Is Jimmy Here? JGB, Keystone Palo Alto, January 23, 1981

LN jg1981-01-23.jgb.all.aud-latvala.97205.flac1644

Well, I hear some electric piano here (see notes), but I think it’s Melvin. So, as Corry indicated, this (along with 1/22/81) might be a hitherto unknown quartet configuration of Garcia, Kahn, Seals and Shaw — no Jimmy Warren on second keys, as traditionally believed.

Otherwise, nothing to write home about, to my ears.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone Palo Alto
260 South California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
January 23, 1981 (Friday)

–Set I (5 tracks, 53:57)–
s1t01. Sugaree [12:36] [0:07] %
s1t02. They Love Each Other [8:03] [0:07] % [0:05]
s1t03. That’s What Love Will Make You Do [11:57] [0:09] % [0:05]
s1t04. /Mississippi Moon [10:56] [0:04] % [0:06]
s1t05. Deal [9:30] (1) [0:09] %

–Set II (5 tracks, 57:19)–
s2t01. The Harder They Come [12:35] [0:02] % [0:12]
s2t02. When I Paint My Masterpiece [10:10] [0:05] %
s2t03. Russian Lullaby [14:03] [0:05] %
s2t04. Dear Prudence [12:06] [0:04] ->
s2t05. Midnight Moonlight [7:47] [0:09] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #12a
! lineup: Jerry Garcia – el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn – el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals – keyboards;
! lineup: Daoud Shaw – drums.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; … = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the “real” time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19810123-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/97205 (this fileset). There are no other known recordings.

! band: JGB #12a (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-
1995.html). This is a quartet, very rare. Only these two shows (1/22-23) in this configuration. Then Jimmy Warren comes in, and later they add backing vocalists to turn it into a septet.

! R: Field Recordist: Dick Latvala;

! R: Field Recording Equipment: Nakamichi CM-300 microphone(s) > Technics 686 cassette
recorder;

! R: Field Recording Location: front tables;

! R: Post-Master Lineage: 1st generation cassette played back on Tascam 112mkII > Manley SLAM! > Anagram ADC (16/44.1) > HHB CDR 850 >  CD > EAC > WAV > tracking (CDWave) > flac encoding (FLAC Frontend, level 8). All transfers and edits by df.

! Notes: “- A huge thanks to Jeffrey Knudsen for supplying the analog tapes”

! Notes: “- Time between songs was either edited out by Latvala or recorder was off between songs”

! R: Recording is fine.

! P: not much to write home about.

! Q: s1t01 Do I hear piano @ 3:52 of Sugaree?

! P: s1t01 Sugaree Jerry’s solo @ 6:59 is uninspired

! s1t03 TWLWMYD there’s an electric piano solo @ 9:05-9:38 … can I hear the organ behind it? I am not sure. I think I can.

! R: s1t04 MM clips in

! R: s1t05 Deal pop at track marker

! s1t05 (1) JG: “We’re gonna take a break for a little while. We’ll be right back.”

! s2t01 @ 1:00ish, crowd guy gives a big ol “Yay Jerry!” Do y’thing, mang.

! s2t01 @ 7:31 Jerry starts in with the really round wah that would characterize his playing for the rest of his life. Think of his style on the GD’s “Fire On The Mountain”, big, fat, round and reggae. HTC did not used to sound like this (I say having just spent some time with June 1974). When did that round wah pedal really come in? Melvin is stepping up around 12:20 ish, but Jerry thinks discretion is the better part of valor and he shuts it down. I think Melvin was ready to tear it up. Before too long, I’d be this song has another several minutes on it, the delta comprised by Melvin Seals-lead interludes. Dude was born to play organ on “Harder They Come”.

! personnel: I hear no electric piano in set II.