NEW ON CD

Kaukonen makes
the old seem new

"Blue Country Heart" Jorma Kaukonen Columbia

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Review by Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com

Kaukonen was the big surly one in Jefferson Airplane, the guy with the gold tooth in the middle of his smiler. He and Jack Casady are the ones who split early (and never looked back), forming the legendary psychedelic jam band Hot Tuna.

Hot Tuna is still with us, and it's still a Casady-Kaukonen project. But Kaukonen did much more. He also opened the Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio, a kind of summer camp for budding guitarists. He's had a lifetime interest in passing on the legacy of musical heritage, ever since he was adopted by acoustic-blues players in the early '60s, and Kaukonen has matured into a kind of stable, dependable (if unflashy) guitar hero.

His experiences teaching guitar have created a kind of fresh resonance in his latest recording, "Blue Country Heart," a breathtakingly full-range digital recording of all-acoustic instruments in an intimate setting. The guitars, banjos and dobros have a big, fat, juicy presence without any of the harsh compression usually associated with a commercial release.

This is Kaukonen's first commercial recording in more than a decade, and it was recently nominated for a Grammy in the Traditional Folk category.

But all the hype and all the new-fangled technology in the world can't replace great tunes and honest musicianship, and this album has both in spades. Kaukonen's sidekicks are Jerry Douglas sliding on a big, boomy resonator guitar, Sam Bush with his new-grass mandolin licks and bass player Byron House rounding out the bottom. Banjo whiz (and recent Hawaii visitor) Bela Fleck sits in on two tracks.

The songs are so old they feel fresh, all cheerful covers. Kaukonen is mining the "across the railroad tracks" territory where blues and bluegrass intersect, and that includes traditionals like "Tom Cat Blues" and "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?"

The old-fashioned country waltz "I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now" has some extraordinary moments, but the album's centerpiece is likely the 1960s folk-house fave "Just Because," played with high spirits and a rollicking vocal.

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