*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
FP Blues Louisville Soundcheck
http://archive.org/details/JonHammondFPBluesLouisvilleSoundcheckJonHammondBand/
Blip TV
http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/fp-blues-louisville-soundcheck-jon-hammond-band-6282440
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3swBC17MZU
FP Blues Louisville Soundcheck Jon Hammond Band, original composition (Shuffle) Blues with guitarist John Bishop, Alex Budman tenor saxophone, Ronnie Smith Jr. drums, Jon Hammond organ / ASCAP Publishing
http://www.jonhammondband.com
Category:
Music
Tags:
FP Blues shuffle jon hammond band organ jazz louisville kentucky
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Cannonball 99 One More Time Louisville Kentucky
http://archive.org/details/JonHammondShuffleCANNONBALL99ONEMORETIMEJonHammondBandSoundcheck
Blip TV
http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/shuffle-cannonball-99-one-more-time-jon-hammond-band-soundcheck-6280830
Youtube
Shuffle CANNONBALL 99 ONE MORE TIME Jon Hammond Band Soundcheck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-_fo8F87g
Jon Hammond Band soundchecking in Louisville Kentucky, original composition CANNONBALL 99 ONE MORE TIME (Shuffle) Blues with guitarist John Bishop, Alex Budman tenor saxophone, Ronnie Smith Jr. drums, Jon Hammond organ ASCAP Publishing
http://www.jonhammondband.com
Category:
Music
Tags:
cannonball 99 one more time jon hammond band organ jazz louisville kentucky
Nash Metropolitan Car Sighted -- Jon Hammond
Vintage 1953–1961
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially, only in the United States and Canada,[1] from 1954–1962.
It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was made.[8] At that time, it was variously categorized, for example as a "small automobile" as well as an "economy car".
The Metropolitan was also sold as a Hudson when Nash and Hudson merged in 1954 to form the American Motors Corporation (AMC), and later as a standalone marque during the Rambler years, as well as in the United Kingdom and other markets.
Frankfurt Germany -- This cake and party/gig from previous year was really great also! Special thanks to Bernie Capicchiano for this wonderful photo - Jon Hammond
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hozrJpHvV-4
Chocolate on Chocolate Cake at 2011 Musikmesse Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt with Jon Hammond Band and special guests for this special occasion celebrating 25 years in Musikmesse. Special acknowledgement of Wilhelm P. "Charly" Hosenseidl R.I.P. who was the Director of Musikmesse years 1989-2008 now Directed by Wolfgang Luecke, special thanks to Messe Frankfurt Projekt and Presse Team!
Jon Hammond Band:
Joe Berger guitar
Tony Lakatos tenor saxophone
Giovanni Gulino drums
Jon Hammond - XB-2 Hammond Organ - special thanks Hiromitsu Ono Chief Engineer Suzuki Musical Instruments designed my instrument which took me all around the world many times
"Late Rent" Jon Hammond theme song for Jon Hammond Show MNNTV and HammondCast Show KYOU Radio San Francisco CBS Radio Network
Thanks Joe Lamond President CEO NAMM, TecAmp Jürgen Kunze and Thomas Eich - Puma Combo bass amp powering Jon Hammond's organ
Dankeschoen to Yücel Atiker, Tino Pavlis, Poehl, Bernie Capicchiano, Michael Falkenstein Hammond Suzuki Deutschland, Peggy Behling, Christine Vogel Messe Frankfurt,
Saray Pastanesi Baeckerei & Konditorei for Chocolate on Chocolate Cake — at Jazzkeller
Frankfurt Germany -- Yes it is my biggest Birthday cake of my whole life and also for 26 years consecutive Musikmesse Frankfurt in the good old Jazzkeller Frankfurt! We had a really beautiful party / gig there this last time and I am already looking forward again to the next one which will be on Tuesday night 9th April 2013.
