* En anglais uniquement
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