{"title":"Merl Saunders","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-9-august-11th-1974-keystone-berkeley","title":"Garcialive Volume 9: August 11th 1974 Keystone Berkeley","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarciaLive Volume Nine presents Jerry Garcia \u0026amp; Merl Saunders’ August 11th, 1974 performance at Keystone in Berkeley, CA. Joining Garcia \u0026amp; Saunders this evening were John Kahn on bass, Martin Fierro on saxophone \u0026amp; flute and the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann on drums. As the site of over 200 performances by Garcia in various configurations, the Keystone Berkeley stage likely felt more like an extension of the Saunders’ family garage where the group would often practice. It was a space without pressure or pretense — one in which they could freely experiment with arrangements, new repertoire and, most of all, just jam. Saunders’ influence on Garcia’s musical development is plainly heard on GarciaLive Volume Nine. As Garcia once noted in an interview, \"[Saunders] filled me in on all those years of things I didn’t do. I’d never played any standards; I’d never played in dance bands. I never had any approach to the world of regular, straight music. He knew all the standards, and he taught me how bebop works. He taught me music.” While the evening’s setlist focuses primarily on standards, the approach is anything but regular or straight. A free-spirited version of The Four Tops’s R\u0026amp;B classic “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)”, one of the evening’s easy highlights, showcases Garcia \u0026amp; Saunders' ability to reimagine standards through inventive arrangements and fiery virtuosity permeated with soul. Other standouts from this performance include a surging “(I’m A) Roadrunner” and an extended take on Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come” which clocks in at nearly 20 minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50939992375627,"sku":"2228768","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_28_20c73c68_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733461288"},{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-6-july-5th-1973-lions-share","title":"Garcialive Volume 6: July 5th 1973 Lion's Share","description":"\u003cp\u003eVolume Six showcases Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders’ July 5th, 1973 performance at the Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, CA. Recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson just five days prior to the seminal performances celebrated on the Live at the Keystone series, GarciaLive Volume Six highlights a particularly adventurous evening at the Lion’s Share, a 200 capacity club known for its vibrant music scene which drew regulars like Janis Joplin, Phil Lesh, Van Morrison, and many others. The club’s intimacy can be felt throughout the recordings as the band, rounded out by John Kahn on bass and drummer Bill Vitt, frequently launch into extended improvisations fueled by the exchange of energy with the audience. The blistering “She’s Got Charisma” -\u0026gt; “That’s Alright, Mama”, which clocks in at over 31 minutes long, “starts off innocently in familiar blues territory, but very quickly deconstructs into fragmentation and exploration, defying both gravity and expectation at the same time” as writer Benjy Eisen eloquently describes in the releases’ liner note essay. The presence of Mike Price on trumpet during the band’s second set adds to the freedom and looseness found within the performance. Price is felt most during extended takes on “My Funny Valentine” and “Merl’s Tune,” both easy highlights of the entire evening.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50939993620811,"sku":"2228767","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_29_aea1d890_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733461363"},{"product_id":"heads-and-tails-volume-1","title":"Heads And Tails: Volume 1","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first installment of a new LP archival series, Heads \u0026amp; Tails is designed to showcase exciting, unheard performances that each fit onto the single side of a record, paired with evocative and detailed album art thats fun to swim inside. Garcia once spoke of developing a record consciousness, the skill set required to create music that could be communicated through a recording studio, pressed onto LP, and sold in stores. For him and his many performing groups, its safe to say that stepping onto stage most nights of the week represented the absolute opposite of record consciousness.\" The double A-sided single was a phenomenon that began in the late 1940s and Heads \u0026amp; Tails brings it into the new LP era. All sides are equal, just the jams, with the art designed to be completely flippable. Turn it backwards (and upside down) and its got a whole new cover. Heads \u0026amp; Tails: Volume 1 is pressed on cloudy blue vinyl with art by Madalyn Stefanak, bringing music from 1988 and 1972 (or is that 1972 and 1988?). From January 19th, 1972 in San Anselmo comes a side-long Save Mother Earth with Merl Saunders, featuring guest Paul Butterfield on harmonica. And from February 5th, 1988 in Santa Rosa comes the classic Jerry Garcia Band lineup, laying into their jam standard Dont Let Go and a version of Think. Theyre two very different eras in Garcias music, slivers of accidental record consciousness connected in spirit and now by side-flip, as well, on a turntable near you.