QUAH, by Jorma Kaukonen

Let me introduce you to an album called QUAH. Yes, QUAH. Spelled exactly like my surname. Pure coincidence, of course, but I’ve always liked that about it. It’s a low-key album from 1974, mostly acoustic, built around finger-picking blues and folk, and it doesn’t try very hard to announce itself. You either lean in or you miss it.

This was Jorma Kaukonen’s first solo record after close to ten years as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. If you came to it expecting psychedelic noise or group chemistry, you’d be completely wrong-footed. This is Kaukonen on his own, stripping things back, sitting with the guitar and seeing what he could do without the safety net of a band. There are eleven tracks here, and only two have vocals by Tom Hobson. Even then, the voice never really takes centre stage. The guitar does the talking.

Almost everyone I’ve played this album to reacts the same way when Genesis comes on. It’s the first track, and it doesn’t mess around. No warm-up, no scene-setting. Just Kaukonen’s fingers moving with a kind of calm authority. His finger-picking is so clean and controlled that it’s easy to miss how hard it actually is. It sounds natural, almost casual, but it isn’t.

I’ve listened to a lot of guitar players over the years, and Kaukonen is one of those rare ones who doesn’t feel the need to prove anything. On QUAH, he just plays. No tricks, no fuss. You either get drawn into it, or you don’t. And if you do, it stays with you.

ADDENDUM: I also own QUAH on compact disc format, which featured the album's original cover design. On this CD are four bonus tracks which did not make it to the record: Lord have mercy, No mail today, Midnight in Milpitas and Barrier.

Side One: Genesis, I'll Be All Right, Song For The North Star, I'll Let You Know Before I Leave, Flying Clouds, Another Man Done Gone
Side Two: I Am The Light Of This World, Police Dog Blues, Blue Prelude, Sweet Hawaiian Sunshine, Hamar Promenade