Post #286351 by hodadhank on Sun, Feb 18, 2007 1:56 AM

On 2007-02-11 13:20, lucas vigor wrote:
The dead have zero to do with Tiki, and zero to do with John Coltrane... blah blah blah. I challenge any deadhead to show me one straight ahead jazz album made by Jerry Garcia and his ilk, where they are handling a majority of the jazz licks...blah blah blah... it was those artists that had the real talent, and not the deadheads...

Wow! Some patchouli drenched stoners must have made fun of your crew cut or stole your pocket protector in high school to justify such vitriol. LOL!

I just started this thread for fun in the Bilge knowing the Dead's many connections to Hawaii and their interest in the music of primitive cultures, but since you mention it The Dead and Tiki absolutely have something in common. Few people have ambiguous reactions to them. They are either loved or loathed, and often for uneducated reasons.

"Garcia was, you know, one of the greatest musicians, improvisers, composers, songwriters in America, right up there with Duke Ellington or Charles Ives or John Coltrane, or somebody like that. I think that his stature is kind of masked by the Deadhead effect, and how that alienates some people from it." - Henry Kaiser (widely recognized as one of the most creative and innovative guitarists, improvisers, and producers in the fields of rock, jazz and experimental music)

Yes, Jerry Garcia’s guitar improvs were inspired by Trane’s and Ornette Coleman’s extended solos. It's OK not to want to believe this but it's simply fact. References to this effect can be found almost everywhere on the web. Start with the Impulse Records homepage. Even the American Heritage History website compares Garcia to both Miles Davis and Coltrane.

On the album posted by Mr NoNaMe, Garcia & Grisman tackle Bag's Groove, Milestones and of course So What. Here's a review from CD Universe

This might seem like an unlikely duo to record a jazz album, but many forget that Garcia developed as an instrumentalist by playing "free" music with his Grateful Dead compatriots, for whom John Coltrane was as important an influence as Merle Haggard or Elmore James (Garcia even did some recording with Ornette*, who is quoted in the liner notes here). Grisman, not unlike Garcia, has made a career of blending jazz with bluegrass, folk and other American musical traditions. It's no surprise then that the two did some studio jamming over classic Miles tunes, the unfinished but rewarding results of which are presented here...Garcia is a sympathetic accompanist, demonstrating a deep understanding of the advanced chord substitutions that are central to jazz improvisation. SO WHAT provides an excellent view of Garcia's harmonic sophistication as captured toward the end of his long, varied career.

(*Garcia played guitar on Ornette Coleman's album Virgin Beauty)

(you might also want to check out the Howard Wales /Jerry Garcia's 1971 album "Hooteroll?" for shades of "Bitches Brew". The cover art is even by Abdul Mati Klarwein!)

For some reason I manage to enjoy all these truths and yet still long to hear The Smokin' Menehunes to play at Oasis. What ails me?