(December 2022) Episode 456 is JORMA KAUKONEN and HOT TUNA. Jorma has been my favorite member of Jefferson Airplane for his finger-picking guitar style (on JA songs “Embryonic Journey” and “Third Week on the Chelsea” and his solo album “Quah”) and his amiable singing voice. Most of his albums are in the folk/blues/Americana vein and enjoyable, while the pop ones, not so much. Hot Tuna started out as a blues-rock JA side gig with bassist Jack Casady and has endured through five decades of touring, also generally enjoyable.
Favorite solo album: Quah
Favorite solo song: Genesis
Favorite Hot Tuna album: America’s Choice
Favorite Hot Tuna song: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: if you like finger-style guitar as I do, you’ll like Jorma
Opus Project 