A candid memoir by the legendary Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna co-founder and guitarist, written with as much depth and emotion as his music
Jorma Kaukonen is one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and Americana, and at the forefront of popular rock 'n roll. He is a co-founding member and the guitarist of Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna, and has recorded more than a dozen solo albums. He's a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy nominee. Jorma and his wife Vanessa operate Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, a center in Ohio for studying guitar and other instruments.
Praise for Been So Long: A quick, engaging read... --Associated
Press Been So Long is a survivor's tale, well told and sprinkled
with a bit of 1960s fairy dust. --Wall Street Journal
Jefferson Airplane guitarist Kaukonen's candid and affectionate
memoir resembles the rambling and free-flowing road trips he
enjoys.... A mesmerizing storyteller, Kaukonen delivers a memoir as
intricate and dazzling as his music. --Publishers Weekly,
starred review At a time when many rock stars are releasing
memoirs, Jorma Kaukonen's Been So Long: My Life and Music
stands apart.... an incredibly insightful look inside the life of a
musician who was not only influenced by some of America's greatest
music but who also left an indelible mark on that very same musical
landscape. --AXS Been So Long could be considered a text
that reveals not only the musical heart of Jorma Kaukonen, but his
heart in and of itself. It is a memoir of a man who has lived an
eventful life and has decided to take advantage of his later years
to consider his past and his legacy both as an artist and as a
human being. --Counterpunch Kaukonen's ingenuity, his
creativity, his desire to follow a story wherever it takes him, and
his crisp writing permeate his new autobiography Been So Long:
My Life and Music; his writing is as smooth and intricate as
his fingerstyle blues, and he's a rattling good raconteur, drawing
us in with tales of his days in the Airplane and Hot Tuna, and
always candid about his own battles with alcoholism and drug use
and his failed first marriage.... Kaukonen's illuminating stories
and lilting prose warm us with this glow, too, and the book carries
us on a lyrical journey through the hills and valleys of a man who
is one of the five best guitarists playing today. --No
Depression journal A sweeping span of a life well lived and
should be a cornerstone to any library, personal or public, that
deals with American history, musical history or a range of
disparate perspectives on human nature. --Stomp and
Stammer
But just as Jorma Kaukonen has followed whatever path in his life
musically he feels at any given time, his book likewise travels
roads you many not expect to go down, but still create a unique
portrait of the artist. --Houston Press
Reflective and insightful...an intriguing picture of a man for whom
music is not merely a vocation but, rather, the source of life
itself. Entertaining and emotional, alternately exhilarating and
depressing, this is a special musician's memoir, and it will strike
a resounding chord with fans of classic rock. --Booklist
Amiable and informative... An honest personal portrait. --Kirkus
Reviews
Kaukonen writes with narrative flair... --Library Journal A
modern parable. --from the foreword by Grace Slick Jorma comes
across as a real guy ...saying what he really did ...and how he
actually feels ....kind of what you'd expect if you knew him ...but
very unusual for a book ...they are seldom this honest or this
good. --David Crosby Jorma Kaukonen has produced an enduring body
of original music, and devoted a lifetime to introducing a broad
audience to blues, roots and Americana. Been So Long is an
important read for anyone who loves music. It is thoughtful,
insightful and downright fun. In Japan, artists who have made the
greatest contributions are designated as Living National Treasures.
For many reasons, Jorma is a truly Living National Treasure. I
learned a lot from Been So Long, and I highly recommend it.
--Jesse Finkelstein, Blues Radio International Meet Jorma Kaukonen
- genius guitarist of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, speed
skater, diarist, lyricist, husband, father, teacher and
storyteller. His Been So Long reads like his guitar playing sounds
- sharp, and stinging mixed with sweet and gentle. Reading this
book was like having him sitting next to you, whispering the story
of his life in your ear. --Joel Selvin, Music Journalist and Author
of Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels,
and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day Praise for Jorma
Kaukonen: "Kaukonen's brilliant acoustic guitar work results in an
aural feast." --Raleigh News & Observer
"Kaukonen doing what he does involves playing folk/blues-derived
guitar with skill and dexterity few can match." --San Francisco
Chronicle
"Nobody does the acoustic blues better these days than the founder
of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist, Jorma Kaukonen."
--Popmatters "With early Tuna, there was a bit of respectful
distance; they were playing an older generation's music and giving
it a few psychedelic tweaks. Today, Kaukonen plays that music like
it's his own; the hard-lived sentiments are those he has
experienced firsthand." --Sound & Vision Magazine "The
playing is quietly astounding, but it's the sincere love for these
songs that pushes the plow." --Detroit Free Press
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