Jazz Is Dead

Jazz Is Dead - Laughing Water - 1999 - Zebra

As a true music fan, I only reserve five stars for a truly amazing album. Laughing Water is no exception. JID brings new life to these GD tunes. The band is extremely tight and go off on these tunes. Jimmy Herring is unreal, his solos tear the roof off each song. Derek Trucks makes an appearance on Row Jimmy and Here Comes Sunshine, his solos are so intense I soil myself every time I hear them. The final couple of minutes of Row Jimmy where Jimmy and Derek trade solos is probably the most intense thing I have ever listened to in my life. T Lavitz is amazing on the keys and Alphonso Johnson keeps the bass lines tight and interesting. Jeff Sipe and Rod Morgenstein are sick drummers who add a whole new dimension to these Dead songs. On top of all this the whole album is live which demonstrates just how nasty this band is. Buy this CD, I promise that you will not regret it, and if you get a chance to see them live GO! , they put on a great show. – from ***** AMAZING!, December 17, 1999 by & © "djsicili" (Newton, MA United States) © 1996-2013, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.com/Laughing-Water-Jazz-Is-Dead/product-reviews/B00000JLMH/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

A wonderful instrumental Grateful Dead covers album by Jazz is Dead which includes among it’s members some of the best jazz and fusion players in the business, including Derek Trucks, Jeff Sipe, T Lavitz and the incomparable guitarist Jimmy Herring. Although the Dixie Dregs’ T Lavitz has been the only constant member, Jazz Is Dead’s music has been consistently excellent. Between 1998 and 2001 the band released three fusion albums of the highest quality Check out JID’s great “Blue Light Rain” album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 152 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 a) Vocal Intro b) Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo - Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter 6:06
2 Let Me Sing Your Blues Away - Keith Godchaux, Robert Hunter 5:50
3 Row Jimmy - Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter 7:53
4 Stella Blue - Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter 7:07
5 Vocal Intro/Here Comes Sunshine/Sunshine Jam - Alphonso Johnson, Herring, Jerry Garcia, Lavitz, Robert Hunter, Sipe 13:02
6 Eyes of the World/Two Sisters - Alphonso Johnson, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter 10:08
7 Weather Report Suite (Pt. 1) - Eric Andersen, Robert Weir 5:26
8 Weather Report Suite (Pt. 2) (Let It Grow) - John Perry Barlow, Robert Weir 7:11

MUSICIANS

Jimmy Herring - Guitars
Steve Kimock - Guitar on "Stella Blue"
Derek Trucks - Slide Guitar on "Row Jimmy", "Sunshine Jam"
Alphonso Johnson - Basses
T Lavitz - Keyboards
Rod Morgenstein - Drums on "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Stella Blue", "Two Sisters", "Weather Report Suite (Pt. 1)"
Jeff Sipe - Drums on "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo", "Row Jimmy", "Here Comes Sunshine", "Sunshine Jam", "Eyes of the World", "Let It Grow"
Vassar Clements - Violin on "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo", "Sunshine Jam"
Donna Jean Godchaux - "Vocal Intro" on Track 1a

BIO

Tribute albums became very popular in the 1990s, but the members of Jazz Is Dead sidestepped the accompanying clichés of most tributes with their 1998 Grateful Dead concept CD Blue Light Rain. The four jazz fusion veterans -- bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report), keyboardist T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs), guitarist Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit), and drummer Billy Cobham (Mahavishnu Orchestra) -- performed instrumental versions of Grateful Dead classics, at once showing the influence of jazz fusion on the Dead and the quartet's playing and arranging prowess. Cobham, Johnson, and Lavitz were known commodities through their previous band affiliations, but Blue Light Rain proved to be a coming-out party for Herring. A player of immense skill who had subbed for Dickey Betts in the Allman Brothers, Herring was nonetheless underrated through the relative anonymity of his primary groups, Aquarium Rescue Unit and Frogwings. On tracks like "Crazy Fingers," "Dark Star," and the closing, live "Blues for Allah Medley," Herring soars over Lavitz's tasty keyboard work and the rhythmic muscle of Johnson and Cobham. For their next CD, Jazz Is Dead chose to interpret the Grateful Dead's 1973 Wake of the Flood album in its entirety. Cobham's departure opened the door for two drummers -- Jeff Sipe and Rod Morgenstein -- who played separately and together during the four nights of recording. Vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux reprised some of her original vocal intros for the Dead; guest violinist Vassar Clements ("Sunshine Jam") and guitarists Steve Kimock ("Stella Blue") and Derek Trucks ("Row Jimmy") add icing to some of the Dead's most jazz-influenced pieces. With a near-endless Grateful Dead discography to pick from, Jazz Is Dead has the talent and material to become one of the world's most popular and original cover bands. © Bill Meredith © 2013 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jazz-is-dead-mn0000223783/biography