Sunday, December 15, 2019

a week in Jan 1979 (put on the snow tires)

There's been a lack of serious Dead listening 'round here lately, but this little project oddly pulled me out of a slump.  I am drawn to periods that are generally overlooked or underrated, both out of a desire to find some buried treasure and also, it must be said, out of a weirdly perverse attraction to the mundane.  The Jan-Feb 1979 tours have not gone down in the books as the band's best, and justifiably so.  And yet here I am, always on the lookout for an unearthed gold nugget.  You already know that this was the Godchauxs' final stand, and that several of these shows were makeups for Dec 1978 shows that were canceled because of Garcia's illness.  A week after their final blowout at Winterland, I am sure that none of them were too jazzed to be touring the northeast in January.  I was born in New Haven in January 1979 and have been told repeatedly by my family how horrible the snow was.  An online buddy Pig Street attended some of these shows and reports similar conditions.  Party on!

Spoiler: none of these shows are top-to-bottom great, but many of them have something worth hearing and revisiting.  Isn't finding those gems what it's all about?


1/5/79 - The Spectrum

The band's history at the Spectrum is notable, and this was their first two-night stand there, rescheduled from December and split over two weeks, presumably working around the hockey season.  It's a pretty run-of-the-mill show, captured on a solid if not amazing aud tape (all respect to the uncredited taper).  Two unfortunate tape cuts excise Jerry's climactic Sugaree solo and most of the Music Never Stopped jam.  Weir's slide solo in Sugaree sounds truly and unbelievably terrible.  An unexpected highlight is the last stretch of All Over Now, when Garcia and Lesh decide it's time to lift the roof for a few moments.  The second set jam begins with a somewhat sluggish Estimated, which perks up during an unusually colorful segue into a very long Eyes of the World: 16 1/2 minutes of legitimate jamming.  Nothing earthshaking happens, since Garcia sounds happy to take it at a mellow pace, but it's still a pleasant ride.  A loud, raucous Space (all hands on deck and making noise) sets up a more energetic post-Drumz: it sounds like they're having fun on Truckin', and then they attempt the first Nobody's Fault But Mine in a while -- it's a full band effort, not just Garcia playing the melody -- but Garcia's mic gives out and they're forced to make it an instrumental.  Black Peter sounds quite good, though Garcia seems to be making room for Weir's slide again (whyyyyy), and Around and JBG feel unusually goosed.  "Thank y'all, we're gonna see you in a week or two."  Not bad, but overall it's a so-so show.  At least the local reviews were good.


high times at MSG, by Bob Minkin.

1/7/79 - Madison Square Garden 

Another historical first, the band's maiden MSG shows (again rescheduled from December).  Boy howdy, do they sound glad to be there: the run blasts off with a truly titanic Jack Straw, with a jam for the ages.  Mama mia!  The rest of the set is wholly unremarkable, which feels almost cruel given that opening salvo.   There's a pretty nice Cassidy and Jack-a-Roe; Garcia sings "kicked my eye and blacked my dog" in Tennessee Jed, and delivers on a solid Passenger closer.  True to their we-always-blow-the-big-ones form, the second set is marred by PA problems: the opening Miracle has some sound issues, Shakedown feels perfunctory, and repeat Estimated > Eyes finally finds a groove but is also on the shorter side.  Space is an unexpected highlight, with a kind of "world music" vibe as Garcia improvises more melodically with Hart's marimba.  But Not Fade Away feels bloated and overlong to me, although there's an interesting bit where everyone is trading fours, and Black Peter (another repeat) is going well until the PA craps out again, never to fully recover.  Blah.  Hear this Jack Straw over and over, and maybe the Space.  Full disclosure: Bob Wagner's aud tape is solid, but boomy and a little unfocused, which may be tilting my general opinion here.


1/8/79 - Madison Square Garden 

The first set is great!  Good selection, great energy: a very fine Half Step > Franklin's kicks off with a satisfying peak to the Half Step jam and a nice transition.  Everything has the extra edge, and even the more obvious flubs sound more like over-enthusiasm than carelessness.  Lazy > Supplication, another good combo, closes things out.  Promising start!  As much as I really want to love this second set, however, I am just not feeling it.  On paper it's great, and Charlie Miller has repeatedly said that this is one of his particular favorites.  So your mileage, obviously, may vary.  Scarlet > Fire features an unusually prominent Donna "solo" in the transition jam, more forward than her other occasional moments of glossolalia -- you go ahead, Donna! -- and Jerry bumbleebeing his way through the rest of it.  Hmm.  He steps it up for FOTM with one well-crafted solo after another, but the rest of the band sounds like they're plodding along.  Maybe it's just me?  This S>F certainly has its proponents (e.g. here), so perhaps you all will like it more than I do.  Nothing much moves me either in Terrapin or Playing, and they skip Space altogether tonight for some noodling right into the Other One, which doesn't feel like it fully comes together before the vocals.  Wharf Rat, at least, is a powerhouse.  It's interesting that all three of these shows so far have had an energy bump after the Drums, but haven't quite delivered the goods beforehand.


