Jazz Is Dead has been playing instrumental jazz-tinged versions of Grateful Dead songs since 1998, making 2023 its 25th anniversary year. Since its inception, the band has been a rotating cast of characters, but there from the beginning has been bassist Alphonso Johnson, best known for his work with the jazz fusion outfit Weather Report. Alphonso is no stranger to the Grateful Dead world, having been an original member of Bob Weir’s Bobby and the Midnites in the early 1980s and the 2000 incarnation of the post-Garcia Dead spin-off The Other Ones, where he crossed paths with guitar wizard Steve Kimock.

Kimock is himself an integral member of the Grateful Dead extended family, having played in Keith and Donna Godchaux’s Heart of Gold Band, Kingfish, and later Ratdog featuring Bob Weir and the late ’90s version of Phil Lesh & Friends. He shared the stage with Jerry Garcia in 1988 when Jerry sat-in with Zero, another psychedelic San Francisco band with lyrics penned by Robert Hunter and whose membership included Martin Fierro, who played with Jerry in Legion of Mary and was a guest saxophonist on the Grateful Dead album Wake of the Flood. Subsequently, Kimock tapped Johnson to be the bass player in the early 2000s for his fondly remembered, mind-melting project, Steve Kimock Band.

Notably, 2023 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the classic 1973 Grateful Dead album Wake of the Flood, so to celebrate the dual anniversaries of Jazz Is Dead and that album, Johnson put together an extensive coast-to-coast Jazz Is Dead tour. Reunited once more for the current incarnation are Alphonso and Steve Kimock with the addition of drummer Pete Lavezzoli, probably best known for his longtime stint in Melvin Seals & JGB, and Bobby Lee Rodgers, formerly of The Codetalkers on guitar and banjo.

Tickets:
$39 GA Advance
$49 GA At the Door
$75 VIP Package (includes early admission for sound check, a tour laminate, and a sound board recording of the show)

This is a partially seated show so you can dance!

Minors ok when accompanied by a parent or guardian

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