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKI42G_CLeQ
Jon Hammond Band celebrating 26 consecutive years Musikmesse Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt on Jon's 59th birthday, finale song Over The Rainbow
Tony Lakatos tenor saxophone, Giovanni Gulino drums, Joe Berger guitar,
Jon Hammond at Sk1 Hammond organ / bass
special thanks Thomas Eich TecAmp - 2 x 12" Neodymium Speakers with TecAmp power amp on my organ
Chocolate on Chocolate Cake by Saray Pastanesi Baeckerei & Konditorei Bakery — at Jazzkeller
Frankfurt Germany -- Special Guest Lee Oskar on the Jon Hammond Band this year at Jon's annual Musikmesse Frankfurt Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt, with Tony Lakatos tenor saxophone, Joe Berger aka The Berger-Meister guitar, Totó Giovanni Gulino drums and Jon Hammond at the Sk1 Hammond organ Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD8I5axpmy8
"LATE RENT" Jon Hammond Show Theme Song
as seen on MNN TV New York City Cable TV
with Tony Lakatos tenor sax, Joe Berger guitar, Giovanni Gulino drums,
Jon Hammond at the Hammond Sk1 organ,
special guest Lee Oskar harmonica.
This performance marks 26 years consecutive attending Musikmesse Frankfurt and
it was also on the birthday of Jon Hammond March 20th, 2012 with a big chocolate on chocolate cake baked by Saray Pastanesi Baeckerei & Konditorei bakery on Mainzer Landstrasse 131. 60327 Frankfurt am Main — at Jazzkeller
Jon Hammond Band in Jazzkeller
Frankfurt Germany -- Jon Hammond Band - When I Fall In Love in Jazzkeller Frankfurt - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bwqe0YbzSY
Annual Musikmesse Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt hosted by Jon Hammond Band
Tony Lakatos tenor sax
Joe Berger guitar
Jon Hammond XK-1 organ
Giovanni Gulino drums
When I Fall In Love
special thanks Eugen Hahn Jazzkeller Frankfurt Team, Musikmesse, Waichiro Tachikawa Suzuki Hammond, Michael Maier Falkenstein Hammond Deutschland, Video Camera by Jennifer
Jon Hammond is a member of AFM Local 802 Musicians Union and Local 6
http://www.jonhammondband.com/
Bay Bridge at Dusk from AT&T Park
San Francisco California -- San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge seen from AT&T Park at dusk - Jon Hammond
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark used for Major League Baseball. It is located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000.
Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then renamed SBC Park in 2003 after SBC's acquisition of Pacific Bell, the stadium was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006 following SBC's merger with AT&T.
The park also hosts the annual Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a college football bowl game, and other occasional sporting and musical events. For the 2011 season, the park served as the home of the California Golden Bears football team.Originally designed to be a 42,000 seat stadium, there were slight modifications before the final design was complete. When the ballpark was brought to the ballot box in the Fall of 1996 for voter approval, the stadium was 15 degrees clockwise from its current position. Also the center-field scoreboard was atop the right-field wall and the Giants Pavilion Building were two separate buildings.[8] Groundbreaking on the ballpark began on December 11, 1997, in the industrial waterfront area of San Francisco known as China Basin in the up and coming neighborhoods of South Beach and Mission Bay. The stadium cost $357 million to build and supplanted the Giants' former home, Candlestick Park, a multi-use stadium in southeastern San Francisco. A team of engineers from UC Davis was consulted in the design process of the park resulting in wind levels that are approximately half those at Candlestick. Fans had shivered through 40 seasons at "The 'Stick" and looked forward to warmer temperatures at the new ballpark.[9] But because AT&T Park, like its predecessor, is built right on San Francisco Bay, cold summer fog and winter jackets in July are still not unusual at Giants games, despite the higher average temperature.
When it opened on March 31, 2000, the ballpark was the first Major League ballpark built without public funds since the completion of Dodger Stadium in 1962.[10] However, the Giants did receive a $10 million tax abatement from The City and $80 million for upgrades to the local infrastructure (including a connection to the Muni Metro).[11] The Giants have a 66-year lease on the 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) ballpark site, paying $1.2 million in rent annually to the San Francisco Port Commission.[10] The park opened with a seating capacity of 40,800, but this has increased over time as seats have been added.
