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The Grocer of Despair evolved into a dry, witty raconteur with a voice from the depths of the earth.

He still believes this is the Flood - literally. The best we can do is cling to our orange boxes and wave to each other. But somehow he's more comfortable with it now, and tells the same grim tale with a twinkle in his eye.

When I was 16 my girlfriend Susie introduced me to Cohen: "You wouldn't believe it - he's nearly 30!". I soon discovered the archetypal Cohen territory - the fag-end aftermath of a party, Songs from a Room pinning the comatose and the melancholy to the floor, the sweet herald of the coming hangover. For most of my friends, that's as far as it went. File under the Cohen Cliche.

But somehow Songs of Love and Hate hooked me, pulled me into Cohen's true challenge. Even the title was a challenge to the Scottish late-adoption of hippiedom in the early 70s, as it died out across the world. I saw him play in Glasgow in 73 or 74 and knew there was something special here. The sound of thousands of people being silent. The sound of an artist who could wield this sort of power, but still observe old-world politeness and gratitude to his audience.

In 1979, deeply entangled in love, loss, travel and spiritual shopping, I saw him again at the Hammersmith Odeon, one of the gigs released  as Field Commander Cohen. I was listening to Recent Songs on a daily basis, and discovering that he had, like me, adopted Zen practice, subscribed to Zero, the magazine he co-edited from Mt Baldy Zen Centre. Sadly, I'd also taken to slicking my hair back and wearing double-breasted suits, an affectation that saw me through to the late 90s.

I was delighted by the revival of his fortunes in the 90s, although my favourite recording of this period is the instrumental Tacoma Trailer at the end of The Future, and my favourite album the tribute album I'm Your Fan.

His most recent albums Ten New Songs and Dear Heather show him continuing to develop, to find new ways of expressing himself.

I admire Cohen because he is in the music world but not of it. He was always bigger, more mature, more intelligent than the scrabbling for fame rock world. His respect for his fans continues even though he no longer tours. He contributes poems and the occasional note to the Leonard Cohen Files website.

He is a Master of the Discipline and I salute him.