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Hot Tuna is an American band, formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as an acoustic spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. Their early repertoire was derived mainly from the American country blues artists such as Rev. Gary Davis and Arthur Blake (Blind Blake). Casady and Kaukonen added Will Scarlett on harmonica and recorded 1970's Hot Tuna, which was followed by a long-series of well-received albums that played mostly to a small and devoted cult following. The band added a violin player named Papa John Creach and released albums, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down (1971) and Burgers(1972). They are often considered a forerunner of modern jam bands like Phish.
After going their separate ways in the late 1970's, Casady and Kaukonen re-formed Hot Tuna in the mid-1980's. Other musicians have come and gone over the group's various incarnations; the name Hot Tuna has essentially been shorthand for "Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, and occasional collaborators." Most recently (2004-2005) they have toured with multi-instrumentalist Barry Mitterhoff and drummer Erik Diaz.
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