MSG, by Bob Minkin.
1/10/79 - Nassau Coliseum

And another historical moment: the Dead return to Nassau, which they had sworn off in 1973 after heavy police presence and arrests.  A few good pulls were made, but Keith Gatto's aud tapes of both nights are spectacular, which I admit may contribute to my higher opinion of these shows.  The first set mostly lopes along without much spark (the B-grade song selection is partially to blame), but ends well with quality versions of Passenger and Loser before a hot Music Never Stopped finale that burns through both jams to a big finish.  Shakedown is a much better performance than MSG's (prompting Phil to crack, "you know it well!" to all the Long Islanders), but then a workmanlike Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' seems like they are settling in for another unremarkable 2nd set jam.  But oh no: a full blown Dark Star.  How?  Why?  Huh?  Remember that they had brought this back ten days earlier for the closing of Winterland blowout (and would play a shorter one again 10 days later), but this one takes the full ride for over 18 minutes, complete with a nice climax in the second half.  imho this vies with the 1984 Greek Theater encore for the best of the "lost years" Dark Stars, and what a nice surprise it is.  Space, thankfully, is another full-blown skronk-fest (crazier than 1/5) with another big climax, dropping off into a decent but unremarkable Wharf Rat.  They have one more ace to play: St. Stephen, another reprise from Winterland (and the last one they would play until 1983), a pretty on-point and fired up version.  Thank you, boys!  Dark Star through the end of the show is well worth hearing.

1/11/79 - Nassau Coliseum
(a rare sbd also circulates, though the aud is the better bet)

I wasn't expecting much from this more pedestrian looking setlist, but surprise surprise, the first set felt pretty solid.  A big ol' Sugaree opener boasts a great final jam (and less egregiously bad Bob slide), and there's also a nice Cassidy and a solid-if-not-amazing Jack Straw > Deal finisher, both with some slippery spots but an all-around good feeling.  The second set opens with a very long, jammy Miracle, by far the longest (10+ minutes) of this period, with a nice, easy, quasi-Truckin' shuffle.  The band goofs around wishing happy birthday to everyone ("the Birthday Brothers & Sisters Band!") before setting sail into the best Estimated so far (though check out Jerry pulling the e-brake hard in the bridge solo) with a lovely, nearly composed transition into He's Gone.  They groove on a long Truckin' tease before Drums, then noodle around for bit before Truckin' proper.  They give this one another good reading and make their way roundabout to the Other One, with a great transition to the intro and a short but very punchy jam, and finally a very slow but steady Stella Blue with an extra long outro solo -- not a true stunner, but a worthwhile trip -- before wrapping up the night a fine Casey Jones encore that I hope was a little parting fuck you to the Nassau police.  Start to finish, this may be the most consistent second set of these six shows, though nothing jumps out enough to make it one for the books.  A worthwhile specimen, nevertheless.


1/12/79 - The Spectrum

Back at the Spectrum for night 2, with Eddie Claridge's and Jim Wise's sweet, up-close FOB as the only circulating recording.  The first set is mostly pretty ho-hum (the opening Jack Straw doesn't hold a candle to the MSG version), but things settle into place with a nice Peggy-O, and a great one-two punch of Passenger and Deal.  The energy spills over into a nice Samson, though Garcia's voice isn't in good enough shape for Roses.  Yikes.  Dancing in the Streets had become far less common than it had been in spring '78, and while it seemed like the band's interest in stretching this one out had been waning, this one pulls a rabbit out of its hat: after a brisk, tight jam, they bring it back around and then wander off into a looser groove; it's nice them exploring an unexpected direction at this stage in the game.  Garcia manages to tie it back into the Dancin' reprise, they wrap up the tune, and then Garcia sets off again as everyone else takes a break.  Hart eases off, and the next few minutes are just Garcia and Kreutzmann playfully sparring with each other -- nothing like John Coltrane/Elvin Jones intensity, but it's pretty cool to hear these two having a rare 'alone together' moment.  Hart returns for a low-key Drums, which ushers in a Not Fade Away that (after another grimacey slide solo) is elevated by Garcia powering through the rest of the band's laconic groove with a stronger attack.  A bonus GDTRFB and Sugar Magnolia (no ballad) keep the energy and good vibes up high.  It's worth hearing this Dancin>jam, and worth sticking around for the rest of it if you're not in a rush.

1/12/79? by unknown


Takeaways
None of these six shows is a powerhouse from start to finish.  With the exception of 1/8/79, all of these first sets are pretty skipable, barring a couple highlights.  The first two shows are generally pretty low-gear and low priority.  I keep hoping that 1/8/79's second set will turn my crank someday, but it hasn't happened yet.  Things get genuinely engaging for me with the second set of 1/10 Nassau, 1/11 maintains the energy for an all-around generally solid show, and 1/12 delivers with an overlooked strong second set jam.  But I'm not feeling inspired to keep going, so this symmetrical six-show run will suffice.   fwiw, the second set from 1/15/79 in Springfield is probably the best single set of this final winter 79 period (though, again, the first set was mostly a snoozer, iirc).  2/3/79 Indianapolis is another real diamond in the rough, and I presume most folks know the final Keith & Donna show on 2/17/79 has some very spirited (if messy) playing and a host of setlist surprises.

The "problem" with these shows has less to do with any obvious flaws and more of a kind of settled but indifferent professionalism (well, professionalism by the Dead's standards).  "We used to play for acid, now we play for Clive," perhaps.  Jerry's and Donna's voices sound pretty blown out more often than not, Keith never sounds too engaged in any of it (though the tone of the electric piano he was playing isn't doing him any favors), and everyone else just kind of plays on through.  As much as history has firmly attributed this to the Godchauxs, it sounds to me more like a cloud had settled on the band in late 78 that didn't fully clear until Brent Mydland was fully settled in a year later. 

