Jorma Kaukonen

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“A pioneer of San Francisco psychedelia, Jorma Kaukonen is a bona fide graybeard folk swami. He mostly lays back, a master in situ, unfurling melodies and savoring every note. – Rolling Stone Magazine

 

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, and rock. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a

Grammy recipient, Jorma was at the forefront of popular rock and 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 and 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 and dimension. His secret is in playing spontaneous

and 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.

“A mesmerizing storyteller, Kaukonen delivers a memoir as intricate

and dazzling as his music.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

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. As Kaukonen describes, “My story is my story. Having told bits

and pieces of it over my lifetime to a treasured few, it was time to tell all to a

bigger audience…From rehearsals and jams in small apartments and tiny

back rooms to Monterey, Woodstock, Altamont, the Rock And Roll Hall Of

Fame, the world of the Grammys and beyond… this is part of the road I live

on. This is my embryonic journey and much, much more!”

“At a time when many rock stars are releasing memoirs, Jorma

Kaukonen’s Been So Long: My Life and Music stands apart…. an

incredibly insightful look inside the life of a musician who was not

only influenced by some of America’s greatest music but who also left

an indelible mark on that very same musical landscape.” —AXS

The son of a State Department official, Jorma Kaukonen, Jr. was born and

raised in the Washington D.C. area, with occasional extended trips outside

the United States. He was a devotee of rock and roll in the Buddy Holly era

but soon developed a love for the blues and bluegrass that were profuse in

the clubs and 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 Kaukonen is a force in American music, equally adept at

fingerpicked acoustic folk and blues as he is at wailing on an

electric.” – Acoustic Guitar

Jorma and 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 five 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 two-dozen records. The

musicians who have performed with them are many and widely varied, as

are their styles — from acoustic to long and 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.

“It is Kaukonen’s original material that best tells the story.” – Forbes

Jorma’s originals from his poignant instrumentals, “Embryonic

Journey” (Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow) and “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.

“[His] dexterity runs circles around most players … His material

stands the test of time in a way that most others will not.” – Billboard

In addition to his work with Hot Tuna, Jorma has recorded more than a

dozen solo albums on major labels beginning with 1974’s Quah and

continuing with his recent acoustic releases on Red House Records —

Stars in My Crown (2007) produced by Byron House, River of Time (2009)

produced by Larry Campbell and featuring Levon Helm and Jorma’s latest

solo album, Ain’t in No Hurry (2015) also produced by Larry Campbell and

featuring Jack Casady.

“Clearly not content on resting on any of his legendary laurels, Jorma

Kaukonen continues to find ways to wed his muse to the right

material and create a colorful tableau.” – Relix

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. Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch

Guitar Camp is located on 125 acres of fields, woods, hills, and streams in

the Appalachian foothills of Southeastern Ohio. Since it opened in 1998,

thousands of musicians whose skills range from basic to highly

accomplished gather for weekends of master instruction offered by Jorma

and other instructors who are leaders in their musical fields. A multitude of

renowned performers make the trek to Ohio to teach at Fur Peace Ranch

and play at the performance hall, Fur Peace Station. 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 91.3

FM. The Kaukonens there support their local community through art

festivals and a restaurant on site.

Jorma Kaukonen is constantly looking to take his musical horizons further

still, always moving forward and he is quick to say that teaching is among

the most rewarding aspects of his career. “You just can’t go backward. The

arrow of time only goes in one direction.”