In a career that has already spanned a half-century, Jorma Kaukonen has been one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, & rock. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, Jorma was at the forefront of popular rock & roll, one of the founders of the San Francisco sound and a progenitor of Psychedelic Rock. He is a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane & the still-touring Hot Tuna. Jorma Kaukonen is a music legend and one of the finest singer-songwriters in his field. He continues to tour the world bringing his unique styling to old blues tunes while presenting new songs of weight & dimension. His secret is in playing spontaneous & unfiltered music, with an individual expression of personality. In 2016, Jorma, Jack Casady and the other members of Jefferson Airplane were awarded The GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to American music. In 2019 St. Martin’s Press published Jorma‘s autobiography, Been So Long: My Life and Music, written to express his life both in and out of the music world. He was a devotee of rock & roll in the Buddy Holly era but soon developed a love for the blues & bluegrass that were profuse in the clubs/concerts in the nation’s capital. It inspired him to take up guitar and play that kind of music himself. Soon he met Jack Casady, the younger brother of a friend and a wonderful guitar player in his own right. Though they could not have known it, they were beginning a musical partnership that has continued for more than 50 years. Jorma graduated from high school and headed off for Antioch College in Ohio, where he met Ian Buchanan, who introduced him to the elaborate fingerstyle fretwork of the Rev. Gary Davis. A work-study program in New York introduced Jorma, the increasingly skilled guitarist, to that city’s burgeoning folk-blues bluegrass scene and many of its players. After a break from college and travel overseas, Jorma moved to California, where he returned to classes at Santa Clara University and earned money by teaching guitar. It was at this time, in 1965, that he met Paul Kantner and was invited to join a new not-yet-named rock band Kantner was forming with Marty Balin. As a self-described blues purist, Kaukonen was initially reluctant, but found his imagination excited by the arsenal of effects available to electric guitar, later remarking that he was “sucked in by technology.” With the group still looking for a name, Kaukonen suggested Jefferson Airplane, inspired by an eccentric friend who had given his dog the name “Blind Lemon Jefferson Airplane.” Jorma invited his old musical partner Jack Casady to come out to San Francisco and play electric bass for the new band, and together they created much of Jefferson Airplane’s signature sound. A pioneer of counterculture-era psychedelic rock, the group was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve international mainstream success. Their 1967 record ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ is regarded as one of the key recordings of the “Summer of Love.” Jorma & Jack would jam whenever they could and would sometimes perform sets within sets at Airplane concerts. The two would often play clubs following Airplane performances. Making a name for themselves as a duo, they struck a record deal, and Hot Tuna was born. Jorma left Jefferson Airplane after the band’s most productive 5 years, pursuing his full-time job with Hot Tuna. Over the past five decades Hot Tuna has performed thousands of concerts and released more than 2-dozen records. The musicians who have performed with them are many and widely varied, as are their styles, from acoustic to long & loud electric jams, but never straying far from their musical roots. What is remarkable is that they have never coasted. Hot Tuna today sounds better than ever. Jorma’s originals from his poignant instrumentals, “Embryonic Journey” (Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow) & “The Water Song” (Hot Tuna – Burgers), to his insightful lyrics, “Genesis” (Jorma Kaukonen – Quah), have stood the test of time. Having an undeniable feeling of significance, they have been included in films and covered by many artists who have been inspired by his depth and continuity of spirit. In addition to his work with Hot Tuna, Jorma has recorded more than a dozen solo albums on major labels. But performance and recording are only part of the story. As the leading practitioner and teacher of fingerstyle guitar, Jorma and his wife Vanessa Lillian operate one of the world’s most unique centers for the study of guitar and other instruments and a high quality place to play. Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch is located on 125 acres of fields, woods, hills, & streams in the Appalachian foothills of Southeastern Ohio. It has become an important stop on the touring circuit for artists who do not normally play intimate 200-seat venues, bringing such artists as David Bromberg, Roger McGuinn, Arlo Guthrie, Dave Alvin, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Warren Haynes, Lee Roy Parnell, Chris Hillman and more. Students, instructors, and visiting artists alike welcome the peace and tranquility — as well as the great music and great instruction — that Fur Peace Ranch offers. At Fur Peace Ranch the Kaukonens have created the Psylodelic Gallery, a museum in a silo, celebrating the music, art, culture, and literature of the 1960’s, tracing important events and movements of the psychedelic era. They produce concerts at the Fur Peace Station which are streamed internationally on YouTube as well as broadcast on WOUB 91.3FM. The Kaukonens there support their local community through art
festivals and a restaurant on site.
I had the pleasure to play a little catch up with family to the program, Jorma Kaukonon ahead of the May 8th event at the Stoughton Opera House with special guest, John Hurlbut. We get into what the scene will be like for this show as well as the soon to be released new album from John & Jorma (out on Record Store Day) called ‘One More Lifetime’. We also take time to discuss the 2023 release of Live at the Bottom Line, which I (looking right at the correct name – call The Bitter End), and how he thought the guys sounded on a night a long time ag and we even touch a bit on the recent 3 CD box set of live Hot Tuna music – which really is my fav. I check in with him to see if he goes back ever like a coach to see if there’s more/less to be done with a tune – he gives a not so surprising answer with a great Jefferson Airplane example and we of course, had to find out what is going down at the Fur Peace Ranch. Friends.
