Jorma Kaukonen – Reno Road

Despite my love of Jefferson Airplane, I never followed Hot Tuna or Jorma Kaukonen until just a few years ago. During the COVID-19 lockdown, word got out that Jorma was playing some of the best music of his life on a weekly livestream from his Fur Peace Ranch, and we – desperate for any connection in those dark days of isolation – would tune in every week to his YouTube channel and be wonderfully entertained. It became very comforting just to think that someone else in the world was out there, live, connecting to us. (Several of our local musical friends did this as well, and to them we also remain grateful.)

So it was that recently – and yet, now, nearly five years ago – that I finally got onto the Jorma bandwagon. We’ve even seen him perform in person since then. So when I saw this on the Black Friday Record Store Day 2024 release list, I checked the box and said pretty please to my local dealer.

These are recordings Jack Casady made of Jorma, who had just been learning finger picking, in 1960, taped on a home Wollensak recorder. Well, they sound just amazing. The songs are already familiar – he found his influences early, didn’t he? Jorma is . . . well, he’s Jorma. He plays and sings with ease, even as a young man, and shows a clear love and mastery of these simple country blues. A remarkable set of recordings, and by no means just an interesting oddity (let’s face it, The Legendary Typewriter Tape is not something that gets played a lot, though I’m glad that I have it). It’s gotten quite a few spins in just the couple of months that I’ve had it.

Writing this just a few days before the 2025 inauguration – we’re gonna need some music to get us all through the dark days ahead.