Photo Credit: Erik Kabik

Phil Lesh has shared the latest installment of The Clubhouse Sessions series on his Terrapin Clubhouse YouTube channel. Inflating previous artist lineups, the new video finds the Grateful Dead bassist joined by an old friend and a first-time participant, Stanley Jordan, along with frequenters of the internet video series, Jason Crosby, John Molo, Grahame Lesh and Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz. 

The 56-plus-minute video presents five specific movements filmed on July 23, following Sunday Daydream Vol. 3, where Jordan also joined Lesh and Friends for their festival appearance at McNears Beach, San Rafael, Calif. Following a similar format to videos past, a conversion preludes the initial first song delivery. Jordan references Phil’s comparison to the late July stand to the feeling of past Grateful Dead concerts. “At one point, I got this chill down my spine,” Phil remarked, likening the show’s energy to the complimentary nature of the water-side setting and locational Dead history. 

Opening the musical portion of the video, the six-piece melodically dips into a playful opening jam of the Grateful Dead’s 1975 Blue for Allah originator, “Crazy Fingers,” lyrically led by Grahame. Rather than pause and consider their follow-up, the latter merges into “Bertha” for a sequenced take on pulls from the Dead’s early ‘70s material. During “Bertha’s” mid-section, Jordan does Jerry Garcia justice, honing in on the feeling of the longtime crowd-pleaser with thoughtful licks and rhythmic consideration. 

Slowing down the tempo, “Ship of Fools” represents the soulful section of the video, as Grahame passes lyrical duties to Lebo, who pumps feeling into the piece which came off of From The Mars Hotel. Another stunning instrumental solo begins with Crosby’s unmatched work on the keys, followed by an invisible baton toss between players as Jordan picks up and continues the instrumental interlude around the 24:27 timestamp. 

For the final song selections, the players combine “Eyes of the World” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In our latest interview with the music, Jordan was asked if there is a particular aspect of his technique that makes his approach well-suited for Grateful Dead material. He responded, “When I sit in with Phil Lesh & Friends, usually there are at least three guitar players and also a keyboard player in the band. So one thing that happens is that my guitar finds its own niche because when I’m using the touch technique, I can occupy a space in the sound texture that’s different from the other guitars, but it’s also not the keyboards. It’s kind of in its own space.”

He continued with consideration of past experiences, responding, “Phil explained to me once that I should think of the Grateful Dead’s music like Dixieland. Each instrument is doing its own thing, but it all fits together. It was a game changer when he told me that because I had been thinking in a conventional way—a song has chords and I was trying to follow along with the chords. Then I realized there were a whole bunch of people already playing the chords, so I don’t have to be responsible for nailing those chords. That’s when I started approaching my role a little bit more melodically and sort of floating like a leaf in the stream.”

Jordan concluded, “Sometimes I close my eyes, hold a note and listen to the space around me, which tells me whether the note needs to go up or down. I kind of wander through the texture and constantly find that space. With the touch technique, it gives me a sound where the timbre of my guitar always sounds unique, so it always has its own space. I think it brings across that Dixieland concept that Phil was talking about, where each instrument is independent.”

Read our latest interview with Jordan and learn more about his connection to the Grateful Dead songbook.

Watch episode eight of the Terrapin Clubhouse’s ongoing series below.