It
is amazing how many unique bands Jerry Garcia played with. Making it more
incredible is that he had to fit them between a 30-year full time
career with the Grateful Dead. We have listed most of his bands below breaking them down between the categories of acoustic or
electric.
An early Jerry Garcia bluegrass band from 1962.
Some bootlegs tapes circulate.
Wildwood Boys
A bluegrass band formed in the
fall of 1962 with Robert Hunter and others. Garcia played
banjo. No commercial releases exist, though there are several unreleased
recording that circulate among tape traders.
The roots of the Grateful Dead
are formed in this jug band featuring Ron "PigPen"
McKernan and Bob Weir. Some of their material
would make it into the Grateful Dead's repertoire.
An all star line up of bluegrass
musicians that performed mostly in the Bay Area in 1973.
Several recordings exist of these performances. A brief bio is
provided by Djangomusic.
A short lived bluegrass band from
1974 featuring David Grisman on mandolin. Garcia primarily
played banjo. No official recordings, but some tapes circulate.
This band is similar in style to several David Grisman
line-ups to follow.
Formed in 1987 this line up
typically performed one set before Garcia's electric band.
They played three major venues in San Francisco, Los Angeles,
and the famous 18 shows on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne
Theater in New York. The Bay Area was treated to a few
small venues.
This is the first of several
bands Garcia and Saunders played in together. A brief bio of
Merl Saunders is provided by Djangomusic.
Legion of Mary
A
similar line to the first Garcia Band with
the addition of a saxophone player. They took a jazzier
approach. No commercial releases yet, but there is no shortage
of tapes for the active taper.
Reconstruction
The jazziest sound of all the
several Garcia Bands, featuring a trombone and saxophone. This
was short lived outfit performing primarily in the Bay Area in
1979. Merl Saunders sang most of the songs.
In the mid to late
70's Garcia had several different line ups. It mostly featured
Keith Godchaux, but it included a brief stint with Nicky Hopkins. I've got a
1976 studio
rehearsal/jam session recording with New Orleans influence
pianist named James
Booker.
The
Jerry Garcia Electric with an organ emphasis, tested out
several line-ups before settling with his core featuring
Melvin Seals on keyboards, John Kahn on bass, David Kemper on
drums andGloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch on back up vocals.
A
place to download Jerry Garcia Band SHN files that includes
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia
Electric, Reconstruction, and more.
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