John Kahn, born in Memphis in 1947, was a multi-instrumental musical prodigy from early on in his life. He played piano, organ, guitar, horns, and became a stalwart in the San Francisco music scene as a preeminent acoustic and electric bassist. His career spanned decades as a contributor with Mike Bloomfield, Nick Gravenites, Al Kooper, and Maria Muldaur, amongst others. He produced record albums for Brewer and Shipley and was a contributor and producer on their famous track, “One Toke Over The Line”. He eventually joined forces with Jerry Garcia as a founding member of JGB, Old and In The Way and Legion of Mary. He and Jerry became best of friends and companion artists at large. Linda Kahn, his spouse, has many stories detailing their long friendship as musicians and artists. The two spent many hours at John and Linda’s house creating and sharing their passion for the artistic pursuit. Sadly, we lost John shortly after Jerry Garcia passed on. John Kahn’s musical legacy lives on through the many extant tapes of their musical collaborations, and, thanks to Linda Kahn’s gracious efforts, through John’s original and unique artistic creations.
Thanks to Linda Kahn, we are able to display some of John’s many works and offer some for sale herein. Some will be easily recognizable by anyone who saw JGB at the famous Warfield Theater in San Francisco. The images are printed on Hot Press Bright, a fine art paper, a thick and porous medium that brings out all the nuances of John’s art. John’s signature has been drawn in each piece ,and they will all be numbered runs.
Below is a link to a Reddit interview with Linda following John’s demise. Her love for him and passion for his talent shines through her recollections of her life with John Kahn and Jerry Garcia.
"I am Linda Kahn, wife of late John Kahn. AMA! • r/jgb". reddit. 2 August 2017.