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50940104933707,"sku":"2228788","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_6_0b9b4df4_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733466539"},{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-5-december-31st-1975-keystone-berkeley","title":"Garcialive Volume 5: December 31st 1975 Keystone Berkeley","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarciaLive Volume Five: December 31st, 1975 Keystone Berkeley celebrates the Jerry Garcia Band's three set performance at the storied Keystone Berkeley. While Garcia celebrated many new years on stage with the Grateful Dead, this performance holds the distinction as the Jerry Garcia Band's lone New Year's Eve appearance. Fresh off a Winter tour which yielded the transcendent performances captured on 2009's Let It Rock live release, Garcia is joined for this performance by mainstay John Kahn on bass, Sly and the Family Stone drummer Greg Errico and legendary rock pianist Nicky Hopkins. Hopkins' accolades are almost too numerous to list, but include a seemingly endless list of collaborations with The Beatles, The Who, and the Rolling Stones, among many others. And what New Year's Eve celebration would be complete without a few friends? Grateful Dead bandmates Bob Weir and Mickey Hart along with Kingfish's Matthew Kelly join the fold for a vibrant evening of music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50940105490763,"sku":"2228785","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_9_bafcb232_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733466556"},{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-18-november-2nd-1974-keystone-berkeley","title":"Garcialive Volume 18: November 2nd 1974 Keystone Berkeley","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarciaLive Volume 18: November 2nd, 1974 Keystone Berkeley presents the complete \u0026amp; previously uncirculated two-set Jerry Garcia \u0026amp; Merl Saunders performance originally recorded to 1\/4” analog reels by Betty Cantor Jackson. Is there a more iconic venue for Garcia\/Saunders than the Keystone Berkeley? The Bay Area haunt was the setting for the performances contained on the legendary Live at the Keystone releases \u0026amp; yielded at least a half-dozen other celebrated official live releases. Be it the quaint, unassuming setting or the proximity to home, magic never seemed to be in short supply — and this evening in November was no different. In addition to the ever-present John Kahn on bass, the rhythm section this evening was bolstered by one of the most in demand session drummers of his day, the great Paul Humphrey whose credits range from Marvin Gaye \u0026amp; Joe Cocker to the Lawrence Welk Show. Future Legion of Mary bandmate Martin Fierro rounds out the ensemble. The performance itself is nothing short of exceptional, particularly the monstrous first set combination of “Valdez in the Country,” The Harder They Come,” \u0026amp; “You Can Leave Your Hat On” which destroy any notion of genre as Garcia, Saunders \u0026amp; co somehow fuse seemingly disparate originals by Donny Hathaway, Jimmy Cliff \u0026amp; Randy Newman into a sound all their own. After a brief set-break, the group returns for a super-charged second set highlighted by extended versions of “Freedom Jazz Dance” \u0026amp; Merl’s own “Wondering Why” before closing the evening with a fiery “Mystery Train.” Always ones to stretch the bounds, you get the sense they would’ve gone all night if not for the venue’s pesky 2am curfew.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50943559696715,"sku":"2228766","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_30_d89d0fbd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733526437"},{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-15-may-21st-1971-keystone-korner","title":"Garcialive Volume 15: May 21st 1971 Keystone Korner","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarciaLive Volume 15: May 21st, 1971 Keystone Korner finds Jerry Garcia \u0026amp; Merl Saunders in the middle of their first multi-night run at the vaulted San Francisco club. The previously uncirculated two-set performance was mixed and mastered from 4-track analog reels. With John Kahn thought to be on another gig in Southern California, Garcia, Saunders, and drummer Bill Vitt shift to an organ trio configuration with Merl’s left hand ably rounding out the rhythm section. Saxophonist and future Garcia\/Saunders \u0026amp; Legion of Mary bandmate Martin Fierro joins the fold, his first known performance with Garcia\/Saunders, on 5 songs pushing the group to dizzying heights. Saunders noted the early performances with Garcia were often loose, free-spirited affairs, and that’s clearly the case here. The show opening “Man-Child” sets the tone with a 17-minute heavily improvised, funky jazz-fusion romp, while the self-described “Keystone Korner Jam” is (as best we can tell) a completely improvised adventure that takes the group into uncharted territory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50944403243339,"sku":"2228765","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_31_c293cfda_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733551953"},{"product_id":"garcialive-volume-12-january-23rd-1973-the-boarding-house-2","title":"Garcialive Volume 12: January 23rd 1973 The Boarding House","description":"\u003cp\u003eGarciaLive Volume 12: January 23rd, 1973 The Boarding House presents Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders’ complete and previously uncirculated performance at the storied downtown San Francisco venue. Mixed by Jonathan Wilson and Dave Cerminara from the original 16-track recordings captured by Betty Cantor and Rex Jackson. Captured nearly two years after debuting their amorphous combo, GarciaLive Volume 12 finds Garcia and Saunders continuing to stretch the bounds of R\u0026amp;B standards and foundational rock \u0026amp; roll on the front-end of a three-night midweek run. The core of Garcia, Saunders, bassist John Kahn and drummer Bill Vitt are joined here by vocalist Sarah Fulcher whose tenure with the group was brief but revolutionary. Cut from the same cloth as her bandmates, Fulcher is a fearless improviser who could make up words and lead lines in the moment. On a rollicking version of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Honey Chile”, Fulcher showcases her abilities as a self-described “jam singer” leading, as Jesse Jarnow notes in the liner note essay, an \"ebullient jam that turns the Motown bounce inside out and lands in a lithe descending pattern not dissimilar to what Dead tapers labeled the “Mind Left Body” theme.” Other highlights include a pair of Ray Charles staples “Lonely Avenue” and “Georgia On My Mind” which showcase the band’s ability to play it “straight.” Straight of course is relative with Garcia\/Saunders \u0026amp; co extending these soul-soaked performances well beyond the 10 minute mark as only they can.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Round Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50947716317515,"sku":"2228758","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/getImage_32_be38fb75_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733632610"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/merl-saunders.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}