Биография

Two gifted musicians whose lives and careers were intertwined for several years, Geoff & Maria Muldaur were a couple who created a pair of fine, influential albums during their eight years of marriage. Geoff Muldaur was born in Pelham, New York on August 12, 1943. He developed a taste for music when his older brother introduced him to vintage jazz when he was five years old. At 16, Geoff learned to play guitar and formed his first band, the Goombay Rhythm Kings, while attending prep school. Geoff steeped himself in classic blues and folk sounds, and in 1961, he relocated to Boston, where he soon became part of the nascent folk music community. In 1963, he was invited to join Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band, one of New England's leading folk groups who offered a playful interpretation of American roots music. Kweskin and the Jug Band released their self-titled debut album in 1963, and their second LP, Jug Band Music, appeared in 1965. (In between those releases, Geoff cut a solo set for Prestige Records, Sleepy Man Blues.) By the time the second Jug Band album was recorded, Maria D'Amato had joined the group as a vocalist and fiddler. D'Amato, who was born in New York's Greenwich Village on September 12, 1943, had previously performed with the Even Dozen Jug Band (which also featured John Sebastian and David Grisman before they found fame) prior to moving to Boston. Geoff and Maria soon became romantically involved, and they were married in 1964. Geoff and Maria appeared on two more albums with the Jug Band, 1966's See Reverse for Title and 1967's Garden of Joy, before Kweskin broke up the group in 1968. The Jug Band had signed to Reprise Records for Garden of Joy, and when Geoff & Maria opted to continue as a duo, the label kept them on, releasing their debut album, Pottery Pie, in 1968. Produced by Geoff's longtime friend Joe Boyd, Pottery Pie was an eclectic blend of blues, folk, and pop tunes delivered with conviction and humor, and while the album wasn't a commercial success, it was a hit with critics and was reissued in 1987 by Boyd's Carthage Records. In 1972, Geoff & Maria Muldaur released a second LP, Sweet Potatoes, which included the witty credit "Produced by Nobody," but it would prove to be the couple's final collaboration; they divorced later the same year. Maria had a solo hit in 1973 with the single "Midnight at the Oasis," and went on to a long career recording pop, spiritual, and blues material as well as collaborating with Jerry Garcia, Paul Butterfield, and Linda Ronstadt. Geoff, meanwhile, would cut a number of solo albums and appear on LPs by the Everly Brothers, John Cale, and Sippie Wallace; he reunited with Kweskin for the 2016 album Penny's Farm. In 2018, the respected reissue label Omnivore Recordings brought out remastered editions of both Pottery Pie and Sweet Potatoes, which included new interviews with both Geoff and Maria in the liner notes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi