Jim Kweskin (born July 18, 1940,

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician, most notable as the founder of the Jim Kweskin

jug band A jug band is a musical band, band employing a jug (instrument), jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washbo ...

, 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 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 Kweskin J ...

, 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 h ...

(), 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

rural music.

History

The Jug Band released six albums and two

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

compilations on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

between 1963 and 1970. As a solo act and with other combinations of musicians, Kweskin released ''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 Green Day, En ...

in 1971 and four albums on Mountain Railroad Records between 1978 and 1987. He 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 Fulton Allen (July 10, 1904 – February 13, 1941), known as Blind Boy Fuller, was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, along with Blind Blake, Josh White, and Budd ...

and

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Biography Early years John Hurt was born in Teoc,Cohen, Lawrence (1996). Liner notes to ''Av ...

, 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 Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series ...

, Bill Keith,

Cindy Cashdollar Cindy Cashdollar (born May 25, 1956) is an American musician specializing in steel guitar and Dobro. She grew up in Woodstock, New York, where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass music, bluegrass musician John Herald, blues musi ...

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 Ore ...

in Boston. In the 1970s, Kweskin recorded some vocals for some ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' 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 *

– 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 John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

David Grisman David Jay 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 acousti ...

, 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