The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    The new Dave's Pick is Fresno 7/19/74 with the Wall of Sound PA system. Here's the link for the listening party with a unique Scarlet Begonias- Jerry attacking the solo in a different way that usual, and the interplay between Bob and Phil being really easy to hear. Dang. Donna Jean, well, still off-key. Ouch. Followed by one of the few performances of Weather Report Suite in its entirety. Bob, Phil and Keith cover the prelude beautifully before Jerry joins in. The jam is crazy stretched out but we don't hear it all the way to the end on the stream nor the reprise of the final theme. Bummer.

    The vocal sound on the Wall of Sound recordings is weird due to the dual sound-canceling mics they used to prevent feedback- there were no monitors on stage, the band heard the (28,000 watt) PA which was right behind them so mic feedback was something that had to be prevented. Too bad, the instrument sound was great. I think at this point in the band's history we are hearing Wolf, the Godfather and Bob's '59 ES-335 (or maybe his very first Ibanez, but it sounds like the Gibson to me).

    The Dead were what got me into improvisational music. If I'm not listening to jazz I am listening to the Dead. Maybe the Allman Brothers. Anyone else into the Dead around here?

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  3. #2

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    Uh, I just saw the Bob Weir movie The Other One, does that qualify?

    I am a modest fan. I have never seen them live. I listen to them from time to time.

    My first college roommate was an absolute, tie-dyed-in-wool capital D Deadhead. He had over 300 cassette bootlegs all catalogued by date, and could remember the details of every one. And this was back in 1979, before Ebay or streaming music. His entire wardrobe consisted of 20 pairs of faded jeans with holes and patches in the right places and 20 tie-dyed T-shirts. And sandals.

    He actually turned me off the Dead for awhile, because he was such a dreck, but I got into them more later--had and still have a lot of friends who follow them.

    Anyway, I appreciate them for what they were. Their folk stuff was awesome. On a good night, they were spectacular, and could push the limits of the rock format as far as it would go. China Cat Sunflower--coolest song ever. But on a bad night--Jerry's voice, sometimes Bob's voice, and the guitar tones would annoy me.

    I wish Weir had stuck with the 335 and Jerry with the Strat to be honest. Weir's Ibanez is a bit of a Frankenguitar, does more crap than a guitar actually should IMHO.

    The Weir documentary is very good and highlights his talents, as well as what made the band stick together. I wish they had taken better care of themselves, but then if they had, they wouldn't have been the band they were, would they?

  4. #3

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    Big Dead fan, also the key in getting me into improvisation.

    member nsj is also a big deadhead.

    sounds like a great show.

  5. #4

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    Another former deadhead here. I was really into them in the 80s and early 90s. Saw them a bunch of times and also Garcia's band a few. Their large range of influences kind of helped guide me towards a bunch of stuff. I wouldn't say there is a straight line from the Dead to improv and jazz for me, but they were definitely part of the process. Several other rock bands and artists were as well. The Dead probably pointed me to stuff like Johnny Cash as much as they did to jazz.

    Back when I was really into the Dead, I loved Pigpen's music, which makes sense since I was a budding blues fanatic. I also dug the more "inside" stuff like American Beauty where it was more about the songs than the jams. But I certainly listened to plenty of the extended jams as well. The Dead obviously could reach lows (and have downright occasional train-wrecks) as well as highs, and they would have been the first ones to admit it.

    I haven't listened to them with any regularity in many years, but I do occasionally. And for some reason I recently got back into JGB some. I think I always dug JGB as much or more than some of the Dead. I recently picked up two of his live records. While Garcia still meandered or overplayed at times with JGB, his playing can sometimes be just burning. I guess I maybe hear more blues and grit in his JGB playing-not that it was absent in his playing with the Dead. I also like Garcia's taste in covers he did in JGB. His live take on stuff like "Waiting For a Miracle", some of the Dylan stuff, the old RnB stuff, etc. is just damn fun to listen to. Garcia was sometimes dismissed as a noodler, but when he was on, he could tear it up. And he was also a fine singer when he was healthy and on. I was never as into Weir, but he's cool too. Just didn't dig his out of tune slide playing. Liked some of the cowboy stuff.

