Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma Kaukonen | |
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Website | jormakaukonen |
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (/ˈjɔːrmə ˈkaʊkənɛn/; YOR-mə KOW-kə-nen;[1] born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist.[2][3][4] Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist Jack Casady, and as of early 2019 has continued for 50 years.[5] Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 54 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.[6] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.[7]
Biography
Jorma Kaukonen was born in
Kaukonen departed Washington for studies at Antioch College, where friend Ian Buchanan taught him fingerstyle guitar playing. Buchanan also introduced Kaukonen to the music of Reverend Gary Davis, whose songs have remained important parts of Kaukonen's repertoire throughout his career.[13]
In 1962, Kaukonen moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and enrolled at the University of Santa Clara. During this time, he gave guitar lessons at Benner Music Company in San Jose. He played as a solo act in coffee houses and accompanied Janis Joplin on acoustic guitar on the 1964 recording known as "The Typewriter Tapes" because of the obtrusive sound of Kaukonen's first wife, Margareta, typing in the background.[14]
Jefferson Airplane
In 1965, a friend Bob Kinzie introduced Kaukonen to a former Santa Clara student, Paul Kantner, who invited Kaukonen to join a band he was forming with Marty Balin.[15] As a self-described country 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 the name Jefferson Airplane, inspired by an eccentric friend who had given his dog the name "Blind Lemon Jefferson Airplane."[16] When their original bass player was fired, Kaukonen recommended his friend Casady (who still lived in Washington at the time) as a replacement.
Though never a prolific singer or songwriter during his Airplane tenure, Kaukonen contributed notable material to each of the group's albums, including the instrumental "
Hot Tuna
In 1969–70, Kaukonen and Casady formed
Beginning with their fifth album,
Solo
Kaukonen began his solo career several years prior to the breakup, when he recorded the 1974 album Quah. Produced by Jack Casady, Quah featured string overdubs on some tracks, as well as several tracks written and sung by Kaukonen's friend Tom Hobson.[17] The opening track "Genesis" was featured in the films Margot at the Wedding (2007) and Transcendence (2014).[18]
In 1979, Kaukonen released his second solo album, Jorma. Later that year, he began touring with a number of bass/drum combinations (first known as "Hidden Klitz", then as "White Gland", and finally as "Vital Parts"), which initially included Hot Tuna drummer Bob Steeler. During this time, he experimented with a new image, with short, dyed hair and extensive tattoos adorning his body, back, and arms. He recorded the album Barbeque King which was released in 1980. Kaukonen's traditional fan base did not warm to this new, perceived to be "punk" image, and sales of the album were so disappointing that he was soon dropped from RCA Records.
He continued playing as a solo artist throughout the 1980s at such venues as
In 1984, Kaukonen appeared on
In 1985, Kaukonen performed with the band There Goes the Neighborhood with Jaco Pastorius (bass), Doug McClean (harmonica), Whitie Melvin (percussion), Ben Prevo (guitar), and Rashied Ali (congas).
Having briefly reformed for a tour in 1983 that closed with a farewell show at Jonathan Swift's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hot Tuna again reformed in 1986.
At a 1988 Hot Tuna performance at The Fillmore, Kaukonen surprised fellow Airplane alumnus Paul Kantner (who was sitting in with the band) with an appearance by his estranged lover Grace Slick. The success of this performance helped to pave the way for a Jefferson Airplane reunion tour and record in 1989.
In 1993, he collaborated with ex-
With his wife Vanessa, Kaukonen currently owns and operates the Fur Peace Ranch, a 119-acre (0.48 km2) music and guitar camp in the hills of southeast Ohio, north of Pomeroy, complete with a 32 track studio.[19] He is currently under contract as a solo artist to Red House Records and still records and tours with Jack Casady and other friends such as Barry Mitterhoff as Hot Tuna.
On August 28, 2018, St. Martin's Press published Kaukonen's autobiography, Been So Long: My Life and Music.[20]
Personal life
Jorma married his first wife, Lena "Margareta" (née Pettersson; September 23, 1943 – December 28, 1997) in January 1964. They divorced in 1983. Jorma met his second wife, Vanessa, in Key West, Florida, on July 3, 1988. They married on December 7 of that year. He has a son, Zachary (born September 6, 1997) whose mother was Stephanie Kearse, and an adopted daughter, Izze.[21]
Equipment
As a member of Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen's primary guitar was a
Discography
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References
- ^ "NLS Other Writings, Say How: I, J, K, L – Library of Congress". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- Allmusic
- Allmusic
- Allmusic
- ^ "Throwback Thursday: Hot Tuna Plays 'Hesitation Blues'". July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Rollinstone.com. December 3, 2010. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ "Jefferson Airplane". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 1996. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ISBN 9780671034030. Archivedfrom the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "Jorma Kaukonen". Hotguitarist.com. December 23, 1940. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived January 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9781250125491.
- ^ "TunaBase: Discography". Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Tamarkin, Jeff. Got a Revolution!: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. New York: Atria Books, 2005, p. 29.
- ^ Tamarkin, p. 31
- ^ "Cracks In The Finish » Red Sails In The Sunset". January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ "Jefferson Airplane: Jorma Kaukonen". jeffersonairplane.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ http://tomhobson.com.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Transcendence (I) (2014)". IMDb.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ Berkowitz, Kenny. "Full Circle: Rock Star Jorma Kaukonen Revisits his Youth with a Rootsy Collection of Early Classics." Acoustic Guitar. January 2003.
- ^ "Been So Long | Jorma Kaukonen | Macmillan". Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Kaukonen, Jorma. Been So Long: My Life and Music. New York: St Martin's Press, 2018, p. 81-83, 196, 202-214, 233, 237-241.
- ^ "Martin M-30 Jorma Kaukonen | C.F. Martin & Co". Martinguitar.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ Kaukonen, Jorma (2018). Been So Long: My Life In Music.
- ^ ""Martin Introduces the M-30 Jorma Kaukonen Custom Artist Edition, Premier Guitar,December 09, 2009". December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ "Epiphone Jorma Kaukonen Riviera Deluxe | Vintage Guitar® magazine". August 27, 2002. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
Further reading
- Kaukonen, Jorma (2018). Been So Long: My Life and Music. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 978-1-250-12548-4.
External links
- Jorma Kaukonen website
- Fur Peace Ranch website
- Jorma searches for his Jewish Soul Archived November 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- List of Authorized links from Jormakaukonen.com
- Got a Revolution: Jefferson Airplane biography by Jeff Tamarkin
- Bob Wyman.com – Source for a live recording of Jorma Kaukonen c. 1962
- Jorma Kaukonen discography at the Grateful Dead Family Discography
- Jorma's Journey Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (focuses on his years at Santa Clara University)
- Jorma Kaukonen interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- Jorma Kaukonen Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (February 1, 2014)