[rating=8.00]
The easy going picking that begins “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” on Jorma Kaukonen’s latest solo album, Ain’t No Hurry, is perfectly in keeping with its title even as it belies how prolific Kaukonen has been in recent years. This is the guitarist’s fourth record under his own name since the arrival of the millennium during which same span he’s released Steady As She Goes in 2011 with Hot Tuna, toured with that venerable group in various alignments and kept up a fairly busy schedule of his own concerts. All this even as he oversees Fur Peace Ranch, site of shows and educational events throughout the year, not to mention the recording location of this album.
Nevertheless, the ever-so-relaxed, jaunty gait on the opening cut extends to what follows in the form of “The Other Side of the Mountain,” a paean to Jorma Kaukonen’s vocation as much as to his musical institution in Ohio: the emphatic old stop here suggests the deserved confidence and sense of personal place this founding member of Jefferson Airplane brings to his endeavors. “Suffer Little Children Come Unto Me” continues in that authoritative vein, furthering Kaukonen’s rightful self-perception as mentor musician as well as continuing the sparkling acoustic textures that dominate Ain’t In No Hurry.
“In My Dreams” boasts a soft melody and lyrics to match, but the author avoids the mawkish tone he’s even as latter-day sidekick Barry Mitterhoff’s quick piercing mandolin notes echo that penetrating approach. One of four self-penned numbers here, Kaukonen also writes with co-producer Larry Campbell (“Seasons in the Field”) whose spouse Teresa Williams’ voice reflects the affection all these musicians share for pieces of history, such as this tune from the esteemed A.P. Carter ,as well as the originals juxtaposed with other traditional material.
None of which would resonate with such meaning without the easygoing and good-humored likes of the title song, where Kaukonen’s accompanists (Myron Hart on bass, Justin Guip on bass and Campbell on pedal steel) play like this music comes as naturally to them as it does to their leader. But Jorma is as much of a musicologist as working musician, so it only stands to reason he would render contemporary the well-known “Brother Can You Spare A Dime.” or that he would see fit to include a reworking of an electric Hot Tuna number from 1975’s Yellow Fever, “Bar Room Crystal Ball.” In the intricate and intimate style that pervades this album; even as the preceding track, “The Terrible Operation,” recalls the old-timey sound of early works with the Airplane offshoot, this reinterpretation stands as a microcosm of Ain’t No Hurry , illustrating how Jorma Kaukonen continues to nurture a style very much his own even as he regularly reminds us of its roots.
