Jorma Kaukonen Wows Sold Out Crowd at the West Theater in Duluth

Jorma Kaukonen at the West

Duluth Reader publisher Bob Boone had a dream of renovating the historic West Theater. The challenges were many. In 2019, Boone brought the historic Art Deco theater to life through sheer determination. With months the beginning of our two year pandemic cut the legs out from under the rollout plan. Nevertheless persistence prevailed. The West is a wonderful venue for movies and performances. Thursday evening, Boone was delighted to place the words SOLD OUT on the West's marquis. Jorma Kaukonen was in town.

Bob Boone was delighted to introduce Jorma to the crowd. He began by admitting he did not know who Kaukonen was when he his connection in New York recommended him. The crowd had a better handle on that than Boone realized, many folks coming quite a distance to be here.

Jorma, whom Rolling Stone placed 54th on the list of 100 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players, has a long list of achievements under his belt. A member of the 1996 class of inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he has also been awarded a Grammy. 

Kaukonen's father was in the State Department, so he grew up all over the world before ending up at Antioch College in Ohio where he learned the finger-picking style that showcases his mastery of the guitar. From there he went to San Francisco where he met some folks who persuaded him to join their fledgling rock group. Till then he'd favored acoustic guitar, but was soon seduced by the technology of electric guitars and their capabilities. After recruiting his friend Jack Casady to play bass, he gave the band its name: Jefferson Airplane. Jorma and Jack evidently enjoyed jamming so much that they later went on to form their own band, Hot Tuna. 

The West concert was simple elegance, the sound system superb, the setting intimate. Kaukonen began by letting the audience know there would be an intermission and that there would be some CBD products for sale at that time. 

His presentation was something akin to being in his living room as he played some favorite tunes. Even at 82 his fingers moved with remarkable dexterity. It was apparent he enjoyed being able to bring pleasure to an audience through his music and singing.  The play list included songs like Take My Rocking Chair, Been So Long, Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out, Hesitation Blues, and Candy Man. 

He wore a red ruby-like ring on his right forefinger that glimmered in the spotlight as he played. His casual attire reflected his current down home residence in the Appalachian foothills near where I went to college. He also wore an aura of contentment and ease.

Late in the second half of the show he delivered two classics from his Airplane days: Good Shepherd (from Volunteers) and Embryonic Journey (from Surrealistic Pillow). An enthusiastic response followed each. His virtuosity at various points in the evening brought ovations and for many the evening brought back memories. 

The songs had many memorable lines. I liked, "The arrow of time goes only one way," a concept conveyed by Robert Frost's poem about paths diverging in a yellow wood, and our occasional tendency to wonder about things that might have been. 

It was indeed a very special evening. 

Keep your lamp burning. 

* * * 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Class of 1996

David Bowie

Gladys Knight & the Pips 

• William Guest, Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight, Edward Patten

Jefferson Airplane 

• Marty Balin, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick

Little Willie John, 

Pink Floyd 

• Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, 

The Shirelles 

• Doris Kenner-Jackson, Addie Harris, Beverly Lee, Shirley Owens, 

The Velvet Underground 

• John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker