Jorma Kaukonen

Jorma Kaukonen
Kaukonen performing at the Crossroads Guitar Festival and playing the just-released Martin M-30 Jorma Kaukonen Custom Artist Edition guitar.
Background information
Birth name	Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr.
Born	(1940-12-23) December 23, 1940 (age 76) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Genres	Rock blues folk psychedelic rock
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Guitar vocals
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Relix RCA Grunt Red House Atlantic Virgin
Associated acts	Jefferson Airplane Hot Tuna Michael Falzarano
Website	jormakaukonen.com
Notable instruments
Jorma Kaukonen Signature Model Riviera Deluxe Gibson ES-345 C. F. Martin & Co. M-30 Jorma Kaukonen Custom Artist Edition

Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (/ˈjɔərmɑː/ /ˈkaʊkoʊnɛn/; YOR-mah KOW-koh-nen; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist, best known for his work with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #54 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.

Born in Washington, DC, the son of Beatrice Love (née Levine) and Jorma Ludwig Kaukonen, Jorma Kaukonen had Finnish paternal grandparents and Russian Jewish ancestry on his mother's side.

Kaukonen learned to play guitar as a teenager in Washington, DC, but before moving to the DC area, Jorma and family lived in Pakistan, the Philippines and other locales as he followed his father's State Department career from assignment to assignment before returning to the place of his birth. As a teenager in Washington, future Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady (who at the time played six-string guitar) and he formed a band named The Triumphs. Kaukonen departed Washington for studies at Antioch College, where friend Ian Buchanan taught him fingerstyle guitar playing. Buchanan also introduced Kaukonen to the music of Reverend Gary Davis, whose songs have remained important parts of Kaukonen's repertoire throughout his career.