New York NY - Intrepid Air Sea Space Museum -- Jill Nicolini of PIX TV 11 interviewing Eddie Money - Jon Hammond *you can see rain drops hit Ed's jacket, we had to move inside the tent due to the rain - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXhO9eJyniU
Jon Hammond's HammondCast of Eddie Money aboard Intrepid Aircraft Carrier for The Fallen Heroes Fund with David A. Winters President http://www.fallenheroesfund.org/ Eddie: "We are donating all of the money from this single to the Intrepid Fallen Hero's Fund. This is for the widower's and the widowees of the Iraq/ Afghanistan conflict." "One More Soldier Coming Home"
Also appearance by Jill "Just Jill" Nicolini WPIX Ch. 11 PIX TV and tour of aircraft by Eric Boehm Curator, Aviation and Aircraft Restoration
http://www.HammondCast.com/ Eddie Money on HammondCast — at Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Anaheim California - Winter NAMM Show -- This is how we
crank up the G37 Guitar Combo Leslie Speaker, with The Berger-Meister Joe Berger! Jon Hammond on sound police watch here, sounds good! — with Joe Berger at Anaheim Convention Center
Hamamatsu Japan -- Shopping for electronics in Hamamatsu. I'll take one of these Giant Panasonic TV's, it's only 42,000 Yen! / ¥ - Jon Hammond — in Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka
Hamburg Germany -- DOWNTOWN BLUESCLUB im Landhaus Walter by the famous Stadtpark - Jon Hammond Band *Note: I played a gig here 10 years before this gig, and we came in 2 days after "10 Years After" (band) played there. Nice joke from main man Uwe Mamminga, thanks Uwe! It's almost been another 10 years, let's do it again - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWCZouqgUaI
*Note: Excellent Audio, Smoking Performance, Looks Fantastic..unfortunately batt runs out mid-Joe Berger solo:
LUTZ BUCHNER-tenor sax
HEINZ LICHIUS-drums
JOE BERGER-guitar
JON HAMMOND-XB-2 Organ/Bass — with Joe Berger at Downtown Bluesclub
Hofheim am Taunus -- Tony Lakatos and Jon Hammond onstage at Jazzkeller-Hofheim, Jon's annual Musikmesse-Session gig, we invite Gisela Stang every year, maybe someday she will come to our concert! - I play through the same Peavey bass amp onstage every year, solid amp folks! I am honored to be on page 68 – Jazzkeller Hofheim 50 Jahre BOOK, check it out - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NvqV6Y_TNA
Mercy Mercy encore zugabe Jon Hammond Band Jazzkeller Hofheim Tony Lakatos Joe Berger heinz Lichius Jon Hammond organ http://www.HammondCast.com/ — at Jazzkeller Hofheim
Frankfurt Germany -- 2 Hats On The Bandstand - Jon Hammond and Tony Lakatos - Jazzkeller Frankfurt, Jon's annual Musikmesse Frankfurt Warm Up Party a few years ago. — at Jazzkeller
Paris France -- circa 1981 - that's my friend Raul Rekow, long-time percussionist on Santana Band onstage Palais des Sports, Saint-Ouen, France, 23 Septembre 1981 - I was there in wings of the stage with my (then) new Nikon shooting up a bunch of Tri-X B&W film - Jon Hammond *Alex Ligertwood was on the band then, Graham Lear drums, you can see Carlos there in the foto, Richard Baker organ before Chester joined the band - David Margen bs., Orestes Vilato & the great Armando Peraza - I was staying at Intercontinental Hotel, back at the hotel after the gig Armando asked me to point him in the right direction for "The Latin Quarter" - he walked there and went dancing all night long - reappeared next morning, by foot, go Armando! - JH — with Carlos Santana at Palais des Sports
Paris France -- Aug. 1 Happy Birthday 70th in absentia Jerry Garcia! - I shot this picture on my very first trip to Europe 1981 on October 17th at The Hippodrome - Brent Mydland was still on the band on Hammond organ, we talked that night. Shown here Jerry, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, was a great gig! Jon Hammond
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead.[1][2] Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.[1][2][3][4]
One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire three-decade career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders-Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson).[1] He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.[5]
Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions,[3][4] and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.
