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Jazz Is Dead
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
Jazz Is Dead has been playing instrumental jazz-tinged versions of Grateful Dead songs since 1998, making 2023 its 25th anniversary. Since its inception, the band has been a rotating cast of characters, but there 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.
Notably, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the classic 1973 Grateful Dead album Wake of the Flood. 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.