension band. And with Bob Dylan, as far as I remember. He’s superb.

[@adriannee.1030]

The honesty is what makes the music great... so simple yet so hard

[@SN-sz7kw]

I could just listen to her forever. 💗💗💗

[@MrMac5150]

She has always been a intelligent lady threw out all the years, at 71 still gives interviews. kudos's.

[@kerrymullin94]

Knowing one self and being able to articulate so çlear about one self shows uncanny raw wisdom and genius so captivating fantastic job Joni !

[@kerrymullin94]

She is quite funny and quite the mimic great story teller must be the Irish blood!

[@frewofstew6304]

@@kerrymullin94 The gift of gab!

[@crestiferj2689]

2 of the finest, most creative and incredible musicians ever. joni and brian are truly some of the most artistic and genuine musicians to ever create music.

[@SN-sz7kw]

It is often said that the Blue album is the gateway drug to Joni. However she reflects on it, it was undoubtedly a blessing to countless listeners. Fascinating.

[@andreaterranova4824]

So grateful. She is our earthly representative to and from Heaven. The Heaven that’s filled with artisans.

[@loonaya]

The the funny thing is, "the guy on the left that barely speaks" like some of the people in the commets said is one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time.

[@jstamps9578]

Her artistry is so relatable, but it comes from a once in a lifetime brilliant creative consciousness.

[@peterdavino4408]

Yes. They say it's because the universal comes out of the specific.

[@VictorHageman]

Finally a great interviewer!!

[@micknolan489]

Great stories, wonderful to watch. I love it.

[@azad0n409]

her interviews are so amazing 😍

[@tomhazelton3070]

Anybody else catch that David Crosby burn? He produced her first album.

[@yodservant]

Yep, but I think they were good friends and he realized he'd not done a great job with the album....

[@Jeanbeaugeste]

The great Joni talking of art ! So clairvoyant !

[@oswaldphills]

Why clairvoyant? Curious. What do you see?

[@mariacristinasalernocarozz6942]

The Very first Time I listened YOU:. the álbum about Mingus AND/or with him, ALL my life CHANGED. I'm wordless 'cos of this interview, a contact so closer to you. Love

[@teripettit6254]

This CD is a Masterpiece!

[@johnmcclellan9020]

She's Canadian and an incredible talent. Gordon Lightfoot, Lenard Cohen and Neil Young are also Canadian. Must be something in cold winters that make great song writers.

[@ganazby]

Four, out of a population of 38,000000. Impressive.

[@shoelesshunter2599]

Also Bruce Cockburn

[@leashgang1]

If you are unfamiliar with the body of work generated by the National Film Board of Canadá, there’s great delight ahead! You will make that comment about what happens during Canada’s long winter nights.

[@Winnipegger]

Can't say that about the Canadian music talent today. I won't say names but the quality of music has gone into the dumper. Even Joni said she couldn't listen to the radio today, even though she tried.

[@catmoon2009]

Amazing love her

[@danielriccardi6408]

Joni is just a special child of God charmed, inspiring, heavenly gifted and cherishes by all

[@letsif]

True original

[@Digginbehindthedikes]

She's a joy to listen to

[@harrylen1688]

Jonis Woodstock Iconic song Never die! It's a reminder for generation to come!!! That's me!!

[@frewofstew6304]

Excellent!

[@mariacristinasalernocarozz6942]

AND whats More, you make me LAUGH!!!! Your comments, anecdotes. Am from Córdoba Argentina. Translator &teacher, of English of course. Not Easy to understand all the people, but YOU

[@MelindadelosSantos]

Heck, the music chose her! It’ll choose who gets it whether informally by ear or musical doctorate. And by golly, she’s got it!😊

[@davidmayhew8083]

Masterfull.

[@Gaeill]

every word is Story Telling. She is channeling the fundamentals and the possibilities. Scando-Irish bird. A feast to hear how she sees things. Sami.

