Grateful for a Side Project
Garcia and Kahn go acoustic!
Spinning up some of Jerry Garcia's acoustic work. This album was part of his live acoustic series where he was joined by his friend and bassist, John Kahn.
Kahn originally met Garcia in 1970 where they played in a jazz band together that was based in the San Francisco area. Over the years Kahn was part of many of Garcia's side projects. He even helped produce, Shakedown Street.
Fun fact not music related, Kahn's babysitter was Marilyn Monroe as his dad was her representative early in her career.
The album consists of a few Grateful Dead songs, some Dylan covers, and some music from Garcia's personal songbook.
Overall it's an excellent album but the bass of Kahn really carries the album to new heights. Garcia's acoustic work is much more subdued and quiet compared to his electric guitar work with the Dead and other projects. It doesn't detract instead it highlights Kahn and his talents on bass.
Kicking off the album is, Deep Elem Blues, was a song originally from 1923 and performed by the Cofer Brothers but made famous in the 1930s by the Shelton Brothers. It's a wonderful traditional blues/folk song that is perfect for the acoustic set that Garcia is performing.
My favorite song on the album is either Dire Wolf or Ripple but that's no surprise as I love those songs when the Dead performed them.
That doesn't mean you should ignore the rest of the album though. If you enjoy low key acoustic work, this is a good one to check out.
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Jerry Garcia and John Kahn - GarciaLive Volume 14
ATO and Round Records, 2022
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