Jerry Garcia's ancestry was Galician (Spanish), Irish, and Swedish.[6] He was born in San Francisco, California, on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" (née Clifford) Garcia.[7][8][9] His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern.[7][10][11] Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon "Tiff", who was born in 1937.[12][13] Shortly before Clifford's birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musician's union for moonlighting.[14]
Garcia was influenced by music at an early age,[15] taking piano lessons for much of his childhood.[16] His father was a retired professional musician and his mother enjoyed playing the piano.[7] His father's extended family—who had emigrated from Spain in 1919—would often sing during reunions.[13]
At age four,[17][18] while vacationing in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Garcia underwent amputation of two-thirds of his right middle finger.[19][20] Garcia was given the chore of steadying wood while his elder brother chopped, when he inadvertently put his finger in the way of the falling axe.[20] After his mother wrapped his hand in a towel Garcia's father drove him over thirty miles to the nearest hospital.[19] A few weeks later, Garcia—who never looked at the finger after the accident—was surprised to discover most of it missing when the bandage he was wearing came off during a bath.[21] Garcia later confided that he often used it to his advantage in his youth, showing it off to other children in his neighborhood.
Garcia experienced several tragic events during his youth. Less than a year after losing the segment of his finger, his father died. While on vacation with his family near Arcata in Northern California in 1947, his father went fly-fishing in the Trinity River, part of the Six Rivers National Forest.[22] Not long after entering he slipped on a rock underfoot, plunging into the deep rapids of the river. The incident was witnessed by a group of boys who immediately sought help, beckoning a pair of nearby fishermen. By the time he was pulled from the water, he had already drowned. Garcia later claimed to have seen his father fall into the river, but Dennis McNally, author of the book A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, asserts that he did not, instead forming the memory from hearing the story repeated many times.[11] Blair Jackson, who wrote the biography Garcia: An American Life, lends weight to McNally's claim, citing that the newspaper article describing Jose's death made no mention of Garcia being at the scene—even misidentifying him as his parents' daughter.[22]
Following the accident, Garcia's mother took over their late father's bar, buying out his partner for full ownership. As a result, Ruth Garcia began working full-time, sending Jerry and his brother to live just down the road with their maternal grandparents, Tillie and William Clifford. During the five-year period in which he lived with his grandparents, Garcia enjoyed a large amount of autonomy and attended Monroe School, the local elementary school. At the school, Garcia was greatly encouraged in his artistic abilities by his third grade teacher: through her, he discovered that "being a creative person was a viable possibility in life."[23] According to Garcia, it was around this time that he was opened up to country and to bluegrass by his grandmother, who he recalled enjoyed listening to the Grand Ole Opry. His elder brother, Clifford, however, staunchly believed the contrary, insisting that Garcia was "fantasizing all [that] ... she'd been to Opry, but she didn't listen to it on the radio." It was at this point that Garcia started playing the banjo, his first stringed instrument.[24]
In 1953, Garcia's mother was remarried to a man named Wally Matusiewicz.[25] Subsequently, Garcia and his brother moved back home with their mother and new stepfather. However, due to the roughneck reputation of their neighborhood at the time, the Excelsior District, Garcia's mother moved their family to Menlo Park.[25] During their stay in Menlo Park, Garcia became acquainted with racism and antisemitism, things he disliked intensely.[25] The same year, Garcia was also introduced to rock and roll and rhythm and blues by his brother, and enjoyed listening to the likes of Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, B. B. King, Hank Ballard, and, in a few years, Chuck Berry.[26] Clifford often memorized the vocals for his favorite songs, and would then make Garcia learn the harmony parts, a move to which Garcia later attributed much of his early ear training.[26]