[@eelamite]

thats so wild and unexpected but so cool im all for it

[@theascendance]

JUST "WISDOM FOR THOSE WHO WILL LISTEN!" AND BRILLIANT ARTEST. .....

[@cynthiataylor2279]

Still love Sisotowbelle my favorite!

[@youwillovercome]

The greatest

[@lisamainello146]

I LOVE HER

[@mistermojito33]

1-20-17. Watching and listening to this conversation tonight has been the perfect antidote to the 'American Carnage' poison that was vomited by Agent Orange today in this nation's capitol.

[@scapegoatiscariot2767]

As a guitar player, more than 50 different tunings to me is like trying to imagine eternity. Joni's a muse herself. Is David Crosby said, "there was some magic going on there."

[@exspiravit6920]

I was a play-by-ear multi-instrument child in the very late 80s early 90s. Came from a musical family. I of course first learned in E tuning. By the time I was 12 or 13 (left to my own designs with no outside influence) I was playing the most absurd tunings on guitar and developed a "Pick with 3 claws" style with my right hand and could rhythm to lead or play rhythm as lead with my left. I never left my homeland and ventured out, but had some connected ppl show intense interest In what I was doing, but I very much speak Joni's language but sadly I was beset by some of the ironies (and cliches of chemical kind) musicians run into. I'm 41 now and I'm clean, so I'm brushing up on Joni and other musicians who can verbalize things well to help center me again.

[@scapegoatiscariot2767]

@@exspiravit6920 that's very interesting. And greatly encouraging too. I hope you feel encouraged. She received another accolade recently. I'm glad she was alive to receive it.

[@exspiravit6920]

@@scapegoatiscariot2767 Yeah it's weird. I was a creative powerhouse in my 20s (a riff/melody factory ), but right as I was maturing I got into the bad stuff. By maturing I mean I was on the cusp of becoming a real Composer, or at least learning to take the melodies/riffs/intros/bridges and arrange them, give them structure along with writing a lot of potential lyrics. Luckily I still have a good bit of my stuff worth keeping recorded (just bits and pieces of riff ideas or melodies I didn't want to lose) but now that I'm back in my right mind, I'm finding my output is still solid, but my playing has changed a lot. If I ever get any of it together I'll upload some stuff.

[@scapegoatiscariot2767]

@@exspiravit6920 that's quite impressive. I just play guitar by ear. What am actually doing is parroting what I perceive. I entertain myself. The most I've ever made on it was twenty bucks. The guy asked me to play wild thing as a particular lady was arriving. He said she would get it. She did.

[@taylor-vl1re]

I didn't watch the whole thing, but different tuning on guitar makes it a whole different instrument. I dabbled with some Steven Stills, Crosby, D,G... type tuning when learning guitar...You could look forever finding all different voicing of chords.

[@tuskedbeast]

Heh, couldn't figure out what that bobbing knocking sound was- then got it- it's her earring against that wire microphone. What a great interview. Yes, it was appropriate that she was given 95% of the interview, of course. Brian's time will come. She's doing better- just saw (3/17) a video of her at Elton John's birthday, and she looked beautiful, basically as you see her here, and was talking and moving normally.

[@thomasromano9321]

Brian Blade: terrific Jazz drummer, but also a singer and guitarist. If you don't hear any other music by this guy listen to "At the Centerline." WOW!!!!!

[@marisasharratt8795]

Am in absolute awe of Joni, how did she come up with 'A case of you'??!!! brilliant beyond words ❤😊

[@51tomtomtom]

you crack me with "Rockmaninoff" !

[@ritadighent]

Great interview. Wish there was more Brian Blade. His gentleness made him interruptable. We could have learned more if he were allowed his space to express himself.

[@Chesbay53]

Amazing mind.

[@pattisteely4650]

❤

[@Sticks-of-TNT-tf1tn]

🧨

[@josee4283]

I would love to know her favorite songs of her own

[@modifiedcontent]

One more album?

