Mercury Records will release A Night At The Family Dog (1970), Go Ride The Music and West Pole (1969), three psychedelic trips down memory lane, on May 12 as a 2 DVD package, complete with new artwork and ‘60s-styled poster. All three films were originally produced and created as groundbreaking television documentaries by Ralph J. Gleason [1917-1975] who did more than any other journalist to hip the world to what was shakin’ in San Francisco in the late ‘60s.

In a career that has already spanned a half-century, Jorma Kaukonen has been one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and rock. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, Jorma was at the forefront of popular rock and roll, one  of the founders of the San Francisco sound and a progenitor of Psychedelic Rock. He is a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson  Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna.

It’s always a pleasure to see a Jorma Kaukonen play live. Seeing him play solo in the small 450 seat acoustically perfect theatre, it’s a memorable evening, rich with reflections of the past 45+ years seeing Jorma and living in the present. The Egg Center for the Performing Arts in Albany, NY is one of those buildings that you can drive by hundreds of times and it always draws your attention. The building is the most prominent feature of the Albany skyline.

Symphonic finesse and elegance was the theme on December 30 when Acoustic Hot Tuna, aka Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, concluded a three-night residency at the intimate Freight & Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley, California. The enduring duo entertained the crowd with two sets of acoustic blues, roots, and spiritual music – much of it dating to pre-World War II – that was both complex and easy on the ears.

All the world’s a vibration, yet music remains in the abstract, lurking in the formless world of potential, eagerly awaiting the inspiration of someone to bring it to form. The musician, in answer to this calling, illuminates what was once invisible, carrying us into the mind and heart of a moment, an emotion, or to the edges of the universe itself. Like an astronaut, these bards reveal a dimension of being, one central within all of existence—Feeling, the explorations of which seems to know no bounds.

When I first heard John Hurlbut’s and Jorma Kaukonen’s acoustic album, The River Flows, my being instantly welled up to the sound, welcoming it like an ocean does a river. With tears filling my eyes, the quality of the music made me realize—There’s something about greatness that opens the soul to living. What was it that I was experiencing which caused me to think such things, to feel such sentiment? John and Jorma’s touch begs the asking.

Jorma Kaukonen, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, is a founding member of two legendary bands, San Francisco’s ‘60’s band, Jefferson Airplane and his still-touring Hot Tuna. In a career that has spanned more than 60 years, guitarist and songwriter Kaukonen, is a highly respected artist who always adds new energy into his music, expressing himself cleanly and creating a unique sound.

This Saturday, October 10 at 8 p.m. ET the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp airs an exclusive interview by Jorma Kaukonen on Janis Joplin and then one with Grace Slick!

Thanks to the coronavirus, concerts are on hold until further notice. We get it; but we don’t like it.

Artists and fans have been making the best of it, with bands using internet outposts to broadcast archival performances or set up live streams without audiences in attendance and with allowances for social distancing among the musicians.

The music is flowing, but the experience is suffering.

Quality involvement! Join us as Jorma Kaukonen performs his 8th solo free Quarantine Concert from the Fur Peace Ranch this coming Saturday, May 23 at 8 p.m. EDT. For seven weeks Jorma has been performing, telling true-life tales and talking about his songs, often playing them on the very guitar he wrote the song on. It is a fascinating look at this artist's history and influences.  The sound quality is clear and the filming visually revealing... you can even steal a lick or two!