In mid-1957, Garcia began smoking cigarettes and was introduced to marijuana.[27][28] Garcia would later reminisce about the first time he smoked marijuana: "Me and a friend of mine went up into the hills with two joints, the San Francisco foothills, and smoked these joints and just got so high and laughed and roared and went skipping down the streets doing funny things and just having a helluva time".[15] During this time, Garcia also took up an art program at the San Francisco Art Institute to further his burgeoning interest in the visual arts.[17] The teacher there was Wally Hedrick, an artist who came to prominence during the 1960s. During the classes, he often encouraged Garcia in his drawing and painting skills.[29]
In June of the same year, Garcia graduated from the local Menlo Oaks school. He then moved with his family back to San Francisco, where they lived in an apartment above the newly built bar, the old one having previously been torn down to make way for a freeway entrance.[30] Two months later, on Garcia's fifteenth birthday, his mother purchased him an accordion, to his great disappointment.[15] Garcia had long been captivated by many rhythm and blues artists, especially Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley: his one wish at this point was to have an electric guitar.[30] After some pleading, his mother exchanged the accordion for a Danelectro with a small amplifier at a local pawnshop.[31] Garcia's stepfather, who was somewhat proficient with instruments, helped tune his guitar to an unusual open tuning.[27]
After a short stint at Denman Junior High School, Garcia attended tenth grade at Balboa High School in 1958, where he often got into trouble for skipping classes and fighting.[32] Consequently, in 1959, Garcia's mother again moved the family to get Garcia to stay out of trouble, this time to Cazadero, a small town in Sonoma County, 90 miles north of San Francisco.[32] This turn of events did not sit well with Garcia. To get to Analy High School, the nearest school, he had to travel by bus thirty miles to Sebastopol, a move which only made him more unhappy.[33] Garcia did, however, join a band at his school known as the Chords. After performing and winning a contest, the band's reward was recording a song—they chose "Raunchy" by Bill Doggett.[34]
[edit]Recording career
[edit]Relocation and band beginnings
Garcia stole his mother's car in 1960, and as punishment, joined the United States Army. He received basic training at Fort Ord.[15] After training, he was transferred to Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco.[35] Garcia spent most of his time in the army at his leisure, missing roll call and accruing many counts of AWOL.[36] As a result, Garcia was given a general discharge on December 14, 1960.[37]
In January 1961, Garcia drove down to East Palo Alto to see Laird Grant, an old friend from middle school.[38] He had purchased a 1950 Cadillac sedan from a cook in the army, which barely made it to Grant's residence before it broke down.[38] Garcia proceeded to spend the next few weeks sleeping where friends would allow, eventually using his car as a home. Through Grant, Garcia met Dave McQueen in February, who, after hearing Garcia perform some blues, introduced him to local people and to the Chateau, a rooming house located near Stanford University which was then a popular hangout.[39]
On February 20, 1961, Garcia entered a car with Paul Speegle, a 16-year-old artist and acquaintance of Garcia; Jack Royerton, a poet from Indiana and childhood friend of Garcia; Lee Adams, the house manager of the Chateau and driver of the car; and Alan Trist, a companion of theirs.[39] After speeding past the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital, the car encountered a curve and, traveling around ninety miles per hour, collided with the guard rail, sending the car rolling turbulently.[40][41] Garcia was hurled through the windshield of the car into a nearby field with such force he was literally thrown out of his shoes and would later be unable to recall the ejection.[40] Lee Adams, the driver, and Alan Trist, who was seated in the back, were thrown from the car as well, suffering from abdominal injuries and a spine fracture, respectively.[40] Royerton suffered a mild concussion and shattered his ulna. Garcia escaped with a broken collarbone, while Speegle, still in the car, was fatally injured.[41]
