Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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Biography: Jorma Kaukonen began his career as a backup to Janis Joplin in the early 1960s but by 1965 he had founded Jefferson Airplane. Though his songwriting skills were not much in evidence during the Airplane years, his distinctive guitar skills played a major role in defining the sound of the band.

While still playing in Airplane, Kaukonen founded Hot Tuna, with fellow band member Jack Casady, as an outlet for their acoustic leanings. Airplane split in 1973 and Tuna went electric, and Kaukonen's songwriting skills began to predominate. He consolidated this with a successful solo career; in 1974 he released the first of several solo albums, Quah and when, in 1978, Tuna split, he released his second, Jorma. It was during this time that he founded yet another band, Vital Parts though the band failed to capture public appreciation.

He continues to tour as a solo musician and with a reunited Hot Tuna and participated in the 1989 reunion of Jefferson Airplane. He also owns and operates the Fur Peace Ranch, which is a guitar camp and studio based in the countryside of Ohio.

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Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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Product Description: BLUE COUNTRY HEART was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Acoustic fingerpicker Jorma Kaukonen fiddled around with his country roots a bit in Jefferson Airplane and dipped a little deeper while fronting Hot Tuna, but his 2002 release, Blue Country Heart, is his most summertime-afternoon, front-porch-pickin' album. The album is comprised of traditional country songs from the '30s and '40s popularized by legendary performers like Jimmy Rodgers, Jimmy Davis, Gene Autry, and the Delmore Brothers. The blue country band features contemporary acoustic virtuosos Sam Bush on mandolin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, bassist Byron House, and Grammy-winner Béla Fleck on banjo, backing Kaukonen's nimble fingers and gruff vocals. The whole album carries an easygoing vibe throughout; whether Kaukonen is waiting for a train, recounting his promiscuous tomcat, or escaping from a chain gang, his voice maintains a relaxed feel, and the "no overdubs" recording style gives it a real "living room jam" kind of sound. The recordings aren't flawless, but pretty close, and any brown notes and voice crackles only help to add to the down-home atmosphere, making for a warmly enjoyable listening experience. ~ Zac Johnson

W/Sam Bush,Jerry Douglas, Byron House,Bela Fleck

Recorded at Masterlink Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Jorma Kaukonen.

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Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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Review: Jorma Kaukonen's new CD, "Blue Country Heart", (Columbia Records) is warm, passionate and extremely enjoyable. Jorma's numerous fans (as well as newcomers) will find this CD essential listening. Jorma's gentle vocals and acoustic finger-picking guitar are right up front in the mix and the guest musicians who contribute dobro, mandolin, fiddle & banjo add a superb dimension. The old-timey songs swing, and are guaranteed to keep you grooving. Jorma, a legendary guitarist and member of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. The Airplane ascended to the Top of the Charts in 1967 (with Grace Slick's vocals) on the hit singles Somebody To Love and White Rabbit. Jefferson Airplane performed celebrated concerts at the Fillmore East (NY) and Fillmore West (SF), played on the Ed Sullivan show and were on the cover of Life Magazine in 1968. Jefferson Airplane, before mutating into Jefferson Starship, played all the major concert events of the 1960's, including: Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock (1969) and Altamont. Jorma left the Airplane in 1972 to pursue a more roots/blues-based form of music with "Hot Tuna" and also began a career as a solo performer. On "Blue Country Heart", Jorma Kaukonen shines on 13 "old timey" songs, including "Just Because", which was made famous by Elvis Presley in 1955 on the Sun Records Sessions. The opening song, "Blue Railroad Train", was originally recorded by The Delmore Brothers, who are one of the architects of early blues and rock. "Blue Country Heart" was recorded in Nashville in the Spring of 2002. All the songs were recorded live (no overdubs) and many selections feature mandolinist Sam Bush, dobro player Jerry Douglas, and banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck Jorma is a master at fusing country and bluegrass with his own traditional acoustic guitar style, which makes for a delightful "down-home" listening experience. ~ Amazon Customer

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Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart - 2002 (DSD)

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