1/9/79: Keith is not amused (Bob Minkin)

Friday, November 1, 2019

update re 2/19/69

Heads up: I was reading an article about the remnants of a record collection from the 60's commune at Rancho Olompali, which led me roundabout back to Light Into Ashes' post about the 2/19/69 Celestial Synapses show (and some very helpful recent comments), and I was nerdily inspired to updated my own post a bit.  Pictures! Local history!  Hippie entrepreneurs and lurid drug stories!

See here:
http://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/01/21969-jamjamjamjam.html



Monday, October 7, 2019

Jerry Hahn, Moses, and Merl

courtesy discogs
Jerry Hahn was a guitarist who was active in the 60's San Francisco jazz scene.  His first big gig was with saxophonist John Handy's group (perhaps not well-known to many casual jazz fans today, but Handy was big at the time, having been signed to Columbia by John Hammond), and then with rising star Gary Burton.  Hahn's own debut (Are-Be-In, 1967, for Arhoolie) touched on the same jazz-raga-rock vibe as stuff like Butterfield's East-West, Gabor Szabo's Jazz Raga, or Pat Martino's East.  In 1970, he released the cult-classic The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood, by his group of the same name, on Columbia, which to this day has still never been reissued.  The JHB seems to have worked a lot around the Bay Area, and opened for some major acts on the Fillmore circuit, and Hahn also got the call to play on Paul Simon's debut (post-Garfunkel) album.

Three years later, Hahn recorded a 'solo' album, Moses, for Fantasy Records.  The band was his JHB rhythm section -- Mel Graves on bass, George Marsh on drums -- and Merl Saunders as a last-minute addition, on organ and synthesizer.  Moses is a good record, though not one that I personally return to a lot as a whole album.  Stylistically it's a little all-over-the-place: the title cut (which I can listen to all day) is wonderful, a midtempo funky groove with a vibe that would have fit Garcia/Saunders perfectly; ditto the cover of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman."  Hahn's originals have an edgier, fusion/jazz-rock feel; two of them are 'suites' that jump around even more.  Then there are a few 50's-era standards, played well but comparatively straightforward.  It's kind of an odd mix when taken as an entire album, imho.  But all of it is very good.  imho, if they had cut less material and just stretched out more, it might be even better -- most of the tracks are under five minutes.  Like the JHB album before it, Moses has so far never been reissued in any digital form, anywhere.


So what does this have to do with this blog?  I am curious about the brief intersection of Jerry Hahn and Jerry Garcia and am wondering if there was more to it than is generally known.  I am also interested in this album as it relates to Merl Saunders' own involvement with the scene around Fantasy Records.  But there are no concrete conclusions to draw; so for now, consider some inchoate observations:
  • per George Marsh: “[Garcia] had his own group and I met him then and I was in the Jerry Hahn Brotherhood and we played [the Matrix] also ... So one of those times, it was set up that Mel Graves, the bassist, and myself and Merl Saunders played with Jerry one of the nights at the Matrix” (here).  He elaborated in an interview with Jake Feinberg that Saunders played on both of these nights: one night with Marsh, Graves, and Hahn, the next night with Marsh, Graves, and Garcia.  The Chicken On a Unicycle list of Matrix shows (which I realize is both outdated and probably incomplete), don't show Hahn and Garcia ever performing on the same night; there's a back-to-back booking in April 1970 (Garcia Monday night jam on 4/20, Hahn on 4/21-22), but I am pretty sure that Saunders wasn't in the mix at that point [can't be 4/20-21-22; Howard Wales is on the bill for 4/20].  Marsh does dimly recall to Feinberg that he jammed with Howard Wales at one point, but the details are lost.  The JHB also played the Matrix a lot -- 26 times in 1970, according to that list -- so it could easily have been some other time.  At one time, Corry Arnold thought that this Garcia-Saunders-Graves-Marsh performance was that December.  Re: this same general time period, Corry has also speculated whether Hahn might be the mystery guitarist who sat in with the Dead for a brief but unique jam at Winterland on 4/15/70.  Hmm.
  • We do know for sure, however, that the Jerry Hahn Brotherhood played at Pepperland in San Rafael on 12/21/70, along with the New Riders, the very short-lived Crosby-Garcia-Lesh-Kreutzmann ensemble, and, possibly the acoustic Dead (per Michael Parrish's eyewitness account -- with pictures! -- plus more via jgmf).  So that's at least two Garcia/Hahn connections, albeit fairly minor ones for two guitarists who were both pretty busy.
  • The Moses sessions were Jan 8-11, 1973 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley.  Four sessions seems like a lot of time for an album like this, but what do I know?  Marsh recalls in the Feinberg piece that the group went in as a trio, but recruited Merl in passing to play on the record.  Corry Arnold also relates that "Hahn was set to record at Fantasy as a trio with Marsh and Graves. However, they saw Merl Saunders in the Fantasy cafeteria, and invited him to play on the album," but also that Saunders was recruited by the producer "so that [Hahn] wouldn't go completely off to Mars" -- for what it's worth, however, the back of the record says Hahn produced the album himself -- which may explain why a fairly small-group jazz record took four sessions to record.  
  • Is it possible that Garcia was hanging out at any of these Jerry Hahn sessions with Merl at Fantasy Studios?  Garcia was working on Baron Von Tollbooth with Kantner, Slick & co. on Jan 8-9  (thank you jgmf), but is it possible that Merl mentioned these unplanned studio dates to Jerry, and that Jerry swung by to check it out?  Marsh doesn't say anything about it in the Feinberg interview, so I'm inclined to think not -- but then again, he doesn't mention the Pepperland thing, either, so it's not out of the question.  Given that Jerry circa 1973 seems to have rarely spent an idle day doing something non-musical, it seems conceivable.  Or maybe he was pickin' with Grisman and Rowan on his front porch (pretty likely, actually, per Corry's pre-OAITW timeline), or rehearsing the new batch of Wake of the Flood-era tunes with the Dead, or hanging with Healy and the sound crew working out kinks in the Dead's new PA, or something else entirely.  
  • Or could it also be possible that maybe Merl invited Jerry Hahn to come to the Keystone where Garcia/Saunders were playing on Jan 12th-13th?  or perhaps to some other gig?  There are a lot of Jan 73 Garcia/Saunders show that are unrepresented by any tape, and personnel was still fairly fluid in that group at this point.  Second guitarist George Tickner was added for a few shows that spring, as was singer Sarah Fulcher.
  • update, Dec 2019: speaking of Sarah Fulcher, Jesse Jarnow interviewed her for the release of the 1/23/73 Boarding House show.  She reveals, "me and Merl and John and Bill Vitt did some recording [at Alembic Studios] with another guy playing guitar, and he sounded just like Garcia.  Well, as much as anyone can."  Jarnow adds this note: "My esteemed colleague Corry Arnold suggests this guitarist might be Jerry Hahn, house guitarist for Fantasy Records."  As far as I  know, Hahn isn't credited on any other Fantasy albums besides his own, but I would be very interested in finding out more.  Wouldn't it be fascinating is this is really what happened?  [JGMF, to the rescue yet again, notes that "On 3/13/73, Betty [Cantor-Jackson] did a session noted as Sarah, Merl, Bill Vitt, 16 track playback," as per files in the GD Archive]
  • It is worth repeating that Merl Saunders was a total pro and a master musician.  Anyone who knows something about Garcia's life outside of the Dead has some understanding of the profound influence that Merl had on Garcia's development as a musician, but I still don't know that many Garcia/Saunders fans listen all that closely to Merl as a soloist -- I don't see much in the way of comment about him, at any rate.  Merl apparently just walked in and played here.  I'm sure it was no sweat for him to reel off standards like "All Blues" and "Joy Spring," or the funk of "Moses," but some of Hahn's stuff is pretty spiky and Merl adds just what is needed.  It is also worth noting that Merl is playing some synthesizer on Moses.  The Jan 73 G/S shows are, I believe, the only times that we hear Merl playing a synth in performance (allowing, again, there are big gaps in our knowledge of many of these shows).  On stage, the effect was a bit underwhelming, but he sounds far more comfortable with the instrument in the studio. 
So I dunno: some speculation, some more insight into the musical prowess of Merl Saunders, some interesting musical digressions.  Never a bad thing.  I would certainly like to learn more about Merl's relationship with Fantasy Records/Studios and the influence, direct or not, that it had on the Garcia/Saunders band -- starting, I presume, with Tom Fogerty, and extending into the general influence that the label's output had on Reconstruction (more later, someday).  But, for now, it's just another piece of the puzzle. 

