At a Hollywood recording studio in 1971, two singer-songwriters were cutting new albums just down the hall from each other. One was a piano-playing mom of two, and the other a folk singer who’d recently returned from Europe. The records? Tapestry by Carole King and Blue by Joni Mitchell.
More than a half-century later, Ken Avis is still enthralled by the serendipity of that magical time in music history. He recalls how both King and Mitchell were living in Laurel Canyon—then a haven for folk and rock music in the Hollywood Hills—and how their neighbor, James Taylor, provided guitar on both albums and joined Mitchell, his onetime girlfriend, on backing vocals for King.
“It was this time and place thing,” says Avis, an Arlington-based musician who performs under the name Veronneau alongside his wife, Quebecoise vocalist Lynn Veronneau. Their genre-defying repertoire includes bossa nova, swing, blues and pop.
And now folk. Veronneau’s newest studio album, Blue Tapestry, an homage to those legendary records, was released on CD May 17 at a live Blues Alley show in D.C. and is slated to begin streaming this fall. It’s the seventh album for the award-winning duo.
The songs, of course, are familiar. Veronneau has previewed the album during live performances at Lubber Run Amphitheater in Arlington and Strathmore’s AMP. Woven between covers of hits such as King’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman” and Mitchell’s “Carey” is a healthy amount of storytelling.
“We can’t stop Ken from talking,” Lynn says, launching a playful jab at her raconteur husband, a D.C. music historian and documentarian who also lectures for the Smithsonian and local universities. They live in the Chesterbrook neighborhood near the Arlington-McLean border.
Blue and Tapestry emerged in a year of legendary albums that included Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, John Lennon’s Imagine and Led Zeppelin IV. Ken says they stumbled on the stories behind the albums in David Hepworth’s 2016 book, Never a Dull Moment: 1971, The Year That Rock Exploded. Each has personal connections with the music dating back to childhood.
“I first heard Blue in the ’80s and was immediately smitten by its composition, complex poetry and imagery,” Lynn says. “Tapestry had this heartfelt sing-along and earworm effect that I found irresistible.”
While much of the music of that era stood as social commentary during tumultuous times, there was also a current of introspection, she says. “[Mitchell and King] turned the focus onto themselves, into their inner world…and that changes American music forever.”
“I first heard Blue in the ’80s and was immediately smitten by its composition, complex poetry and imagery. Tapestry had this heartfelt sing-along and earworm effect that I found irresistible.”
Lynn and Ken met in 1994 at a music festival soundcheck in Switzerland. He was a U.K.-bred blues guitarist. She was a classically trained vocalist and (true story) a recent alumna of the first band to appear on the internet—a doo-wop group called Les Horribles Cernettes, associated with the CERN nuclear research facility near Geneva, where she worked. Musically curious, she’d started dabbling in funk, much to the chagrin of her opera coach.
“Lynn was getting in trouble,” Ken recalls, admiringly. “The opera teacher was saying, ‘This is a disgrace! You’re ruining your voice screaming in smoky clubs!’ ”
The two performed briefly as a jazz duo in Europe before Ken left for a job at the World Bank in D.C. and Lynn headed to San Francisco to sing.
They reconnected a few years later, eventually got married and in 2010 formed a jazz ensemble with world music flavors. Their first album, Joie de Vivre, was released in 2011 as an experiment—to see if they could make a name for themselves as serious jazz artists. “It was like a big dream but, at the same time, with low expectations,” Lynn says.
Today Veronneau travels the world, performing original songs and covers in French, Portuguese, Spanish and English. Close to home, they’ve played dozens of shows at Blues Alley and won seven Wammie Music Awards. One of their song releases, “La Mer,” boasts 1.2 million Spotify streams.
They’ve performed in collaboration with other artists, including guitarist David Rosenblatt, drummer Pete Walby, Canadian saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk and British violinist Dave Kline.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine provides the occasional cameo at local gigs, joining them on harmonica and vocals.
A power couple in the D.C. music scene, they enjoy sharing the spotlight. Their longtime WERA 96.7 FM radio show, Antidote, celebrated music in the national capital region. Its offshoot, Antidote Records, promotes local artists. “What we get out of it is not money—it is the enjoyment of being part of the process,” Ken says.
They support up-and-coming musicians in other ways, too, serving as mentors for the Strathmore Artist in Residence program and producing live shows such as the Passport Music Festival at Creative Cauldron in Falls Church. (Catch them at this year’s festival on Aug. 23.)
Together they have three adult children (two from Ken’s previous marriage), including a son who’s a full-time rock musician with Toronto-based Ducks Ltd., and a banjo-wielding son in college with a penchant for jazz and bluegrass. Their daughter teaches English as a Second Language at Kenmore Middle School.
Blue Tapestry features four songs each from its parent albums. The record’s most striking track may be its fresh and contemporary take on Mitchell’s “Blue” in which Lynn’s haunting vocals match the vulnerability of the lyric:
Hey, Blue, there is a song for you / Ink on a pin / Underneath the skin / An empty space to fill in.
Thematically, the 1971 albums are kindred spirits, she says. “There’s a lot of overlap, a lot of songs about love and longing. Longing for home, longing for simpler days and simpler ways.”
Veronneau’s live renditions have brought a few audience members to tears. For some, the records are nostalgic. Many recall having the albums on repeat during their formative years. “The songs are just kind of part of their DNA,” Ken says.
During a recent house concert in an Arlington backyard, the pair stopped singing midway through “You’ve Got a Friend.” The crowd had it covered. ”
Eliza Tebo is a writer, musician and podcast host living in Arlington with her fiancé, two kids and cat, Milo. Her most cherished Joni Mitchell song is “River.”