Événement

Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur

Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur are back at it, playing gigs and bringing knowing smiles to the faces of their fans. As founding members in the 1960s of the nationally popular, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band, they helped to create a new style in American musical culture. Jerry Garcias first band (Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions, a forerunner to The Grateful Dead), was formed after Jerry and Bob Weir heard the Kweskin Bands first album. They not only went for its music but also its look no more matching striped T-shirts and rehearsed jokes for these guys. It was finally okay to wear street clothes and be natural on stage. John Sebastian, after playing in the Even Dozen Jug Band in New York, formed the legendary Lovin Spoonful to carry on the carefree spirit of his Cambridge heroes. It was the Kweskin Bands jug player, Fritz Richmond, who gave the Lovin Spoonful their name. Fritz also brought his hipster persona to the folk and folk-rock scenes for all to emulate - his granny glasses becoming the look for The Birds, John Lennon and many others.

Although Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band appeared to have a laid back, spontaneous approach, the group was not an easy one to copy. Their music seemed simple, but it was often complex. The other jug bands of the day dropped out one by one. Aside from Fritz Richmonds nonpareil jug and washtub bass playing, two of the most distinctive qualities of the band were Jim Kweskins clean, rhythmic finger picking and Geoff Muldaurs emotional, quavering voice. To this day, no one plays guitar like Jim Kweskin and no one sings like Geoff Muldaur. They are singular artists.

Jim and Geoff were brought back together in 2006 for a Fritz Richmond memorial concert in Tokyo and their chemistry was instantly re-activated. Theyve been doing select dates together ever since. Jim has honed his dazzling picking skills, developing new arrangements of American folk and jazz material. His singing is as joyous as ever (no one can sing Rag Mama like Jim). Geoff returned to full-time performing in the late nineties with his much-heralded album, The Secret Handshake. Since then he has traveled the world, playing his guitar and singing his heart out.

When it comes to acoustic folk, blues, swing and ragtime, Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur remain unparalleled performers.