Jeff Mattson (born July 3, 1958) is an American musician. He was raised on Long Island, NY. Mattson is founding member of the jam band, the

Zen Tricksters The Zen Tricksters are an American Grateful Dead cover band. For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead covers and jam band music, as well as derivative original songs. The band started out as the Volunteers, play ...

, and guitarist in the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, which features the Grateful Dead’s

Donna Jean Godchaux Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American singer who was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1972 until 1979. Biography Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a sessi ...

. Mattson was named the permanent lead guitarist for

Dark Star Orchestra Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Illinois. They serve as a tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Grateful Dead concert experience." Overview Dark Sta ...

in November of 2009. A veteran of 30 years on the road, Mattson is a guitar player whose style ranges from rock & roll to blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, folk and psychedelia. Jeff is also a strong original songwriter and his work is prominently featured on five albums, including several pieces co-written with bandmate Donna Jean. He is a co-writer of “Leave Me Out of This,” a track on

Phil Lesh and Friends Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead. Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including gr ...

Sony CD, "There and Back Again." Jeff was asked to audition for Phil Lesh & Friends in the fall of 1999 and in October 1999. Jeff and then Zen Trickster keyboard player,

Rob Barraco Rob Barraco is an American keyboardist. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, he has played with Phil Lesh and Friends, The Dead, Dark Star Orchestra, Chris Robinson & New Earth Mud, the Zen Tricksters, Red Flannel Hash, and The Dragonflys. He w ...

, played three shows with

at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco. 1999.http://www.jambands.com/nov99/features/fullcircle.html ''Full Circle: Zen Trickster Jeff Mattson Becomes A Friend of Phil'', ''jambands.com'', Retrieved March 16, 2009.

Discography

;with the

: 1996 ''The Holy Fool'' : 1998 ''A Love Surreal'' : 2003 ''Shaking Off the Weirdness'' : 2006 '' For Rex: The Black Tie Dye Ball'' – The Zen Tricksters w/

Donna Godchaux Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

, Mickey Hart,

Tom Constanten Tom Constanten (born March 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Biography Early career Born in Long Branch, N ...

, David Nelson,

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues b ...

2006 ;with Donna Jean and the Tricksters : 2008 '' Donna Jean and the Tricksters'' ;with

Donna Jean Godchaux Band The Donna Jean Godchaux Band (sometimes known as the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson) is an American rock music group. Originally named Kettle Joe's Psychedelic Swamp Revue, and later Donna Jean and the Tricksters, the band was origina ...

: 2014 ''

Back Around ''Back Around'' is an album by the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson. Band leader and vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux was formerly a member of the Grateful Dead. Lead guitarist Jeff Mattson, who also sings on several of the tracks, is a m ...

'' ;song ''Leave Me Out of This'', co-written with Rob Barraco : 2002

"There and Back Again"

References

External links

Jeff Mattson official websiteDark Star Orchestra official websiteZen Tricksters official websiteDonna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson official website
* Jeff Mattsonon

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

.
Jeff Mattson sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
Living people 1958 births Guitarists from New York (state) American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Dark Star Orchestra members {{US-guitarist-stub