On March 19, 1968, Joni Mitchell played two surprise sets at Café Le Hibou in Ottawa. Also present was Jimi Hendrix, who’d played two sold-out shows of his own at the Capitol Theater earlier that night. Those Jimi Hendrix Experience shows have been packaged into multiple live albums over the years, but they weren’t the only recordings he was involved in that night.

In his diary, Hendrix wrote, “Talked with Joni Mitchell on the phone. I think I’ll record her tonight with my excellent tape recorder (knock on wood) . . . hmmm . . . can’t find any wood . . . everything’s plastic.” He did end up capturing Mitchell’s set on his reel-to-reel, kneeling inconspicuously at the front of the stage. In a subsequent diary entry he praised Mitchell as a “fantastic girl with heaven words.”

The tape was stolen a few days later and thought to be lost forever. Recently it was discovered as part of a personal collection donated to the Library and Archives Canada, who returned it to Mitchell. And now those recordings are being released as part of Mitchell’s latest archival box set. Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) features nearly six hours of unreleased home, studio, and live recordings. The five-CD, 10-LP package includes the Le Hibou performances recorded by Hendrix. It also encompasses a BBC live broadcast with James Taylor, a demo recorded at Jane Lurie’s apartment in NYC, lots of early home demos by Mitchell, and more.

Below, check out Hendrix’s recording of Mitchell playing “The Dawntreader” at Café Le Hibou.

And here’s Hendrix’s handwritten diary entry about the experience:

Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) is out 10/29 on Rhino. Pre-order it and survey the full tracklist here.