[@adriangreen5228]

I love seeing her constantly correct the interviewer lol

[@mariacristinasalernocarozz6942]

YOU are magical Dear

[@karlmurray2053]

She's a sweetheart

[@adriannee.1030]

So many threads coming together for me... I just discovered Emily Carr ... I discovered Joni when I was 6... I believe in the universe

[@kelliecampbell4587]

Wild things run fast

[@eelamite]

holy shit

[@sibengerard1856]

Hejira is my best.

[@DS-yp2cl]

This interviewere assumes a lot. Joni is so gentle and well spoken of her truth.

[@KoreaMojo]

I am just so curious now why she never mentioned Pat Metheny?! I mean I remember his guitar on "Help Me" so much. I'm glad she mentioned Tom by name, Tom Scott is my favorite Reed wind player. I am used to her mentioning Weather Report, Chick, Mingus but why not Pat?....👀 Also I never knew much of her personal business but she always reminded me of my great grandma and now I see they have the same maiden surname and their is some French Canadian, Irish stuff in there... Oh Ms.Mitchell. You remind many people of many good and deep things.

[@loonaya]

Larry Carlton played on Help Me. He played on everything from Court and Spark to Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. Pat played on Shadows And Light, maybe something else too.

[@yodservant]

Pat was playing with Jacko Pastorius on Shadow and Light, he was really young at the time .....yes

[@KoreaMojo]

@@loonaya Yeah you're right! I do get it mixed up but I remember now that you mention it because I was surprised to see that on the credits given I was not loving him replacing Lee Ritenour in Fourplay. Still why not mention him?

[@KoreaMojo]

@@yodservant That's what I thought but I couldn't remember if it was only live or not. Rainy night house is the one I remember the most with Jaco and her. She gave Pat a whole solo on her live album after Amelia. I'm just being nosy about why but who knows maybe it slipped her mind.

[@crazybunkum]

Joni Mitchell enters at 5:30

[@debracottrill7989]

I was transfixed by the thumbnail, who is the artist?

[@LuminatoFestivalTO]

Joni Mitchell

[@skygazer4251]

Debra: Yes, Joni painted that..notice the heart on the sleeve..

[@demetrios3232]

Love Joni Mitchell, but this interview is really odd. Why is the great drummer Brian Blade there? He doesn't say one word. I don't think the interviewer even asks him a question. The title of this clip reads " Joni Mitchell and Brian Blade Interview". It's more like a Joni Mitchel monologue.

[@thinkerly1]

Well, Mr. Blade is a friend and collaborator of Ms. Mitchell's. Perhaps the presenters felt that just having her and the interviewer would be a bit too naked. Does it really matter? Would you have not watched this video if Mr. Blade were not there?

[@TrumanGN]

"Black man in a blonde woman's body," eh. Too stupid for words. So now colour is art. Joni is really just an artist, one of the finest who ever lived, at least on this planet. This interview almost made me doubt my own insight because I have no idea why Brian Blade was there. Strangest interview that has ever occurred, with Brian saying nothing even though he was billed as a participant.

1:21:06 ask Brian some....

[@yodservant]

@@TrumanGN maybe Brian was holding the energy....??

[@peterdavino4408]

Brian I think was a kind of safety net. He's obviously someone Joni trusts and feels inordinately comfortable with. She also recognizes his brilliance in his own right. She can therefore lean on his expertise as a barometer or weather vane to give herself a contextual playground to romp around in. Still waters run deep & Brian is a living example of what this means. He can act as a kind of spirit- filter. He's a good energy which with to reflect or sometimes deflect - to negate or confirm- Joni's variated musical hypothesis. Notice how she defers to him with an occasional sideways glance.

[@shucksful]

So, does the guy on the left ever speak?

[@appledappleaidan]

take a shot everytime joni says "ya know"

[@candicehammer4591]

Blue was perfect

[@candicehammer4591]

Blue I saw myself in

[@Velvet0Starship2013]

@rscmrcmd:"(She wouldn't know a Black man if she bumped into one)" Ah, the hilarious gems that tumble out of the mouths of the militantly uninformed.

