Jerry Garcia & Jorma Kaukonen - "Jorma & Jerry's Jam" v2 - PERRO Sessions - 1971

Some excellent reference material on the PERRO sessions: http://www.philzone.com/philbase/perr... Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. (born December 23, 1940, Washington, D.C.) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Born to a Finnish American father and an American born Russian Jewish mother,[4] Kaukonen was a founding member of the popular psychedelic San Francisco-based band Jefferson Airplane, which scored two Top 10 radio hits in 1967 with "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." Kaukonen learned to play guitar as a teenager in Washington, D.C., but before moving to the D.C. area, Jorma and family lived in the Philippines and other locales as he followed his father's career from assignment to assignment before returning to the place of his birth. As a teenager in Washington he and future Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady (who at the time played six-string guitar) formed a band named The Triumphs. 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.[5] In 1962 Kaukonen moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and enrolled in Santa Clara University. During this time he taught guitar lessons at Benner Music Company in San Jose. As a self-described blues purist, Kaukonen never had any ambition to play in a rock band. He played as a solo act in coffee houses and can be heard accompanying a young Janis Joplin on acoustic guitar on an historic 1964 recording (known as "The Typewriter Tapes" because of the obtrusive sound of Kaukonen's first wife Margareta typing in the background).[6] Invited to attend a Jefferson Airplane rehearsal by founding member Paul Kantner, Kaukonen found his imagination excited by the arsenal of effects available to electric guitar and later said, "I was sucked in by technology." Hot Tuna and solo career Hot Tuna Hot Tuna at Merlefest, 2006-Left to right, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, and Barry Mitterhof In 1969--70, Kaukonen and Jack Casady formed Hot Tuna, a spinoff group that allowed them to play as long as they liked. An early incarnation of Hot Tuna included Jefferson Airplane vocalist Marty Balin and featured Joey Covington on drums and vocals. This grouping came to an end after an unsuccessful recording jaunt to Jamaica, the sessions of which have never been released. Pared down to Kaukonen and Casady, Hot Tuna lived on as a vehicle for Kaukonen to show off his Piedmont style acoustic blues fingerpicking skills. The self titled first album was all acoustic and recorded live. With the dissolution of Jefferson Airplane in 1972, Hot Tuna went electric, with Airplane fiddler Papa John Creach joining for the next two albums. Hot Tuna scored an FM hit with "Ja Da (Keep On Truckin')" from their third (and first studio) album, Burgers. At this time, Kaukonen's songwriting began to dominate, as further evidenced by the next album, The Phosphorescent Rat, which only featured one cover song. Beginning with their fifth album, America's Choice (1974), the addition of drummer Bob Steeler encouraged a rise in volume and a change of band personality —a rampaging, Cream-like rock with often quasi-mystical lyrics by Kaukonen. During this period, the power trio was known for its very long live sets and instrumental jamming. Solo Career In 1974, Kaukonen recorded the first and most successful of several solo albums, Quah, together with Tom Hobson. Produced by Jack Casady, and featuring (somewhat surprisingly) string overdubs on some tracks, this album contained some of Kaukonen's most deft fingerpicking work, especially on "Hamar Promenade", "Blue Prelude", "Genesis" and " Flying Clouds". The curious picture that adorns Quah's cover is today on display at Donkey Coffee and Espresso, a coffee shop in Athens, Ohio. Kaukonen toured vigorously throughout the 1970s in both the United States and Europe, but with Hot Tuna's break up in 1978, the first phase of the band's career ended. Casady left to form the new wave band SVT, while Kaukonen released his second solo album, Jorma, a mix of electric guitar and acoustic fingerstyle in 1979. Meanwhile, he had formed the band "Vital Parts."