Janis Ian is a master of many crafts. As a songwriter/singer, she leaped to fame in 1975 for her Grammy Award-winning song “At Seventeen.” Throughout the years, her brilliant lyrics and irresistible rhythms have been archived in more than 30 albums. The most recent is “Essential Janis Ian,” a two-disc CD to accompany “Society’s Child — My Autobiography.”
As a writer, she is a poet whose vivid observations often assume the guise of lyrics, as in “Some People’s Lives,” “I Hear You Sing Again,” “Jackie Skates,” “The Great Divide,” “Shadows on the Wind” or “The Last Train.” Her autobiography explains the stories behind many of these songs and her determination to write about interracial romances, homosexuality and other topics previously stuffed under the table by society. Just to keep folks on their toes, she alternates her columns about music with her short stories, most recently the science fiction tales published in various anthologies.
As a humanitarian, she manages the Pearl Foundation to raise scholarship money for older students. She began it in honor of her mother, who graduated from college after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
As a musician, she knows her way around a folk guitar. Although a recent bout with a “trigger finger” led to surgery on two fingers and forced cancellation of several engagements, she is healing rapidly and is already on tour with good friend Tom Paxton. She and Paxton, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, arrive at the Birchmere this week for a program fans of both have awaited for years.
“Tom was at my first show when I was 13 and is one of my heroes,” Ian said. “It’s been a dream of mine for 30 years to work with him, but it wasn’t until the last five years that we began planning it. Now we have 15 dates booked and are excited to be performing some of our favorite numbers.
“We mix it up by opening together, then performing separately, with Tom doing songs like ‘The Last Thing on My Mind’ and ‘Ramblin’ Boy’ and me doing ‘Joy,’ ‘Tennessee Hills’ and some of my guitar solos. At the end, we close together. It get lonely on stage, so this is a wonderful opportunity to share the fun with a friend.”
Following the tour with Paxton, Ian will fly to Japan for a series of concerts with Natalia Zukerman, the daughter of violinist/conductor Pinchas Zukerman and flutist Eugenia Zukerman. Known today for her folk, jazz, blues and bluegrass artistry, Zukerman first learned to play the violin at her parents’ bidding before being allowed to venture to the guitar. The Ian-Zukerman duo will be welcomed in Tokyo and Osaka as a cherished friend with fellow troubadour.
During earlier trips to Japan, Ian met and performed with exciting Japanese singer/pianist Angela Aki. Half of Aki’s new album, “Life,” was recorded in English in Nashville, and the other half was recorded in Japan in Japanese. “Every Woman’s Song,” a number she and Ian collaborated on, hit No. 1 in Japan. They hope to perform together in Japan.
“I know hardly any Japanese, but I’ve been going there for years,” Ian said. “The Japanese like my songs so well their singers translate them into Japanese. I met Angela’s mom years ago when she first wrote to me as a fan and asked for suggestions about her daughter’s career. I advised her to finish college, so she’d be ready for the opportunities out there. She’s like a daughter to me and stayed with us for two months while cutting her album. I’m lucky to have such a full schedule and to be able to connect with fans around the world and with old friends like Tom Paxton.”