[@Almamater25]

Joni is just outstanding as always, but they should have appointed a mucisian to interview her! 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@celtglen]

I wonder how Joan is doing? How is she faring the pandemic?

[@jayblummer146]

21:37

[@lauramalone3158]

"You don't have this scene. You just have a girl with blonde hair and high cheekbones" ahahah

[@willyounts3308]

why do people laugh when she answers the interviewer's claims with "no?"

[@susanhudak7393]

As she sang about herself "My great big ego." I guess if you're a genius there's no use pretending you're not.

[@jayblummer146]

44:03

[@suesjoy]

jörn is funny. x

[@vKarl71]

Pareles doesn't seem to have a clue what a great & accomplished musician Brian Blade is.

[@bluelines1]

Pareles's rudeness in ignoring BB, until Joni finally urges him to ask him some questions, is difficult to understand and excuse

[@OldVillain]

Such a great interview; I really enjoy these because they colour in the background to these songs. Wonderful! But, what a weird way to pronounce "Paprika" - Pap Ree Kah. Weird! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIHSmqioYpykrK8

[@Jeanbeaugeste]

Her virginal hands no Tchaikovsky shaped no Beethoven shaped but her own ...yeah like her guitar tuning playing and her singing all virginal her own

[@jayblummer146]

1:06:59

[@michaeldonovan4793]

that interviewer is so far out of his class but hangs in there...joni's a genius and he has no idea how beautifully she held back from pouncing on his intellectual fear...kudos for hanging tough with joni..

[@benheckler4253]

too bad Brian didn't talk more.

[@ottaviazeffilini5813]

What's with the old lady hair from the 1800s, where her head as she piled up, oh victorian perhaps

[@rkrw576]

Joni is a kind of genius, but she's clearly a nut. That being said, this is a great interview

[@davidsanderson5918]

Not a nut. She's just not moulded into the three or four industry types we see interviewed all the time. She says no, she says what she wants to say rather than what she's supposed to say. Not a nut at all. Just different.

[@cafinario]

Absolutely.

[@scorpina69]

That's clearly a misogynistic comment! One of the most authentic and honest artists in the world happens to be a woman who speaks her mind, and you feel entitled to call that 'a nut'? What an insult!

[@clsatc]

Yea i was afraid to say that in my comment but yes! A nut!

[@pommelhorsepommelhorse8731]

if you watch this interview, you can skip reading the lazy and chauvinistic David Jaffe biography. Its all here. Waited years for Joni's autobiography and you end up with a book about what some guy and guys like Jackson Browne have say about Joni.

[@lisamoroney3036]

Love her, but what is that on her head ?

[@georgefowler3027]

syrup ......wig........dead cat.........pussy..........maybe her mums ashes

[@skygazer4251]

@@georgefowler3027 In the inimitable words of (ahem) Joe Biden, "C'mon man..."

[@sophiafake-virus2456]

Illuminati

[@loutre59lotte]

Tgoogle

[@SimonMclennan]

More than odd this - what a shame the interviewer was too afraid to get a proper, balanced interview - why invite someone who then has to sit there pointlessly - absolutely hopeless and a trifle boring despite Mitchell's obvious talents - Brian would have been far more interesting - a discussion please... jeez

[@frautulpenstengel]

Lovely interview. If only she had taken her left earring out....

[@Trk-El-Son]

Yup. I hope that the sound-person at least made a mental note about earrings. 😅

[@petersassytruth3069]

Why drown out her voice with that hideous music backdrop? Don't you have ANY respect for her?

[@charlespeterson3798]

She has been jobbing people with bull like banal anecdotes on THE DEVILS INTERVAL for 50 years and claiming she is the only original artist. What a bad trip.

[@thinkerly1]

Dear Hater, go away.

[@clsatc]

I hate to say it but she didn't really belong in jazz with the big boys. Not that she didn't deserve it...they all wanted to honor her unique genious but it didn't fit. Her vocals on the jazz stuff is too forced. She should have put her great lyrics to better use. Shame really.

