Two years after
Grateful Deadication, his initial journey into the music of the
Grateful Dead, saxophonist
Dave McMurray digs even deeper. Once again, he's supported by his killer Detroit band -- bassist
Ibrahim Jones, guitarist
Wayne Gerard, keyboardist
Maurice O'Neal, and drummer
Jeff Canady -- with longtime friends and colleagues in percussionist
Larry Fratangelo and keyboardist
Luis Resto. The nine-song set also features a star-studded guest list.
Opener "Playing in the Band" is performed by
McMurray's quintet, along with
Fratangelo and
Resto. They get funky almost immediately thanks to
Canady's syncopated breaks before a gritty tenor delivers the melody, and they play the hell out of the vamp and handle the middle eight with elegance. Framed by a lilting B-3, upright bass, and drum kit,
McMurray's solo weds post-bop to contemporary soul jazz. The last two minutes offer skittering organs, punchy guitars, and drums, with
McMurray soaring up top. The minimal blues guitar intro on "China Cat Sunflower" echoes
Jerry Garcia's original, with
McMurray employing tenor and a lilting flute. While the
GD opted for exploratory psychedelia,
McMurray delivers danceable jazz-funk adorned with a killer tenor solo and exceptional modal piano from
O'Neal. "Bird Song" is introduced by a flute before sparse, rumbling kick drums, poetic guitar, and guest
Don Was' upright bass open the gate to jazz. The band is economical, as a two-chord piano vamp frames
McMurray's tenor working the lyric vamp before paving the way for solos, including a beauty from
Gerard. Criminally under-recorded country singer-songwriter
Jamey Johnson sings highlight "To Lay Me Down." A short, rippling piano intro, reedy tenor, and sparse percussion that offers a subtle nod to
Pharoah Sanders, before
Larry Campbell's fingerpicked acoustic guitar introduces the singer. Convicted and tender, he has never appeared with such vulnerability before.
Was' upright,
Gerard's electric, and guest
Greg Leisz's pedal steel wrap the resonant singer as
McMurray frames him in modal soloing. The funky read of "Truckin'" quotes from
Booker T. & the MG's' "Green Onions" with
Resto's organ the star component.
Bob James lends his piano to both "The Other One" and "If I Had the World to Give." The former offers a three-minute post-bop intro with striking interplay between pianist and saxophonist. When the jamming begins, rock and funk inform
Jones' smoking bass line, and
Gerard's careening guitar and
O'Neal's keyboard stack. "Scarlet Begonias," sung by
Oteil Burbridge, employs a danceable, NOLA second line groove. The band gels behind the singer, propelling the tune into winding jazz-funk with overdubbed tenor saxes adding color and texture, illustrated by
Canady's taut breaks. Closer "Crazy Fingers" is delivered by the quintet with a languid, melodic intro before shape-shifting into rocksteady reggae and transforming again into a rock anthem with transcendent soloing from
McMurray.
Grateful Deadication 2 easily equals the quality of its predecessor. Taken together, they create one of the more spirited, musically adventurous jazz-funk portraits of the
Grateful Dead's music. ~ Thom Jurek
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