Arthur Kratzmann, who taught Joni to 'love words'

Posted October 04, 2015

JoniMitchell.com is sad to announce the passing of Arthur Kratzmann, an early and powerful influence on Joni's life. Joni dedicated her first album to him, writing a single line as the liner notes to the album - "This album is dedicated to Mr. Kratzmann, who taught me to love words." Joni speaks about him in this interview from the American Master Series entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind.

Mr Kratzmann told Joni early in her life "if you can paint with a brush you can paint with words", a phrase Joni has repeated many times throughout her life - even using a version of it as a title for her special concert event from 1998. More on Arthur's life is in this interview from 2002.

Arthur is being honored with a special ceremony on October 10th. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family at this time.