Sunday, October 6, 2019

What good is spilling blood? It will not grow a thing

I would never argue with anyone who says Workingman's or American Beauty, but my favorite Dead studio album for personal listening has always been Blues for Allah.  I feel very at home within the sound of this record.  This afternoon I was feeling at home with it in my Listening Cave (on an LP passed on by a college roommate who did not own a turntable; thanks, Obie) when I noticed that the inner sleeve helpfully provides Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian translations of the title lyric:

Just in case you needed to know. 

Who knows all the lyrics to "Blues For Allah" off the top of their head?  Like nobody, I'll bet.  There are some real Hunter gems are buried in there, though: Let's see with our heart / these things our eyes have seen / and know the truth will still lie / somewhere in between, and so on.

I also had forgotten and/or never knew that the songwriting credits for the instrumental portions of the album are more finely sliced than most heads (or me, at least) probably think:

Every instrumentalist but Mickey got a credit for Slipknot, but it's nice to see that Donna got one for Sand Castles & Glass Camels -- there's a good one for GD Trivia Night.

The thousand stories have / come round to one again.


Friday, October 4, 2019

make good money, five dollars day

Um, did you know about this?  I did not.  Among other things I learned: PARCO is a big chain of Japanese department stores.  This is from 1993.
courtesy GDAO
And, if that wasn't weird enough:

Interesting, indeed.  I hope this paid for at least a year of college for one of his kids.

That is all.  Carry on.

Monday, September 30, 2019

10/1/76: some slipknot

courtesy gdsets

I took in the bulk of the 2nd set jam while cooking dinner, and then again just now.  The sbd is just dandy, but this great aud tape is the way to go:
https://archive.org/details/gd1976-10-01.aud.unknown.118468.flac16

(it's even better than the Jerry Moore sourced tapes, imho, although either this tape must be from the same source, or the taper must have been set up right near him?)

