The trend setter, the one who is most authentic. Trying to play from her guts and her soul the way her mentors did.
She was part of the sterile universe of the fifties growing up watching bands with striped shirts and acts. Not real people channeling themselves but an act.
She pushed back against the act by creating change. She went to Appalachia to find Doc Watson, going to Find That Tennessee Mountain Home with Jim Keltner. This woman was not from the south but her mentors were Like the Reverend Gary David and Mississippi John Hurt were and because they were so authentic in their musical presentation that it rubbed off on my guest.
To seek and discover for yourself has always been my guests motto. Don't listen to critics or admirers. Dust off those rusty tunes that haven't been played for 40 years and play them with everything you got. My guest has played many songs over the last 40 years but their as authentic and fresh because she seeks new beauty within and outside.
Plant a seed, watch it grow, if it's not perfect or you flub a note that okay because it's the gateway to further creation. My guest has sustained because she has continually adapted to the changing terrain of what was once was a record industry, she maintains relationships with musicians she may not have worked with in many years along with opening doors to younger generations of artists who get to learn from a trendsetter.
My show is and has been dedicated to bassist John Kahn. I never knew John or got to see him play but I have done my best to connect with those who did and today I get to communicate with someone who knew him more than most. Someone who recognized his genius and enjoyed spending time with him on and off the bandstand.
That is special and what's also special is that I have come full circle with another iconic band. I interviewed All the Crusaders, I interviewed Dizzy band from the seventies, I interviewed all of the Jerry Hahn brotherhood and now with my guest Today I have connected with every jug bandmate from Jim Kweskin's group.
That's special and what's also special is that out of my 400 guests I can count on my hands the number of woman I have interviewed. I need their input to shift the weight of perspective, to demystify the past and promote the present, to continually produce original songs and share the gifts that she received from her mentors.
Time to send your camel to bed, Maria Muldaur welcome to the JFS