Jim Kweskin (born July 18, 1940,

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

) is an American folk, jazz, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician, most notable as the founder of the Jim Kweskin jug band, also known as Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, with

Fritz Richmond John B. "Fritz" Richmond (July 10, 1939 – November 20, 2005) was an American musician and recording engineer. Richmond was a washtub bassist and was also a professional jug player. Richmond, born in Newton, Massachusetts on July 10, 1939, was ...

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...

, Bob Siggins and Bruno Wolfe. The Jug Band was a significant part of the folk and blues revival of the 1960s.

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

(), formerly with the

Even Dozen Jug Band The Even Dozen Jug Band was founded in 1963 by Stefan Grossman (solo country blues and ragtime guitarist) and Peter Siegel (roots-based guitarist and producer) in New York City, New York. Other members were David Grisman (a noted mandolinist), ...

, joined the band in 1963. During the five years they were together, the Jug Band successfully modernized the sounds of pre– World War II rural music.

History

The Jug Band released six albums and two greatest hits compilations on Vanguard Records between 1963 and 1970; ''Jim Kweskin's America'' on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1971; and four albums on Mountain Railroad Records between 1978 and 1987. As a solo act and with other combinations of musicians, Kweskin has continued to release albums into the 2010s. Kweskin is most often recognized as a singer and bandleader, but he is also known for his guitar stylings, adapting the ragtime-blues fingerpicking of artists like Blind Boy Fuller and Mississippi John Hurt, while incorporating more sophisticated jazz and blues stylings into the mix. In 2013, the band held a reunion tour that included Jim Kweskin, Maria Muldaur, Geoff Muldaur, Richard Greene, Bill Keith, Cindy Cashdollar and Sam Bevan, most of whom were amongst its original members. In the late 1960s, Kweskin joined the Fort Hill Community, which was founded by former Kweskin Jug Band harmonicist

Mel Lyman Melvin James Lyman (March 24, 1938 – March 1978) was an American musician and writer, and the founder of the Fort Hill Community, which has been variously described as a family, commune, or cult. Early life Lyman grew up in California and Oreg ...

in Boston. In the 1970s, Kweskin recorded some vocals for some '' Sesame Street'' inserts, most notably, "Ladybugs' Picnic". In the 1980s, he stopped recording and performing regularly to devote himself to building houses. The Fort Hill Community evolved into the Los Angeles–based Fort Hill Construction, of which Kweskin was a founding partner and where he works as vice president. In the 21st century, he resumed making music, including tours and recordings with Geoff Muldaur,

Meredith Axelrod Meredith Axelrod is an American folk, jazz, and blues singer and multi-instrumentalist. She specializes in early-20th century American music. Known for touring with Jim Kweskin, she and he released the album, ''Come On In'', in 2016. In the 2 ...

, and Samoa Wilson.

Jim Kweskin Jug Band members

*Jim Kweskin – guitar, vocals, comb *

– harmonica, banjo * Bill Keith – banjo, pedal steel guitar *

– jug, washtub bass * Richard Greene – fiddle *

– vocals, percussion, fiddle *

– guitar, vocals, mandolin, washboard, kazoo *Bruno Wolfe – vocals *Bob Siggins – vocals, banjo

Discography

Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band: Albums

*''Unblushing Brassiness'' (1963) *''Jug Band Music'' (1965) *''Relax Your Mind'' (1966) *''Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band'' (1966) *''See Reverse Side for Title'' (1966) *''Garden of Joy'' (1967), later reissued as a double album with ''America'', below *''The Best of Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band'' (1968) *''Whatever Happened to Those Good Old Days'' (1968) *''Greatest Hits'' (1988) *''Acoustic Swing & Jug'' (2006) *''Vanguard Visionaries'' (2007)

Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band: Singles

*"Minglewood" / "Sheik of Araby" (1967) *"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" / "Circus Song"

Jim Kweskin: Albums (incomplete list)

*''Relax Your Mind'' (1966) *''Jump for Joy'' (1967) *''Jim Kweskin's America'' (1971), later reissued as a double album with ''Garden of Joy'', above *''Lives Again (1977) *''Side by Side'' (1979) *''Swing on a Star with Jim Kweskin and the Kids'' (1979) *''Now & Again'' (2003), with Samoa Wilson *''Live The Life'' (2004), with Samoa Wilson *''Enjoy Yourself'' (2009) *''Jug Band Extravaganza'' (2010), by Jim Kweskin,

, John Sebastian,

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

, the Barbeque Orchestra *''Jim Kweskin in the 21st Century'' (2015) *''Come On In'' (2016), by Jim Kweskin and

*''Penny's Farm'' (2016) by Jim Kweskin and

*''Jim Kweskin Unjugged'' (2017) *''I Just Want To Be Horizontal'' (2020) by Samoa Wilson and Jim Kweskin. *''Never Too Late: Duets with My Friends'' (2024)

References

External links

Official website

* Allmusic.com entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Kweskin, Jim 1940 births Living people American male musicians Jug band musicians Musicians from Stamford, Connecticut