ramblings: 
  • Slipknot!  Oh Slipknot!  This is masterful.  After about 9 minutes, it seems like everyone else is ready to wrap things up and move on -- but Jerry waits, defers, then slowly spreads his tendrils off in another new direction.  This is a beautiful moment of Grateful Dead communication.  The nudge from the drummers and Phil's little slide at 11:40 cues the walk-up into the ending very nicely. 
  • 11 minutes of Franklin's Tower is just enough.  I'm sorry, but this feels, you got it, just exactly perfect.  Not an all-timer, not blowing the roof off, not just cruising either; just the right amount of bounce and Jerry heats it up just when he needs to.  I am happy.  
  • They didn't really have the whole disco Dancin' thing down until 1977, and a lot of the earlier 76 ones feel more clunky than funky to my ears.  This one has found its groove, though it doesn't have the same git down as it did in 77-79.  Jerry uses his wahwah pedal to great effect here, giving the jam a more smeary, psychedelic feel than the cleaner wompwompwomp of his trademark Mutron.  Again, it's short and sweet, but not too short: a hair below 8 minutes total before they break the jam off for Drums.
  • After 5 minutes of the Wheel, everyone is clearly rarin' to get back into Dancin', but Jerry ignores it and wanders off the path.  The next 3 minutes are yet another of those low-key, only in '76 kind of jams: everyone is game to just see what happens, and Jerry's in no hurry to get them anywhere in particular.  And what happens is quite lovely -- shades of Crazy Fingers in spots, but really just another one of those funny '76 corners, like finding a room in your house that you didn't know was there.  Jerry lands it right in Ship of Fools, not a tune that I typically get excited about.  But after that trip, it's a welcome arrival.  It ends, and after some uncertain splashing about, Jerry guides them all back into the Dancin' reprise.  Kinda messy in spots, but hey man, they're just making this up as they go along.
  • But it's not quite over.  Why not slide a little bonus GDTRFB in there just for good measure?  Why yes, thank you, I will.  All of it is great, but I find myself rewinding to 7:14 when Phil does that great tumble down into the AWBYGN riff and they're all playing everything all at once.  They even finagle a slick little transition into the closing Saturday Night, something they definitely did not have to do.  But they did stuff like that in 1976.

I do like 1976.

PS: This was the first of three times that they played at the Market Square Arena.  Each show was very good, and there is fantastic aud tape of each one.  How 'bout that.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

RIP Robert Hunter

Rest in peace, Robert Hunter.  Right now I can think of no better tribute than this: tonight I sang his words to my kids before they fall asleep, which I have done nearly every night now for over a decade.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Merl's Tune (Help Us Out)

I assume y'all know Merl's Tune, although there are unfortunately only a small handful of known performances:

3/7/73 - with George Tickner on 2nd guitar.
4/14/73 - no circulating tape, also with Tickner
7/5/73 - released on GarciaLive vol 6
7/10 & 11/73, i.e. the various Live at Keystone releases - Merl's Tune wasn't on the original album and didn't see commercial release until the first Keystone Encores LP/CD in 1988.
11/3/73 - I believe this was Bill Vitt's last show (or one of his last) with Garcia/Saunders?

I am a big fan, in particular, of 3/7/73 and 11/3/73, but of course all of these shows are worth hearing.  For some reason, Merl's Tune fell out of favor (or maybe was never in favor to begin with?), but it would have fit very well next to the band's jazzier material in 1974-75.

Check this out, though.  Cue up any of those version of Merl's Tune, then take a listen @20:40 here:


"Help Us Out," credited to John White (per label scans at discogs) vs. "Merl's Tune" credited on Keystone Encores to Saunders/White.  Thanks to Youtube commentor michael tristan for pointing that out (um, 6 years ago), and to Peter Tschirky for posting it.

John White is a little-known Bay Area guitarist with, afaik, this one Mainstream LP from 1971 to his credit.  I don't know anything about him besides what's in this older blog post: http://soundological.blogspot.com/2009/09/john-white-john-white.html

Saunders plays on the whole record, along with drummer Philip Wilson (ex Butterfield Blues Band, and later a renowned drummer in free jazz circles) and saxophonist Hadley Caliman.  Mainstream's 70's jazz catalog mostly has not made the transition to digital yet, and the original LP's were usually pretty light on detailed session info, so no luck there.  The dense horn-heavy sound on this track is also typical of Mainstream's overstuffed approach to production, but imho this record definitely fits well in that gritty Bay Area rock/R&B/jazz guitar bag next to, say, Harvey Mandel or Mel Brown, that kind of thing.

I have heard a couple of Merl Saunders sideman appearances from this same Garcia/Saunders timeframe, but the ones I'm thinking of were for Fantasy Records, Saunders' label.  This John White LP is from 1971, so presumably Saunders wasn't under contract with Fantasy yet.

So, um, yeah.  Dunno if this is in the same league as the "Finders Keepers" misattribution.  Barring other information, I will just offer this for your consideration.

update (Dec 2019): 
JGMF sent along a pic the tape box for one of the Bettyboard reels from 7/11/73, with this handwritten notation of the contents:
Harder They Come
John White Song
Like a Road
How Sweet it Is
My Funny Valentine 

Okay.  John White song.  I guess that answers that question?  Maybe not?

Friday, August 30, 2019

11/5/74: a tale of two Jerrys

Jerry Moore, courtesy of Relix.

Continuing my Paul Humphrey streak, I very much enjoyed returning to this outstanding tape made by the great Jerry Moore, who taped several shows from this short Garcia/Saunders east coast tour, including all three of the Bottom Line early shows.  No late shows!  Can't blame a guy who's gotta get up and go to work in the morning, but still.  Oh woe.

I find the set to be enjoyable, but mixed overall -- the good stuff is really outstanding, but they're not totally consistent.  They come pumping out of the gate, but the delivery seems to dip a little bit in the middle of the set, with a draggy tempo for Second That Emotion and good-but-not-very-inspired performances of Leave Your Hat On and He Ain't Give You None.  But this was their first night on the road and mostly they're pretty cookin'.  They stumble a bit with getting together at the start of Mystery Train, but then they do indeed get it together.  Favela is fast, so fast that it feels like Jerry is only just staying on top of it.  To my ears, he fares much better on La-La, but both are pretty heavy performances. 

