Hot Tuna is an American blues band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the years, the band's name has essentially become a metonym for Kaukonen and Casady's ongoing collaboration.
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist Jack Casady, and as of early 2019 has continued for 50 years. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #54 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.
Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues band that he founded in 1986.
Hot Tuna is the self-titled debut album by the American blues rock band Hot Tuna, released in 1970 as RCA Victor LSP-4353. It was recorded live at the New Orleans House in Berkeley, California in September 1969. It peaked at #30 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
And Furthurmore... is a live album by the American rock band Hot Tuna. It was recorded on the 1998 Furthur Festival tour. It was released on October 12, 1999.
Pair a Dice Found is an album by the American blues rock band Hot Tuna. Released in 1990, it was their first studio album since Hoppkorv in 1976.
Live in Japan is a live album by Hot Tuna recorded in 1997 in Yokohama, Japan. Originally the band planned to play an electric set as part of their Japanese tour, but the venue in Yokohama was too small and there wasn't any room for an electric setup. The band played acoustic, and afterwards Jack Casady suggested to Jorma Kaukonen that the recording was good enough for a new live album. Michael Falzarano and Kaukonen listened to the tape and decided that Casady was right, and a new album was released. The album was Hot Tuna's last release on Relix Records. In 2004 Eagle Records remastered the album and re-released it with previously unreleased performances of "Parchman Farm", "Follow the Drinking Gourd", "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning" and "Folsom Prison." Three of the tracks from the initial release were dropped from the remaster: "Hesitation Blues", "Candy Man" and "Keep on Truckin'".
Splashdown is a Hot Tuna album released in 1984 containing the tracks from a previously unreleased live acoustic performance that had been played on the short-lived radio station WQIV in the mid-1970s. During the recording, news of the Apollo-Soyuz mission returning to Earth after the first USA-USSR rendezvous in space reached the station, and the astronauts' radio transmissions were played at the same time as Jorma and Jack continued with "Police Dog Blues." The transmissions mixed with the song were preserved for this release as the last track of side 1. The album was Hot Tuna's first release on Relix Records, and one of the first Relix releases. Jorma Kaukonen was signed on as a solo artist to the label as well. In 1997 an expanded version of the album was released as Splashdown Two.
Historic Live Tuna is an album by the band Hot Tuna. It was released in 1985. Side A contains previously unreleased tracks from a live acoustic performance played on KSAN radio in 1971. Side B contains previously unreleased material from a live electric performance in 1971 recorded at the Fillmore West auditorium in San Francisco. The album was Hot Tuna's second release on Relix Records, and would be their last release until after the 1989 Jefferson Airplane reunion tour and reunion album, when they were signed to Epic Records for a short time before returning to Relix.
Live at Sweetwater is a live Hot Tuna album recorded in 1992 at Mill Valley, CA. It was their first new recording made for Relix Records, although they had previously released older performances with Relix. Appearing on the album with Hot Tuna was Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, blues-singer Maria Muldaur, and keyboardist Pete Sears who ended up staying with the band until 2000. In 2004 Eagle Records re-mastered and re-released the album with several added tracks, and some previous tracks shortened in length.
Live at Sweetwater Two is a live Hot Tuna album recorded at the same time as the album, Live at Sweetwater, but contains no tracks from the previous release. The live performances feature Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, blues-singer Maria Muldaur, and keyboardist Pete Sears. Also included is the previously unreleased studio track "Endless Sleep" from the Pair a Dice Found sessions. In 2004 Eagle Records re-mastered and re-released the album with several added tracks, and without the studio track included.
Classic Hot Tuna Acoustic is a Hot Tuna album released in 1996 and is an expansion of the A-side of the previous vinyl release Historic Live Tuna. The B-side of the previous release was expanded as Classic Hot Tuna Electric and released at the same time as this album. The tracks are taken from a live acoustic performance played on KSAN radio in 1971.
Classic Hot Tuna Electric is a Hot Tuna album released in 1996 and is an expansion of the B-side of the 1985 vinyl release Historic Live Tuna. The tracks were recorded at a live electric performance on July 3, 1971 at the Fillmore West auditorium in San Francisco.
Splashdown Two is a 1997 CD release and expansion of the previous Hot Tuna vinyl release from 1984, Splashdown. It is a recording of a live acoustic performance from the mid-1970s that had played on the short-lived radio station WQIV.
Magic is a live Jorma Kaukonen album containing performances of acoustic songs from Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna albums recorded during his solo tour of 1984. After a brief reunion tour in 1983 with Hot Tuna, Jorma had continued to play solo and eventually landed a contract with Relix Records. In addition to releasing Kaukonen's new solo recordings, Relix also released live Hot Tuna recordings from the 1970s, with the albums Splashdown and Historic Live Tuna. In 1995, Michael Falzarano remastered the album and produced a new version that Relix released as the CD Magic Two.
The Land of Heroes is a Jorma Kaukonen studio album recorded and released in 1995. It was his first new solo album since the mid-1980s. The album incorporated the work of several other musicians, including Michael Falzarano, who had joined Hot Tuna and produced remastered versions of Kaukonen's older Relix Records vinyl releases. Falzarano also produced the new album, and co-wrote some tracks.
Christmas is a Jorma Kaukonen studio album released in July 1996. It was the only themed album Kaukonen recorded and was a departure from the usual Rev. Gary Davis influenced tunes. It included new Christmas-themed compositions as well old hymns such as "Silent Night." Like the previous album, The Land of Heroes, Christmas incorporated the work of Michael Falzarano and Fred Bogert. Kaukonen's wife Vanessa also performed vocals and co-wrote one song. It was also the only time Kaukonen performed keyboards on an album.
Too Many Years is a Jorma Kaukonen studio album released in August, 1998. It was his last studio album on Relix Records. Michael Falzarano returned to play guitar and help produce. He also sang lead on several tracks. The keyboard work was now handled by former Jefferson Starship keyboardist Pete Sears, who had been playing with Hot Tuna since 1992. After this album, the three began to perform as the "Jorma Kaukonen Trio" and recorded a live album for Relix, Jorma Kaukonen Trio Live.
Jorma Kaukonen Trio Live is a live album taken from performances from Jorma Kaukonen's 1999 solo tour, and his last album for Relix Records. Performing with Kaukonen were Michael Falzarano and Pete Sears who had both played on his previous solo album, Too Many Years, and had performed with Hot Tuna on their last release, And Furthurmore.... After release of this album, Kaukonen and Jack Casady began to perform as "Jack & Jorma, The Original Acoustic Hot Tuna" and Falzarano and Sears performed less frequently with Hot Tuna and Kaukonen's solo act, with Sears finally leaving in 2001 and Falzarano leaving in 2002.
I Got Blues for Ya is an album by guitarist and singer Michael Falzarano, who is best known as a member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage and, before that, Hot Tuna. His first album in six years, it features Falzarano and his "extended family" of fellow musicians playing ten original blues rock songs and two covers. It was released on the Hypnotation Records label, distributed by Woodstock Records, on July 22, 2014.