The accident served as an awakening for Garcia, who later commented: "That's where my life began. Before then I was always living at less than capacity. I was idling. That was the slingshot for the rest of my life. It was like a second chance. Then I got serious".[42] It was at this time that Garcia began to realize that he needed to begin playing the guitar in earnest—a move which meant giving up his love of drawing and painting.[43]
Garcia met Robert Hunter, who would become a long-time lyrical collaborator with the Grateful Dead, in April 1961.[1][7] Garcia and Hunter began to participate in the local art and music scenes, sometimes playing at Kepler's Books.[7] Garcia performed his first concert with Hunter, each earning five dollars. Garcia and Hunter also played in a band called the Wildwood Boys with David Nelson, a future contributor to some Grateful Dead albums.[17]
In 1962 Garcia met Phil Lesh, the eventual bassist of the Grateful Dead, during a party in Menlo Park's bohemian Perry Lane neighborhood (where Ken Kesey lived).[44] Lesh would later write in his autobiography that Garcia resembled the composer Claude Debussy, with his "dark, curly hair, goatee, Impressionist eyes".[17] While attending another party in Palo Alto, Lesh approached Garcia to suggest that he record some songs on Lesh's tape recorder (Phil was musically trained, though he did not start playing bass guitar until the formation of the Grateful Dead in 1965) with the intention of getting them played on the radio station KPFA.[17] Using an old Wollensak tape recorder, they recorded "Matty Groves" and "The Long Black Veil", among several other tunes. Their efforts were not in vain, leading to a spot on the show, a ninety-minute special on Garcia. It was broadcast as: "'The Long Black Veil' and Other Ballads: An Evening with Jerry Garcia".[17]
Garcia soon began playing and teaching acoustic guitar and banjo.[17] One of Garcia's students was Bob Matthews, who later engineered many of the Grateful Dead's albums.[45] Matthews went to high school and was friends with Bob Weir, and on New Year's Eve 1963, he introduced Weir and Garcia.[45]
Between 1962 and 1964, Garcia sang and performed mainly bluegrass, old-time and folk music. One of the bands Garcia performed with was the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, a bluegrass act. The group consisted of Jerry Garcia on guitar, banjo, vocals, and harmonica, Marshall Leicester on banjo, guitar, and vocals, and Dick Arnold on fiddle and vocals.[46] Soon after this, Garcia joined a local bluegrass and folk band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, whose membership included Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a rhythm and blues fan. Around this time, the psychedelic LSD was gaining popularity. Garcia first began experimenting with LSD in 1964; later, when asked how it changed his life, he remarked: "Well, it changed everything [...] the effect was that it freed me because I suddenly realized that my little attempt at having a straight life and doing that was really a fiction and just wasn't going to work out. Luckily I wasn't far enough into it for it to be shattering or anything; it was like a realization that just made me feel immensely relieved".[15]
In 1965, Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions evolved into the Warlocks, with the addition of Phil Lesh on bass guitar and Bill Kreutzmann on percussion. However, the band discovered that another group was performing under their newly selected name, prompting another name change. Garcia came up with the name by opening a Funk and Wagnall's dictionary to an entry for "Grateful Dead".[15][16][17] The definition for "Grateful Dead" was "a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial".[47] The band's first reaction was disapproval.[15][16] Garcia later explained the group's reaction: "I didn't like it really, I just found it to be really powerful. [Bob] Weir didn't like it, [Bill] Kreutzmann didn't like it and nobody really wanted to hear about it. [...]"[15] Despite their dislike of the name, it quickly spread by word of mouth, and soon became their official title.
[edit]Career with the Grateful Dead
The corner of Haight and Ashbury, center of the San Francisco neighborhood in which the Grateful Dead shared a house at 710 Ashbury from fall 1966 to spring 1968.
Garcia served as lead guitarist, as well as one of the principal vocalists and songwriters of the Grateful Dead for their entire career. Garcia composed such songs as "Dark Star",[48] "Franklin's Tower",[48] and "Scarlet Begonias",[48] among many others. Robert Hunter, an ardent collaborator with the band, wrote the lyrics to all but a few of Garcia's songs.