Taper legend Harvey Lubar shared the following story about this night (here)
As some of you might know, Jerry Moore and I were real close when we were in college together but drifted apart afterwards.  Nothing major, just life.  So, here's a quick story: Jerry and I went to the Bottom Line on 11/5/74 to see the early show.  The tables were perpendicular to the stage and we had the first two seats on each side of the table, right by the center of the stage.  When Garcia came out, I mentioned to Jerry that Garcia was starting to gray.  Jerry looked at him (his ankles were 3 feet away from us) and nodded in agreement.  We had never been so close to him before.  Jerry then took his mics out and actually put them on the stage for a few seconds while rearranging his bag.  Garcia stared at Jerry with total disbelief (his eyes actually widened) but he didn't say a word.  Then the show began.  Another great recording by Mr. Moore.
It is indeed an excellent aud tape, but what is particularly delightful is the chatter between, I presume,  Moore, Lubar, and maybe another buddy or two.  Thanks to the particular terroir of this tape, we are in a unique position (to paraphrase myself) of listening to Jerry Moore and Harvey Lubar listen to Jerry Garcia, and they are loving it.  This new drummer, whoever he is, is blowing their minds.  They are telling each other all about it.  For example, after a great That's a Touch:
"That drummer is really good."
"He's great!"
"Martin is nice."
"Yeah, he fits in."
"The drummer is really nice on the little rolls there."
after Favela:
"Musically, this is the best I've heard them."
"The drummer is gooood."
"He's really good." 
"He's damn good."
"Did you see, him and Garcia--"
"--right, that's what I was just going to say, he obviously knows(?) him a hell of a lot."
[calling out] "Who's the drummer!?" "what's his name?"
[deadpans] "Mickey Hart."
"He was, like, checking it with him -- it was incredible... [inaudible] ...It's really strange, but it was definitely happening." 
"That must be different for Garcia, for sure -- it's a different style of playing entirely."
 After La-La:
"This is definitely better than the last time they were here." (ahem)
And I would have to agree.  After Mystery Train, one of them declares, "phenomenal!" and Moore stops the tape.  But they weren't done yet.  The tape cuts back in:
"I don't believe that wasn't their last number!"
"What is it, quarter after two?"  [this has got to be sarcastic, right? This is definitely the early show]
and they power through a hot Money Honey to end the early show, unusually long at almost two hours!  A nice final touch is that Moore lets it roll for another minute, capturing the Bottom Line announcer cheerfully asking everyone to clear out for the next set and being greeted by Moore, Lubar, and a chorus of New Yorkers expressing how they feel about that.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Favela

Just a quick hit on this, since I've been revisiting some old recordings of this cool tune.  Antonio Carlos Jobim, its composer, hopefully needs no introduction -- and if you don't know who he is, you have probably heard a couple of his more famous compositions.  The Instituto Antonio Carlos Jobim (what I gather is the official Jobim museum in Rio de Janeiro) gives the title as "Favela (O morro não tem vez)," although Jobim's original copyrighted melody (1962) is just in the Portugese title.  "O morro não tem vez" translates to "the hill has no time," or something like "there are no opportunities in the hill," though I have also seen recordings of this titled "somewhere in the hills," which is where a favela would be (favelas are slums, which are up in the hills surrounding Rio).  (sidenote: anyone who feels like learning it and/or studying the arrangements can see all the original manuscripts at their online archive! #librarianenvy)

As far as I can tell, the first American recording was by Stan Getz with guitarist Luiz Bonfá (and Jobim) as "O Morro Não Tem Vez" on his Jazz Samba Encore! album, made and released in early 1963.   Jobim recorded it a couple of months later for his own American debut, The Composer of Desafinado Plays, then again with a bigger orchestral arrangement for his second album.  Sergio Mendes (pre easy listening) also recorded it in 1965 for his American debut, The Swinger From Rio, and I can't resist pointing out this lesser known but totally cookin' trio performance also from 1965 as well; wrap your head around that bass/drums intro!  There were probably more as well.  Martin Fierro seems to have brought the tune to the Garcia/Saunders band, so I presume that he heard it on Stan Getz's record.  G/S play it in the same key as Getz, as well.

The first time Garcia played Favela, that we know of, was 8/15/74.  The band played it at nearly every show through December, and then it was played periodically, but far less, by the Legion of Mary.  Paul Humphrey plays the shit out of it on nearly every version, many of which are quite fast and pretty damn furious.  They really bit down on it every night.

The original recordings, by contrast, are at a much more languid tempo.  I strongly recommend both Getz's Jazz Samba Encore and Mendes' Swinger From Rio to anyone who enjoys this kind of jazz, and both are a perfect fit for the waning days of summer.

