A brand new solo release on Red House, Five years after Blue Country Heart, this new release finds Jorma Kaukonen continuing and expanding on that Grammy-nominated work. Not generally a prolific writer, Kaukonen has written a welcome five of the disc’s fourteen numbers this time out. They range from the perfect and prayerful opener “Overture: Heart Temporary,” with its 12-piece string section holding his acoustic guitar and vocal aloft, to the lilting instrumental “A Life Well Lived.” Jorma’s choice of covers has left him room to make them his own, while also adding to the portrait of who he is as an artist, and how he got there. Continuing the journey through American roots music he started in the early 1960’s, Jorma cooks up a tasty collection of down-home blues, bluegrass, folk, country gospel and reggae. Stars In My Crown was recorded in Nashville and is rooted in classic Americana, flavored with a laid-back bluesy feel. This album certainly shows off Jorma’s ability to hears songs in a different light then those who wrote them before him. While he does have quite a collection of backing musicians on this album, it is obvious that Jorma is his own star and another shining jewel in the history of sound. As i sit and listen for the fourth time through, I look forward to locating the quirky tastes of individual personality this guitar master tempts us with as his signature style. And then I look to his website for tour dates….
***** MisterG rating