    Anyway, keep on truckin' bro. (Insert patchouli aroma and peace sign here).
    Last edited by MattC; 01-29-2016 at 06:05 AM.

  6. #5

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    Yes, sir, big fan.

    In the 1970s, everything was in their wheelhouse. They hardly had a bad show, except for the inevitable off key background vocals of Donna Jean . Keith was definitely in the background, largely playing piano accompaniment. Although in the track featured here, he seems to be playing electric piano . And this was before Scarlet was coupled with Fire.

    The cheesy Brent synthesizer patches would sadly come later.

    To me, the Dead were one of the very few bands in rock 'n' roll who could play modally for extended periods and really pull it off. The essence of the band was twofold: (1) the improvised contrapuntal melodic figures supplied by Jerry and, most critically, Phil;( you can hear it especially at 4:45 of "Scarlet" here ) 2) The band remained at its heart a dance band, and the drummers were never heavy or plodding. Which is very unusual for a rock 'n' roll band.


    The one drummer era is fascinating to me, it seems the band played with more energy, and Billy had play his butt off. The repertoire here reflected the fusion and progressive rock fascination that dominated the mid-1970s .

    Lately I've been listening to a lot of JRAD - They play Grateful Dead music, but with a lot more energy, faster tempos and some more experimentation. Yet again, and one drummer Group with incredible energy. (Phil has played with them, on various locations, when they become "PhilRAD"








  7. #6

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    I'm a fan, my first show was Saratoga in '83. They were a big influence when I was starting out, I got to spend a lot of time under the jam-band umbrella improvising on stage in front of people, and the experience for sure helped my jazz playing . I was excited to be their 'opening act' for the Fare Thee Well this past 4th of July, and every once and a while I'll take one of their tunes out for a spin..







    PK

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    Uh, I just saw the Bob Weir movie The Other One, does that qualify?...
    Haha. I watched it last night. I liked it, but Weir always seems like he has never recovered from his Saturday acid trips that lasted a year.

    I was a biggish fan back in high school. Saw them a couple of times in college. Once I moved out to SF I began to despise the kinds of Deadheads that dropped out of high school and occupied the sidewalks. Unfortunately that hasn't changed much in SF except they don't follow the Dead anymore. Most of them probably have never even heard a Dead tune. The Playboy After Dark video of St. Stephen is worth checking out on youtube. Also, one of the best Dead songs I ever heard was an audience suggestion to Elvis Costello to play something by the Dead at one of his all acoustic no microphone shows in a small-to-medium venue. He did Ship of Fools and nailed it.

    Last edited by lammie200; 01-27-2016 at 12:26 AM.

  9. #8

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    Man, Jerry was right. Adventure is hard to find in America now. Can't even imagine the corporate media industrial complex letting anything this weird and uncontrolled out of the box now. So very happy I got to witness some of this.

  10. #9

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    Yup. Big fan here too. Saw some great shows! And a bunch that were really bad. I think dicks favorite year was 73. I love 70 and spring 77. After that, well, not so much. Although Bruce Hornsby was a nice.

  11. #10

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    I never really understood the criticism of Donna. Sure, she was off-key, but so was Jerry, Bob and particularly Phil

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by eh6794
    I never really understood the criticism of Donna. Sure, she was off-key, but so was Jerry, Bob and particularly Phil
    Haha, criticizing Jerry's singing is like shooting fish in a barrel. However, I will admit that most of the time his singing works in service of the song. "Serviceable" is a good description.

    However, IMO backup singers should be pitch perfect. I don't listen to a lot of GD boots, but I particularly don't like performances where the backup singing gets in the way.

