A recent and productive pair of threads woven from the Grateful Dead quilt is the one bringing producer and bassist Don Was together with Bob Weir in Weir’s Wolf Bros.  Was first burst onto the scene helming the eclectic Detroit soul/pop ‘80s outfit Was (Not Was), though lately he’s known more for his production work and concert curation- assembling all-star casts for tributes to Gregg Allman and The Band, as two examples.  And now, he’s the link between his Was (Not Was) saxophonist Dave McMurray and this shining, 10-song homage to the music of the Grateful Dead.

McMurray is new to the party, discovering the possibilities of the Dead’s repertoire reimagined as bursting (mostly) instrumentals, after Was teamed up as a Wolf bro with Weir and turned on McMurray.  What the veteran horn man found was a song catalog that lends itself to myriad interpretations.  Above all, this is an incredibly taut and lively set, swinging hard as it skirts into territories of jazz, funk, Caribbean, R&B, and soul.  McMurray even invites along Was, Weir and his Wolf Bros., and singer Bettye LaVette for a cutting take on Garcia’s “Loser.”

There is a conspicuous ‘80s feel to some of the polished grooves, minus the cloying synthesizers that addled the decade.  And McMurray is exceptionally conscious of the pocket, keeping the improvisations within reach.  Yet, he also wrangles two sides of the same Grateful coin: showcasing how pliable the songs are as vehicles for jamming while being infectiously melodic and buoyant; even, and especially, on the peaking “Dark Star.”

McMurray succeeds by avoiding where other tributes have been less successful.  Rather than imposing a genre or a personality on the catalog, McMurray works from the inside out.  He honors the Grateful Dead by celebrating the eternal bounce of its bounty; joyfully unlocking spirits within to dance anew.