10/27/74: stay golden, Jerry

courtesy gdsets

I had never closely listened to this because of the aud tape quality, but I was feeling intrepid and it paid off.  This is currently the earliest Garcia/Saunders recording with Paul Humphrey.  Some thoughts:

  • Humphrey's first gig with the band was evidently at the tiny Chateau Liberté club on 10/11.  The next night, Garcia/Saunders was at the Berkeley Community Theater, apparently being fronted by Maria Muldaur (JGMF).  At a rare outdoor show in Santa Barbara on the 13th, Muldaur joined them again (JGMF).  gdsets also lists a Keystone Berkeley gig on 10/15 (the night before the Dead's final pre-hiatus stand at Winterland!? hmm), and then this three-night run at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, just south of LA and presumably not far from Humphrey's home base (gdsets lists five nights?).  Okay.  In between all this, the Grateful Dead machine played their final five shows for the foreseeable future.  Everyone at the time must have been reeling at the potential consequences of a Grateful Dead-less world, but Garcia's work schedule was not disrupted in any way.
  • The sound quality of this tape is not great, but at least it sounds like our taper was right up front, maybe even with his mics set up onstage.  The vocals are very low (another stage mic tape giveaway), but the instrumental balance is good.  But it's overloaded and a couple generations down the line.  Grit your teeth and adjust.
  • Quality notwithstanding, I found the most of the music here surprisingly hot.  That's a Touch I Like and Roadrunner, tunes that I usually enjoy without taking much notice of, are both really bangin', with Humphrey's powerful beat nearly levitating the whole band.  Favela is another bananas crazy version, flying along really quickly, but incredibly energetic and intense.  Expressway, like one on the 31st, feels draggier to me, with Humphrey perhaps overcompensating a bit (and Fierro deserves every "more cowbell!" joke that you care to make at his expense).  It Ain't No Use is mislabeled in the text file as It's Too Late: besides plowing a deep groove, also take note of Garcia's nice Roy Buchanan-esque volume knob bends on the intro.  Mystery Train is slamming.  Wow!  This band smokes.
  • No big surprise that Maria Muldaur joins in again tonight, playing blue light chanteuse on Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You, an old chestnut that was recorded by loads of folks -- notably, in this case, also by her then-husband Geoff Muldaur on his album Having a Wonderful Time.  The story of both of the Muldaurs' connection to Garcia in early 74 is worth parsing out, although not here -- but his album seems to have been made in Garcia's/Saunders' orbit (and with the latter's participation) around the time of Garcia's Compliments earlier in the year, and Geoff Muldaur was on stage with the band at least once, possibly twice.  Also, the text file here mysteriously notes "Ringo on drums," but I am not hearing any audible evidence that anyone else is playing besides Humphrey.  If there is, then there is no way in the world that it's that Ringo.
  • Aud tape fun: the taper's pals provide a nice distraction during the downtime in between songs, but Garcia's voice (off mic) comes through in spots as well.  Before Favela: "how do we start this? ... G minor?" (cue stoned chuckles).  Before Mystery Train (track 8, @1:05) it sounds like one of the pals says something in a mock southern accent about Mississppi Moon, to which Jerry responds something that I can't make out.  In the chatter after Expressway, another pal reasons, "guess they have new songs to worry about."  Yes indeed.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

10/31/74: they don't know what my love is

courtesy gdsets

Another quickie: I like this show a lot and come back it to fairly regularly, if not all that often.  Again, trying to avoid a big project (I caught myself about to make a Paul Humphrey Top 10, for goodness sake), so just a few things:
  • Paul Humphrey on the drums.  Good gracious me.  I am a big fan of Paul Humphrey.  The JGMF/Lost Live Dead axis has pinned down the specifics of his tenure with Garcia (I still contend that he is absolutely not on Pure Jerry 9/1/74 despite being credited), but my guess is that most deadheads unfortunately still associated him only with Lawrence Welk.  He did do some time on the Lawrence Welk show (everyone's gotta make a living), but he was also a session man par excellence and is one of the great funk drummers of his era: Exhibit A.   Dunno the circumstances of how exactly he was hired for Garcia/Saunders -- I believe it was Saunders who brought him in, and I presume it was for the sake of their east coast tour -- but he laid it down real funky for about seven weeks and then went on his way.  There is a lot of really, really great music in those seven weeks.
  • The sbd tape is decent, but not outstanding quality.  The drums seems to be mixed a bit loud, and I believe that the very fizzy/phasey sound of the cymbals indicates too much noise reduction?  At any rate, it's still Paul Humphrey on drums.   
  • John Kahn also sounds like he is in particularly good form tonight.  Go John!
  • Interesting to see Osiris as one of the opening bands (good luck googling for info about a band called "Promised Land" in any way connected with Garcia).  Thanks to Corry, we know that Osiris happened to feature Pigpen's little brother Kevin McKernan on vocals, and that Garcia had taken a paternal interest in helping them with gear and exposure.  Lots of info here (and much more in the comments).
  • The music!  Oh, the music.  Humphrey only had a couple of gigs under his belt at this point, and, while he never overplays, he was definitely a busy drummer.  To be honest, it didn't always work 100% of the time, but it sure works to everyone's advantage tonight: The Harder They Come, to my ears, didn't really find it's groove until later in Garcia's solo career, and the tempo here is a little sluggish at first, but jeez, Humphrey is killing it under those solos.  Expressway also feels a little leaden to me, but then watch out: everything after that is plenty fired up.  The groove in You Can Leave Your Hat On is borderline obscene; some serious voodoo soul stew happening in here.  Freedom Jazz Dance is outrageous.  Humphrey does get a little slap-happy towards the end of the set (the tape sound and the mix, to be fair, is doing him no favors), but the energy is way up there and it sounds like everyone is having a ball.  Tight and loose in all the right ways.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

just a touch

Bwahahaha: I picked up this today while record shopping (basically for free):


Grey vinyl!  Good lord.  I also see that Bill Graham (the mystery 13th eye on the album cover) didn't get his own skeleton doppelganger.

