The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (JGAB) was a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed by

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. They played a number of

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s in 1987 and 1988, and subsequently released two

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

Band members

- guitar, vocals * David Nelson - guitar, vocals *

Sandy Rothman Sandy Rothman (born January 30, 1946, Miami, Florida) is an American, San Francisco Bay Area bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He plays mandolin, dobro and banjo, and he also sings. Rothman was a friend and colleague of Grat ...

- mandolin, dobro, banjo, vocals *

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...

- bass *

Kenny Kosek Kenny Kosek (born 1949 in The Bronx, New York), is an American fiddler who plays bluegrass, country, klezmer, folk music and roots music. In addition to his solo career, he has performed with many other well-known performers and contributed to ...

- fiddle *

David Kemper David Law Kemper (born 1947/8 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American rock drummer who was a member of the Jerry Garcia Band (1983–1994) and Bob Dylan's band (1996–2001). He was with the Jerry Garcia Band from 1983 until January 1994, when he w ...

- drums

History

Garcia and Rothman had played together in The Black Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band. The JGAB formed in 1987 and made their first public appearance at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

on March 18, 1987 at a benefit concert for Artist Rights Today. The JGAB played the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasting ...

for a two-week

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

run, then continued with appearances at

The Warfield The Warfield Theatre, colloquially referred to as The Warfield, is a 2,300-seat music venue located in San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater and opened as the '' Loews Warfield'' on May 13, 1922. History In the 1920s, ...

in San Francisco and the

Wiltern Theatre The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a ...

in Los Angeles. Other performances included the

Electric on the Eel ''Electric on the Eel'' is a live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It contains three complete concerts on six CDs. The shows were recorded on August 29, 1987, June 10, 1989, and August 10, 1991 at French's Camp in Piercy, California, near the Ee ...

concert, the Creating a Better Future benefit in Marin County, California, as well as appearances at the

Cotati Cabaret Cotati may refer to: *Cotati, California, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area *, built for the United States Shipping Board in 1919 and sunk in 1942 as ''Empire Avocet'' *Cotati (comics), a fictional alien race in the Marvel Universe See also * C ...

(an exclusive club in

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

), and the

Frost Amphitheater The Laurence Frost Amphitheater, commonly known as Frost Amphitheater, is a prominent amphitheater at Stanford University. It first opened in 1937 and was the site of commencement ceremonies for the university from 1938 until 1984. It can hold a ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Discography

*''

Almost Acoustic ''Almost Acoustic'' is a live album by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Held in high esteem by fans for superb sound quality and fine musical selection, it contains songs that were recorded from late November to early December 1987 at the Warfiel ...

'' – 1988 *'' Pure Jerry: Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, October 31, 1987'' – two CDs by the Jerry Garcia Band and two CDs by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 2004 *'' Pure Jerry: Lunt-Fontanne, New York City, The Best of the Rest, October 15–30, 1987'' – two CDs by the Jerry Garcia Band and one CD by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 2004 *'' Ragged but Right'' – 2010 *'' On Broadway: Act One – October 28th, 1987'' – two CDs by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band and one CD by the Jerry Garcia Band – 2015 *''

'' – six CDs by the Jerry Garcia Band and one CD bonus disc by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – 2019

Selection of songs performed

*Swing Low Sweet Chariot *Diamond Joe *I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail *Deep Elem Blues *I'm Troubled *Oh, The Wind and Rain *Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie *Ripple *I've Been All Around This World *The Girl At The Crossroads Bar *The Ballad of Casey Jones (A song written by

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

, not to be confused with the

's own song "

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Ce ...

") *Gone Home *Blue Yodel *Spike Driver Blues *Trouble In Mind *I Ain't Never *Short Life Of Trouble *Ragged But Right *Drifting With The Tide *Rosa Lee McFall *Two Soldiers *If I Lose *Bright Morning Star *Goodnight Irene *(It's A Long, Long Way) To The Top Of The World *Drifting Too Far From The Shore *Turtle Dove *Ashes Of Love *Poison Love *Friend Of The Devil *Little Sadie

References

{{Authority control 1987 establishments in California 1988 disestablishments in California Rock music groups from California Jerry Garcia Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1988