  13. #12

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    Now you have a great point. I guess it is different when the main band members our out of key vs. a back up singer. But, in my opinion, she is better than the other 3 guys.

    She was a backup singer for Elvis, Percy Sledge and other. I read a story somewhere where she said she knew her singing was off with the Dead, mostly due to the back stage antics and pharmaceuticals.

    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    Haha, criticizing Jerry's singing is like shooting fish in a barrel. However, I will admit that most of the time his singing works in service of the song. "Serviceable" is a good description.

    However, IMO backup singers should be pitch perfect. I don't listen to a lot of GD boots, but I particularly don't like performances where the backup singing gets in the way.

  14. #13

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    Sometimes 2 or 3 bad singers sound good together. I really like the harmonies on Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, though individually none of them are pitch perfect.

    I read they were influenced by the Byrds and CSN for those records.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    Sometimes 2 or 3 bad singers sound good together. I really like the harmonies on Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, though individually none of them are pitch perfect.

    I read they were influenced by the Byrds and CSN for those records.
    There are places on those albums that really bring to mind CSN harmonies and singing.

  16. #15

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    Europe 72 has good harmonies too but most were re-recorded. However, the Dead did not write conventional harmonies and so they sound odd even if they are in pitch. Re: Donna, Jerry said in an interview that where she stood on stage might not have let her hear the other voices very well. I've always wanted to hear a great gospel choir take on "Attics Of My Life."

  17. #16

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    Big fan here. I kind of first opened my ears to them when I saw the Dead (with Warren Haynes) at the Gorge and "Eyes of the World" piqued my interest. Saw Rat Dog a couple of times but didn't really get it at the time. JGB's cover of Simple Twist of Fate really got me into the original lineup. Stumbled onto the video on YouTube after hearing Dylan's version in the I'm Not There movie.

    I listen to the Dead pretty much daily. Been listening to Road Trips Vol 2 No 3 from the beginning most days commuting around NYC. I keep repeating the jam between China Cat to I Know You Rider trying to listen for cues - how were they so in sync? The more I listen, the more I appreciate each of the members' talents, especially Jerry's.

    I saw the last two Chicago shows last year. 7/5 was the best live event I've ever been to. I could kind of feel how they were pioneers in live performances. Wasn't lucky enough to see them with Jerry but have read 3-4 books about them (just wrapped up Billy's autobiography after reading Phil's right before), so I know how they came up and their innovations.

    Their stage setup was impressive, to say the least. About 4 stories high on each side. It took me 2 shows to gain an appreciation of it. I didn't know the center rafters were concentric circles that formed an eye when you looked from the center. The fireworks for the 2nd show had me thinking about the guys sitting in a room saying, "while we're getting fireworks for the 4th, let's fire them off on the 5th also". I don't think that stuff is cheap and they didn't have to do it. Showed they cared about the show/audience (or, as I'm finding out with their autobiographies, just are still into blowing stuff up).

  18. #17

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    Maria Muldaur--wow. Would love to have seen her back in the day!

  19. #18

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    Jerry traded playing pedal steel on the CSNY album for harmony lessons for the band from David Crosby.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by HeyNow

    I listen to the Dead pretty much daily. Been listening to Road Trips Vol 2 No 3 from the beginning most days commuting around NYC. I keep repeating the jam between China Cat to I Know You Rider trying to listen for cues - how were they so in sync? The more I listen, the more I appreciate each of the members' talents, especially Jerry's.

    .
    I listen to them daily as I bicycle ride through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Imagine pedaling through valleys and hills, lakes and creeks, past ranches, and small towns of 100 people, with my phone on the handle bars blaring GD concerts.

    Anyways, my favorite moment from any show starts at 1:13:30. The entire set is great, but this particular part is amazing. Watch Jerry's face when he listens to Bob belt out the final line to his verse, then watch and listen to Jerry respond when he gets to his verse... listen to the crowd go nuts. I can almost imagine Jerry thinking "Oh ya, well watch this one!"


