Joni Mitchell's style 'found its roots in Calgary,' biography author Ann Powers says

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
Traveling, traveling, traveling
Looking for something, what can it be?

"All I Want"
Joni Mitchell

 

Joni Mitchell's travels – musically and literally – became a fitting metaphor for Ann Powers' new biography of the Canadian singer/songwriter.

And her year in Calgary in the 1960s was a big part of Mitchell's development.

"I absolutely think her time in Calgary was key to who she became as a musician, as a woman, as an artist," said Powers, whose book "Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell" was released this month.

Mitchell studied at what was then called the Alberta College of Art but honed her musical skills in Calgary coffeehouses.

"In those clubs, she heard all kinds of music, not just folk music but jazz, Caribbean music, vaudeville, music hall music and I think Joni's particular style, which is very eclectic, found its roots in Calgary," Powers said.

Powers also spoke to CTV News about Mitchell's bond with Neil Young, who, like Mitchell, grew up on the Canadian Prairies and endured polio as a child.

"The way they are both deep insiders but also always sort of outsiders is attributable to their Canadian-ness in a lot of ways. It's so important to their art and even to their persona," Powers said.

Powers will be in Calgary on July 31 for a Wordfest event at the Memorial Park Library.