[@yodservant]

@@clsatc you didn't like Shadow and Light ?

[@clsatc]

@@yodservant i loved shadow and light with pat metheny and jaco ! Forgot about that..but that was more fusion..then she went deeper into jazz

[@kateyatsko8400]

As much as I adore this woman as an amazing writer and tour de force in her own time, her candor and intelligence is always appreciated as a strong women's voice that needs to be heard. And I feel guilty saying this about my all time favorite singer songwriter, she is amazing in so many ways and I relish so much of her music, her incisive writing and how she's had to fight for her voice in a time when the music industry was run by men. I've listened to many of her interviews and as much as I appreciate her keen intelligence, candor and painterly musicality, I do feel bad for Brian Blades, here, I agree with you, Demetrious, that she never seems to give a collaborative nod to him, and Pareles struggles to steer her away from her focus on herself to include any of her collaborators, whether they be musical collaborators or other influential relationships. She's still a legendary songwriter in my opinion, one who I will always cherish, but as with other interviews of hers that I've listened to, not as inclusive of others in her life as I would have liked to have heard about. I guess she will always be a refuge on the road.

[@SkeeterNYC]

Joni didn't need hits. She's an artisit genius. That was for peeps who couldn't write a song, etc. to save their life like Linda Ronstadt.

[@thinkerly1]

Wow, where did that come from? They are two different kinds of artists. Ms. Mitchell could never sing what Ms. Ronstadt could sing -- Ms. Mitchell didn't have those pipes. She didn't have the sustain, the projection, the range, the vibrato, the power. She is a lifetime smoker. Ms. Ronstadt had a natural talent which she honed and trained over the course of her career. She took opera singing lessons when she was in her 30s, when she was already one of the most successful singers of all time. She was the first woman to fill stadiums. She was named the Queen of Rock and Roll by Rolling Stone, Time magazine, Mick Jagger, etc. etc. Many singers of Ms. Ronstadt's era recognized her as the greatest or one of the greatest singers. Take a look at what Johnny Cash, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, etc. said about Ms. Ronstadt. Emmylou Harris said that Ms. Ronstadt had one of the two glorious voices of the Twentieth Century, the other voice being Maria Callas. Don't get me wrong, I love Ms. Mitchell. She is a genius. But she is not a singer's singer like Ms. Ronstadt. Ms. Ronstadt sang triumphantly country, rock, jazz, light opera, opera, Mexican (ranchero, guapango, mariachi) -- selling millions of records in all of those genres, selling out hundreds of venues in all of those genres, and receiving awards in all of those genres. As for Ms. Mitchell "not needing hits" -- Do you mean, that Ms. Mitchell should have lived her life like the hunger artist in Kafka? Without those hits, Ms. Mitchell would not have been able to afford the mansion above UCLA where she lives in comfort today. And using the word "peeps" to disparage singers who don't write songs is not only nasty, it's ignorant. Caruso didn't write songs. Billy Holiday didn't write songs. Ella Fitzgerald didn't write songs. Sinatra didn't write songs. Streisand didn't write songs. Pavarotti didn't write songs. Placido Domingo didn't write songs. There's room in this world for singers who just sing, and singer-songwriters.

[@waltercarter6163]

Linda Ronstadt actually did write several songs. She wrote: Lo siento mi vida Try Me Again Winter Light

[@apocalypseplough8089]

@@thinkerly1 = Songwriters are artists. Singers are entertainers. They are not the same. Linda Ronstadt would be the first to tell you that. BTW, I read recently online a quote from Joni where she said she liked Linda. That's something, given how critical she is of some performers, like Madonna.

[@thinkerly1]

@@apocalypseplough8089 And I read that Ms. Ronstadt went to every performance of Ms. Mitchell's whenever Ms. Mitchell was in town -- whenever their paths crossed. Ms. Ronstadt has called Ms. Mitchell a genius. And Ms. Mitchell has said that Ms. Ronstadt defended her and was always kind to her. They are two stars in the musical firmament.