  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by eh6794
    I listen to them daily as I bicycle ride through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Imagine pedaling through valleys and hills, lakes and creeks, past ranches, and small towns of 100 people, with my phone on the handle bars blaring GD concerts.

    Anyways, my favorite moment from any show starts at 1:13:30. The entire set is great, but this particular part is amazing. Watch Jerry's face when he listens to Bob belt out the final line to his verse, then watch and listen to Jerry respond when he gets to his verse... listen to the crowd go nuts. I can almost imagine Jerry thinking "Oh ya, well watch this one!"
    Oh yeah, Alpine Valley is legendary, up there with Ithica show. Or Nassau with Branford

    Jerry was feeling good around then. Funny I just watched a video recently where Jerry gave Bobby or Phil a nice big smile and your post made me think it was the same show. Was actually a few days before Alpine Valley - Bob and Jerry wearing apparently same clothes as Alpine Valley:

    5:37



    Billy says, in his autobiography, these 1-2 years had probably the best shows.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by eh6794
    I listen to them daily as I bicycle ride through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Imagine pedaling through valleys and hills, lakes and creeks, past ranches, and small towns of 100 people, with my phone on the handle bars blaring GD concerts.

    Anyways, my favorite moment from any show starts at 1:13:30. The entire set is great, but this particular part is amazing. Watch Jerry's face when he listens to Bob belt out the final line to his verse, then watch and listen to Jerry respond when he gets to his verse... listen to the crowd go nuts. I can almost imagine Jerry thinking "Oh ya, well watch this one!"


    I was was at these Alpine Shows. It was, ahem, a blur.

    1989 and 1990 were perhaps the last great period of Dead music. It kind of went downhill after that. And it wasn't because Brent was gone . Jerry was really fucked up, and the band was playing football stadium shows. Which doesn't really create a positive musical spirit.

    The interesting thing is that the band has released tons of official concerts, especially a lot from 1989 and 1990. But practically nothing after that. That tells you something.

  23. #22

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    Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and a total deadhead. I discovered the Dead and jazz at about the same time when I was maybe 18 or so and living in Syracuse back in the 80's. My musical taste tends to be that I like anything improvisational as well as a deep love of Americana. I count among my favorite musicians Jerry, Miles, Cannonball, I am currently obsessed with Bill Frisell, and have been for about 10 years. Living in Seattle I've been lucky to see him play a number of times.

    I saw the Dead a dozen times between 89 and 94, and JGB once. All killer shows. Great memories.

    I play a strat largely because I love Jerry's early 70's strat tone, also, it's a really comfortable guitar, and pretty serviceable for the areas between jazz and country which is what I like to play. My other axe is a Martin D16, and I'd call it my #1, though it's completely acoustic so when I play with others, it's the strat.

    When I listen to the Dead now, which I do quite a bit still, I tend to listen to the early 70s shows, I love the recklessness that comes through at times. I love melodies, and I love hearing them get taken to the edge and just about falling off the rails. I also love the joy that Jerry can express. Cannonball however is my favorite in that area. His playing expresses so much joy to me.

    Great to know there's some Deadheads on the boards here. I love what I've picked up in the couple days I've been poking around.

  24. #23

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    There is an Orthodox Rabbi, R. Yosef Langer, in San Francisco who used to do religious outreach at Grateful Dead concerts. Around Rosh Hashanah the apples dipped in honey were always very popular. You can probably still get Grateful Yid t-shirts where the character on the shirt looks like him. I'm not much of a Deadnik (Jewish Dead Head) myself, but there is definitely a Deadnik crowd. Once upon a time, when I had vinyl, I had a two-fer of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. (Actually two cassettes.) I was quite fond of it, but to be a true devotee you have to listen to bootlegs of the concert jams.

  25. #24

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    I would say the Dead were a stepping stone from one state of mind to another in many ways.