One thing has always set Jazz Is Dead apart from other Grateful Dead tribute bands: Rather than trying to reconstruct the Dead’s music, they use it as a launching point, a framework, and then go their own way. After all, why waste this level of musicianship and ingenuity on imitation when creation is so much more rewarding? Grateful Jazz is JID’s magnum opus, started before the passing of keyboardist T Lavitz, then abandoned for some time and now completed. The group’s fluid lineup has settled in here as Lavitz, guitarist Jeff Pevar (who also contributes Dobro, mandolin and banjo), bassist David Livolsi, drummer Rod Morganstein, along with current bassist Alphonso Johnson, soprano saxophonist Bill Evans and violinist Jerry Goodman. From the start of “Cumberland Blues,” the opening track, it’s apparent that this is a take-no-prisoners endeavor. It’s actually closer to the song’s Appalachian roots than the Dead’s original studio version—Pevar is on fire on lap steel—but also wholly electrifying, Morganstein pushing the pace to near-exhaust levels. Further down, “Attics of My Life” retains the serenity and solemnity of the GD’s arrangement until, about two-thirds through its nine minutes, it goes unexpectedly ethereal, then calms again. The “Mr. Charlie”>“One More Saturday Night” jam is pure rock mania and “Dark Star,” saved for last, is unlike any the Dead ever played: equally experimental and sonically adventurous, but owing as much to classic ‘70s fusion as to anything that ever came out of Kesey’s place. Inspired stuff, this.
News
Archive- Gwen Stefani, blink-182 to Headline Inaugural South Star Festival
- Woodsist Festival Unveils 2024 Artist Lineup: Yo La Tengo, Real Estate, Jessica Pratt, Woods and More
- Dogfish Head Brewery Details Record Fair at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl
- David Gilmour Outlines ‘Luck and Strange,’ First Full-Length Drop in Nearly a Decade, Shares Video Preview
- Listen: John Oates Covers John Prine’s “Long Monday” with Sierra Hull for Upcoming Album ‘Reunion’
- Latest Installment of Jerry Garcia Live Series, ‘February 13th, 1976 Keystone Berkeley’ Receives Release Date
- Borderland Festival Plots 2024 Return with The Black Crowes, CAAMP, Marcus King, Dark Star Orchestra and More
- Dr. Dog Preview First New LP in Six Years with Feel-Good Single “Talk Is Cheap” and Official Music Video
Most Popular
- Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Announce Fall 2024 Tour Dates
- Warren Haynes, Bill Kreutzmann, Devon Allman and More Share Tributes to Dickey Betts
- Lettuce Expand 2024 Tour Schedule: John Scofield, Ziggy Marley, BISCOLAND and More
- Phish Dive Deep for Night Two at Las Vegas’ Sphere
- Duane Betts Responds to Outpouring of Support Following Father Dickey Betts’ Passing, Shares Tour Update
- Phish Change Forms for Final Sphere Performance
- Phil Lesh & Friends to Perform at San Francisco’s The Warfield in May
- Brooklyn Bowl to Host Benefit for Bad Brains’ HR, with Members of Bad Brains, Fishbone, Living Colour and More
No Comments comments associated with this post