Jerry Garcia was once asked what he liked to do when he wasn’t playing music. “Play music!” was his response. For about five years, the Grateful Dead guitarist spent many nights collaborating with organist Merl Saunders both in concert and in the studio. The five-year association of Saunders, who’d worked primarily as a jazz organist, and Garcia took root in early1970 with a weekly jam session featuring Saunders, Garcia, bassist John Kahn, and drummer Bill Vitt, at San Francisco’s Matrix.
From February 1971 to July 1975, Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia often played live shows together when the Grateful Dead were not on tour. For many of those concerts, their band had the lineup featured on this album — Saunders on keyboards, Garcia on guitar and vocals, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums.
And here´s a pretty jam album from that period … here the relaxed sound of the Westcoat !
Live at The Record Plant, Sausalito, CA; July 8, 1973.
Very good KSAN FM broadcast.
Personnel:
Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals)
John Kahn (bass)
Merl Saunders (organ)
Bill Vitt (drums)
Tracklist:
01. Introduction (Tom Donahue) 0.38
02. Someday Baby (Estes) 6.34
03. My Funny Valentine (Hart/Rodgers) 1108
04. That’s Alright Mama (Crudup) 8.24
05. It’s Too Late (She´s Gone) (Willis)12.14
06. Finders Keepers (Saunders/Kahn) 6.34
07. Announcements (Tom Donahue) 1.20
08. Second That Emotion (Robinson) 11.44
09. Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael/Gorrell) 12.02
10. Positively 4th Street (Dylan) 8.38
11. How Sweet It Is( Holland/Dozier/Holland) 8.05
ManyFantasticColors 