The sleeve is a bit of an elaborate affair for a 45 and folds out as a poster:

The other side has the portrait shots of everyone from In the Dark plus tourdates for the all the nascent Touchheads (the single was released in June).




And, of course, "My Brother Esau" on the flipside, which was left off the original album.


Biggest takeaway: skeleton Jerry looks like Dr. Zaius' stunt double.


Saturday, August 17, 2019

8/16/80: bring a poncho

My problem regarding this blog is that I ignore the little stuff and get bogged down in the big projects.  I really should do more little hit 'n run posts like this.

I gave this show an anniversary spin yesterday and quite enjoyed it:
https://archive.org/details/gd1980-08-16.SonyECM250.walker-scotton.miller.88959.sbeok.flac16


No rain check indeed.  The Mississippi River Festival was an every-other-week-or-so summer concert series hosted by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, a half-hour outside of St. Louis (lots of info here, if you're really curious).  "Maybe 3000 in a small outdoor shed close by the river," recalls an eyewitness at LMA, and "everyone except for the first 10 rows or so got soaked!"  It was was the first show of their late summer 1980 run, and also their first show after the death of Keith Godchaux.  It's a solid 1980 show, all good but not a lot of standout stuff, save for a couple of things that I submit for your consideration:
  • Althea > Looks Like Rain is imho the most exciting thing in the first set.  1980 muscle!
  • This China>Rider, however, is the most exciting thing in the show, a real all-timer.  Sharp as a tack, with everything you want from this vintage: a very energetic but not rushed tempo; a depth-charging, fiery Garcia-led jam with a great peak; a belting "headlight" verse with a huge Phil bomb.  The works, in other words.
  • Joani Walker's aud tape is utterly fantastic all the way through, the work of a real master taper (Noah Weiner wrote a short but sweet ode to it at his great old blog), but the sound of the rain coming down hard, starting around 20 seconds into Ship of Fools, is one of those one-of-a-kind terroir moments that is magical and utterly unique to this recording.  You can almost smell it.
  • Tip of the hat to Brent Mydland for his keyboard work at the start of the Estimated jam.  The sound of his electric piano, with a perfect mix of echo/delay and outdoor rainy ambience, is totally sublime.
Another famous rain show is 6/20/83, and as intense as this recording is, it doesn't quite hit the sweet spot for me like this one does.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

for the good of the order

Some general points for the good of the order:

First, RIP's are due for both Bill Vitt, who powered the first classic Garcia/Saunders lineup, and Art Neville, co-founder of the Meters, one of my all-time favorite groups and a huge cornerstone of my musical taste.  I have a lot more I could say about both, but don't know where to begin.  Vitt was a consummate drummer and a monster player who, moreso than any of the drummers in Garcia's orbit besides Kreutzmann, could move effortlessly from bedrock funk to the outer reaches of jazz exploration.  When I first heard Art Neville and the Meters as a teenager, it took a few listens for what they were doing to sink in -- and then my sense of what music could sound like was pretty much rewired.  [requisite Garcia connection: Just Kissed My Baby].

Also, thanks to continued input from JGMF and Light Into Ashes, I made a substantial update to my run-down on the Mickey & the Hartbeats shows.  Spoiler: I now hear Jack Casady playing on exactly one jam with Garcia and the drummers.  If that got you curious, then dive in:
https://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/04/oct-68-hartbeats-run-down.html

Also, if you're a fan of Beull Neidlinger's playing in the Great American String/Music Band (and, really, what red-blooded fan of great American music isn't?), then you may find this intriguing: a link to an interview I added as a comment to this older post.  Nine years -- and lord knows how many A-level studio session dates -- after the three tiny club gigs he he played with Garcia, Greene, and friends, and he sounds like he's defending himself in light of his free jazz street cred!?  Amazing.
https://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/03/rip-buell-neidlinger.html

Friday, July 19, 2019

to the moon, Jerry!

Hi!  I know, I know.

A good excuse to break the silence is to repost this list, which I'm sure my four devoted readers have seen me post elsewhere.  But in honor of everyone's nerd-buzz around the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, here is a handy list of Moon Landing Dark Stars.

Apollo 11 launched on 7/16/69 and landed on the Moon on 7/20.  The Dead's closest gig was a few days earlier in New Yor (7/12), where they did play Dark Star, although you may find it a stretch to connect the two events.  However...

Apollo 12 landed on 11/19/69.  The GD nearly played Dark Star at their next show, 11/21, but pulled up short, likely because of time constraints.  They played a full-blown monster version at the following show, 12/4/69.

Apollo 13 lifted off on 4/11/70.  Dark Star was played that night, with the GD in the unenviable position of following Miles Davis.  Sadly, there is no tape.

Apollo 14 landed on 2/5/71.  Dark Star, with the classic "Beautiful Jam," was played at the next GD show, 2/18/71.

Apollo 15 landed on 7/30/71.  Dark Star was played at at the next GD show, 7/31/71.

Apollo 16 landed on 4/21/72.  That night, the GD played an abbreviated set for German television, but played one of the true all-timer Dark Stars at the next proper show on 4/24/72.

Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission, landed on 12/11/72.  Dark Star was played that night.  If you missed it, Lemieux posted the only uncut sbd copy of it at the Taper's Section a few months ago:
https://www.dead.net/features/tapers-section/march-11-17-2019

There you go.  That should make a nice little playlist for you.

"Houston, do we have a setlist from last night yet?"