Jorma Kaukonen

Jorma Kaukonen is a guitarist and songwriter whose work runs from San Francisco psychedelic rock to acoustic blues. This concert takes place at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

Jorma Kaukonen joined Jefferson Airplane as its lead guitarist in 1965. The band's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow includes "White Rabbit," and Kaukonen's guitar is central to the group's rock sound of that period. In 1969 he co-founded Hot Tuna with bassist Jack Casady, a project that has moved between electric blues-rock and acoustic material. Kaukonen's fingerpicking draws on country blues and on the guitar style of the Reverend Gary Davis, whom he studied with in his early years.

The music is rooted in rock, with a strong blues foundation, and it spans the electric and acoustic sides of Kaukonen's career. Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna both grew out of the San Francisco scene, which gives this concert a direct link to the city's rock history.

The Fillmore is a concert venue in San Francisco, and the evening suits listeners interested in the Jefferson Airplane catalog, the Hot Tuna repertoire, and the acoustic blues strand of Kaukonen's career.