photos by Bob Minkin
Nearly sixty years into her storied career, the “Midnight at the Oasis” singer turns her attention to honoring an old friend.
During a carer that is nearingthe 60-year mark,Maria Muldaurhas recordedalbum-length tributes toShirley Temple, Peggy Lee andBob Dylan’s love songs. She’smade children’s albums, put intime with the renowned JimKweskin Jug Band, and sungjazz, gospel and the blues—lotsand lots of blues. She’s alsorecorded with Dr. John, scoredmassive hits and, in the late2000s, put together a groupshe called the Women’s Voicesfor Peace Choir. She’s earnedfive Grammy nominations todate for her work.
But, today, what Muldaur really wants to talk about is Jerry Garcia. In late 1977, she was invited to join the Jerry Garcia Band for a tenure that lasted through 1978, singing backgrounds with Donna Jean Godchaux and recording a few tracks on Garcia’s classic ‘78 album Cats Under the Stars. It’s a time that Muldaur remembers fondly, so when she was approached last year to work with a group calling itself the Garcia Project, which faithfully recreates Garcia Band setlists much in the way that Dark Star Orchestra does Grateful Dead shows, she was intrigued. Her relationship with the band, led by guitarist Mik Bondy and singer Kat Walkerson, has evolved since then: Muldaur not onlyappears with the group as aspecial guest when she can,but she’s also producing theirdebut album.
“We’re going to record it in June and I’ve already gotten several Garcia alumni to participate,” Muldaur says, not naming names. “They think it’s a great idea. I was a little dubious [about the band] at first, but it turns out that theyreally manage to conjure upthe spirit that Jerry gave forthmusically and spiritually whenhe played. It’s bringing backhappy memories.”
Muldaur, who lives in the Bay Area, first met Garcia around 1974, through the band’s bassist, the late John Kahn. She and Garcia hit it off right away. “He was very down to earth, very accessible, very affable, very good natured and very smart,” she says. “And when he played, there were these waves of joy that went out into the audience.”
It’s a sentiment that also rings true for Muldaur’s own music. Born Maria D’Amato in New York City, she first came into the public consciousness in the early ‘60s as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band, an acoustic music ensemble that also included future stars John Sebastian and David Grisman. Her stint with the Kweskin outfit lasted a few years and resulted in a handful of highly regarded albums and, when that band quit, she made a pair of LPs with her then-husband, fellow Kweskin alumnus Geoff Muldaur. By the early ‘70s, she was ready to go off on her own. Muldaur’s self-titled debut album for Reprise Records, which included “Midnight at theOasis,” went all the way to No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“People ask me if I ever get tired of singing that song and I go, ‘Hell, no!’” she says. “Who knows why people all over the world are so attracted to a goofy little song about a camel. But they are and, to this day, I can still tour based on that, even though I’ve done so much more in my long career. A few years ago, I was asked to headline a jazz festival in Borneo, of all places.”
She’s also continued to makerecordings nonstop. Althoughthe major label contract andthe chart hits dried up long ago,Muldaur has released some 41albums to date, averaging nearlyone per year. Her most recent,last year’s Don’t You Feel My Leg:The Naughty Bawdy Blues ofBlue Lu Barker, brings Muldaurfull circle, in a way. The titletrack is an update of one ofthe most popular songs fromthat ‘73 solo debut, a tune thatshe says is requested at hershows even more than thecamel ditty. The entire recentalbum pays tribute to theearly 20th century music ofBarker, a New Orleansvocalist/songwriter whobecame one of Muldaur’sheroines after Dr. Johnintroduced her to Barker’swork. Muldaur also performedthe Barker songs in a specialset at this spring’s New OrleansJazz & Heritage Festival.
Now 75, Muldaur doesn’t have any intention of slowing down. She’s got a Northeast tour planned with her Red Hot Bluesiana Band and hopes to collaborate with the Garcia Project in the near future. Her first loves remain vintage blues, R&B and what she calls “swamp funk,” which populates the majority of her albums. “I’ve made it a prerequisite that anyone that’s in my band has to be well-schooled and steeped in the New Orleans R&B sound and sensibility,” she says, “but it’s not like I’m a nostalgia act by any means. For some reason, the songs have longevity and—so far so good—I’ve got longevity. I’m still rockin’ as long as I can.”
This article originally appears in the June 2019 issue of Relix. For more features, interviews, album reviews and more, subscribe here.
