An article about Joan Baez ran in the New York Times today. I thought some of you might be interested. I'll copy an excerpt here and post a link to the whole piece on the Times site. You might have to register to read it though. It's free.
-Julius April 9, 2002 Joan Baez Remembers High Times, High Stress By PETER MARKS ALEXANDRIA, Va. b The voice from the audience echoed in the hall like a shout across time. "Kumbaya!" it called out from the dark. At center stage, looking fit and petite, her salt-and-pepper hair clipped short, Joan Baez let out a giggle of surprise. She gazed at the sea of heads, many of them silver-haired, filling Town Hall in Manhattan, a stop on her recent tour of the Eastern Seaboard. "The only places I'll sing that," she said drily, "are places that are currently under siege." Days later, at a gig here in Alexandria, the crowd pleaded for more old stuff. " `Forever Young'!" they cried. " `Diamonds and Rust'!" Ms. Baez, who is 61, smiled. "Soon," she said to the last request, riffling the pages of a notebook on a music stand. She didn't disappoint, remaining onstage for the better part of two hours, singing a lot of new material but making a much deeper impact every time she reverted to one of her standards, like "Joe Hill" or "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." It is clear that her fans, who grew up with her clarion soprano on their stereos and tape decks and who remember her as an era-defining presence at antiwar demonstrations and civil rights marches, are more nostalgic than she is. Even if she likes to remind audiences of her activism b "Just remember, 40 years ago I was right" b Ms. Baez says she does not recall the 1960's particularly fondly. Read the entire article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/09/arts/music/09BAEZ.html?homepageinsidebox patrick wrote: sharon came by the office today and told us this amazing sequel. she's working on a project concerning joan baez. she contacted baez' people to clear it and has commissioned a guitar concerto based on baez songs sharon chose, with a title song sharon chose. the piece is well along. when baez played in new york recently, one of the folks asked sharon if she wanted a ticket and a backstage pass. she saw the concert, went backstage, a group of people were waiting to meet joan, and someone said, 'aren't you sharon isbin?' paul liberatore introduced himself and sharon said ' oh, you're the one who wrote that terrific feature and review.' they began chatting as they waited. sharon asked if he knew baez, he said yes, she asked if he'd handle the introduction (they hadn't yet met during the project discussions), he agreed but joan met sharon with a hug and they all went to the dressing room and had champagne. so it was a great experience so far.
