update 20230709: the trumpet player is Mike Price.
slight update 20110816, as noted below
Like 2/16/74, this was a previously uncirculated Betty Board dropped by the mysterious 'alligator' into the ether at Lossless Legs, this one about five years ago. What fantastically lucky music fans we are to have had this band playing, Betty Cantor taping, Rob Eaton preserving and documenting those tapes, and 'alligator' sharing them.
The show strikes me as very characteristic for the period, which is only knowable in the sense that the Live at Keystone releases so thoroughly mine the July 10-11 shows in Berkeley (see my post on the distribution of the July 11, 1973 show across the official releases, which will also link to the other cuts into the associated sets of material). At this stage of the game, there are not really any Merl Saunders vocals leads, though here he does sing a few verses of “The System”. There’s lots of soul and R&B, some jazz, a smattering of other Americana and a number of Saunders originals that are approached as improvisational vehicles.
As I note in the listening notes below, there are two things of special interest about this show.
The second was speculation about the trumpet player. It turns out to be Mike Price.
First is the setlist. When this was released, both "The System" and "Merl's Tune" were just identified as instrumentals. The correct titles were nominated by "sl halper" at deadnetcentral and have been confirmed. There are some very interesting selections here, with three bona fide Saunders-penned rarities.
First is the setlist. When this was released, both "The System" and "Merl's Tune" were just identified as instrumentals. The correct titles were nominated by "sl halper" at deadnetcentral and have been confirmed. There are some very interesting selections here, with three bona fide Saunders-penned rarities.
· "She's Got Charisma" [Allan | Scofield] is a slow blues, in the same emotional register as "Lonely Avenue". The title is a little fluid. It was first released on the vinyl Fire Up (Fantasy 9421, 1973) as “Charisma (She’s Got)” and lacking Garcia. As Alex Allan notes, it was not included on the subsequent CD Fire Up Plus (Fantasy FCD 7711-2, 1992), but did appear on the 1997 Keepers CD (Fantasy FCD-7712) with a 1972 date and renamed “She’s Got Charisma”. I use the later-officialized title. As a side note, it appears to have been covered by Cal Tjader on a 1973 album Last Bolero in Berkeley (Fantasy, 1973), the credits of which also seem to include Paul Humphrey, who would later drum with Jerry and Merl.
· "The System" [Allan | Scofield] is a pretty nicely funkified piece of social commentary, including Merl's early ecological interest (cf. "Save Mother Earth" [Allan | Scofield]). This version has (some of) the vocals. I cannot remember if others do. My sense is that at least some versions they played are instrumental, but I'd have to check.
· "Merl's Tune" [Allan | Scofield], finally, is most readily accessed through the Garcia/Saunders/Kahn/Vitt Live at the Keystone, volume 1 release (Fantasy FCD 7701-2, 1988), a version which was played five days after this one. This particular rendition is interesting because the tune is only the barest skeleton for what they actually do. In fact, they never play the distinctive swooping intro followed by the fast carnival swirl that starts off the album version (and which I really like). Really, there's just Merl playing the organ line and the rest of the band playing around it. And the "Merl's Tune" theme pops up all the way to the end of the "collective improvisation" (i.e., jam) that follows it. In other words, it would be just as plausible to have that all tracked together and to think of it as a 25+ minute version of “Merl's Tune.” NB that Allan credits only Saunders for this composition, while Scofield credits Merl and a John White. I am inclined to go with Scofield’s information.
Regarding personnel, it’s probably worth noting that Garcia (I presume – could also have been Merl and/or John) was looking for something more than what he got out of the guitar-bass-keys-drums quartet setup. Of course there had been second guitarists, from Tom Fogerty (mid-1971 to late 1972, on and off) to George Tickner (ca. spring 1973). Sarah Fulcher had been around in the first part of ’73 and would appear with Garcia/Saunders at least as late as October, singing in her very distinctive scatting style. Martin Fierro would come in two weeks to the day from the performance being noted here (7/19/73, Great American Music Hall) and would be more or less around for two solid years, seemingly giving the band the fill and color that they (or someone) wanted.
Anyway, an interesting show and a really nice tape. Listening notes follow after the jump.
