Track Listing

1. Blue Railroad Train
2. Just Because
3. Blues Stay Away from Me
4. Red River Blues
5. Bread Line Blues
6. Waiting for a Train
7. Those Gambler's Blues
8. Tom Cat Blues
9. Big River Blues
10. Prohibition Blues
11. I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now
12. You and My Old Guitar
13. What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29453 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Singer and guitarist extraordinaire Jorma Kaukonen was a devoted aficionado of early-20th-century rural music long before he cofounded Jefferson Airplane in 1965 and Hot Tuna some years later. On his new solo album, Kaukonen has found an imaginative setting to remind listeners how a fusion of styles and influences from both black and white musicians defined American country music in its formative decades. Included here are gems, both familiar and obscure, by the likes of Jimmie Rodgers, the Delmore Brothers, Jimmie Davis, Cliff Carlisle, and other country musicians who were clearly inspired by their blues cousins. Backed by the Nashville All-Stars, a supersonic string band comprising bluegrass masters Sam Bush (mandolin), Jerry Douglas (Dobro), Béla Fleck (banjo), and Byron House (stand-up bass), all playing on vintage 1920s and '30s acoustic instruments, Kaukonen revives and vividly reinterprets these blues-drenched country classics for a new generation of listeners. --Bob Allen

Customer Reviews

Jorma Kaukonen - From Jefferson Airplane to Nashville!
Blue Country Heart
Jorma Kaukonen

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. George Walsh

Mighty fine
I assume any reader of this page will probably know who Jorma Kaukonen is. (Just in case, though: it's pronounced YORE-ma KOW-ko-nen, he used to play with the Jefferson Airplane, and he founded Hot Tuna with his pal and co-Airplaner, bassist Jack Casady.)

I don't think he's capable of recording bad music, so you can't go wrong with any of his stuff. But this CD is probably the best one he's released in two, maybe three decades.

The plot: Jorma's settin' around Fur Peace Ranch here in Ohio, playin' some old-timey country blooze with some friends. (Actually, the CD was recorded in Nashville. But there are lots of photos from the ranch, and the music has that nice front-porch-jam-among-friends feel.) The outcome: a laid-back hippie hoedown.

Still not sold? All right -- the friends Jorma is jamming with are Jerry Douglas (resophonic guitar), Sam Bush (mandolin and backing vocals), and Byron House (bass), and Bela Fleck sits in with his banjo on two of the tunes. _Any one_ of these folks would be sufficient to guarantee a maximally cool CD. But _all five together_ . . . oh, my. I'm just glad I lived to see the day, that's all.

(On the off-chance that you haven't heard of these people, search for their names at your earliest convenience and prepare to hear some of the best music you've ever heard. Also check New Grass Revival and Strength in Numbers, both of which feature some of the same personnel. While you're at it, look for David Grisman, Tony Rice, and any of the various acoustic releases by Jerry Garcia and his friends -- not only the Dead but also Almost Acoustic and Old & In The Way.)

Anyway, they just don't come any cooler than Jorma; on the Coolness Meter, he registers somewhere around Willie Nelson and J.J. Cale. He's very good at this acoustic stuff and he's been doing it for a long time. Put this baby on your CD player and set yerself down on the porch.

Jorma releases a masterpiece!
This is Jorma's best album since his great album "Quah" from the '70s. The singing, playing, material and production are top notch. EVERY song is a gem.If you are a fan of Jorma, you must have this CD. If you're not familiar with Jorma Kaukonen's unique approach to American roots music but you enjoy acoustic, folk or bluegrass, you should add this disc to your collection because it blows away all other new recordings in the aforementioned genres.It's impossible for me to describe the music on this CD. You must hear it for yourself. It's pure musical magic that is very rare these days. Although I'm a longtime fan of Jorma's work, I would be floored by this music even if I had never heard of him.The time has come for the world to know Jorma!