Garcia was well-noted for his "soulful extended guitar improvisations",[2] which would frequently feature interplay between himself and his fellow band members. His fame, as well as the band's, arguably rested on their ability to never play a song the same way twice.[3] Often, Garcia would take cues from rhythm guitarist Bob Weir on when to solo, remarking that "there are some [...] kinds of ideas that would really throw me if I had to create a harmonic bridge between all the things going on rhythmically with two drums and Phil [Lesh's] innovative bass playing. Weir's ability to solve that sort of problem is extraordinary. [...] Harmonically, I take a lot of my solo cues from Bob."[49]
When asked to describe his approach to soloing, Garcia commented: "It keeps on changing. I still basically revolve around the melody and the way it’s broken up into phrases as I perceive them. With most solos, I tend to play something that phrases the way the melody does; my phrases may be more dense or have different value, but they’ll occur in the same places in the song. [...]"[50]
Garcia and the band toured almost constantly from their formation in 1965 until Garcia's death in 1995, a stint which gave credit to the name "endless tour". Periodically, there were breaks due to exhaustion or health problems, often due to unstable health and/or Garcia's drug use. During their three decade span, the Grateful Dead played 2,314 shows.[3]
Garcia's mature guitar-playing melded elements from the various kinds of music that had enthralled him. Echoes of bluegrass playing (such as Arthur Smith and Doc Watson) could be heard. But the "roots music" behind bluegrass had its influence, too, and melodic riffs from Celtic fiddle jigs can be distinguished.[citation needed] There was also early rock (like Lonnie Mack, James Burton and Chuck Berry), contemporary blues (such as Freddie King and Lowell Fulson), country and western (such as Roy Nichols and Don Rich), and jazz (like Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt) to be heard in Jerry's style. Don Rich was the sparkling country guitar player in Buck Owens's "the Buckaroos" band of the 1960s, but besides Rich's style, both Garcia's pedal steel guitar playing (on Grateful Dead records and others) and his standard electric guitar work, were influenced by another of Owens's Buckaroos of that time, pedal-steel player Tom Brumley. And as an improvisational soloist, John Coltrane was one of his greatest personal and musical influences.
Jerry Garcia in 1969
Garcia later described his playing style as having "descended from barroom rock and roll, country guitar. Just 'cause that's where all my stuff comes from. It's like that blues instrumental stuff that was happening in the late Fifties and early Sixties, like Freddie King." Garcia's style varied somewhat according to the song or instrumental to which he was contributing. His playing had a number of so-called "signatures" and, in his work through the years with the Grateful Dead, one of these was lead lines making much use of rhythmic triplets (examples include the songs "Good Morning Little School Girl", "New Speedway Boogie", "Brokedown Palace", "Deal", "Loser", "Truckin'", "That's It for the Other One", "U.S. Blues", "Sugaree", and "Don't Ease Me In").
[edit]Side projects
In addition to the Grateful Dead, Garcia had numerous side projects, the most notable being the Jerry Garcia Band. He was also involved with various acoustic projects such as Old and in the Way and other bluegrass bands, including collaborations with noted bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman. The documentary film Grateful Dawg chronicles the deep, long-term friendship between Garcia and Grisman.[51]
Other groups of which Garcia was a member at one time or another include the Black Mountain Boys, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Jerry Garcia was also an appreciative fan of jazz artists and improvisation: he played with jazz keyboardists Merl Saunders and Howard Wales for many years in various groups and jam sessions, and he appeared on saxophonist Ornette Coleman's 1988 album, Virgin Beauty. His collaboration with Merl Saunders and Muruga Booker on the Grammy-nominated world music album Blues From the Rainforest launched the Rainforest Band.[52]
Garcia also spent a lot of time in the recording studio helping out fellow musician friends in session work, often adding guitar, vocals, pedal steel, sometimes banjo and piano and even producing. He played on over 50 studio albums the styles of which were eclectic and varied, including bluegrass, rock, folk, blues, country, jazz, electronic music, gospel, funk, and reggae. Artists who sought Garcia's help included the likes of Jefferson Airplane (most notably Surrealistic Pillow, Garcia being listed as their "Spiritual Advisor"), Tom Fogerty, David Bromberg, Robert Hunter (Liberty, on Relix Records), Paul Pena, Peter Rowan, Warren Zevon, Country Joe McDonald, Ken Nordine, Ornette Coleman, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Dylan and many more. He was also one of the first musicians to really cover in depth Motown music in the early 1970s and probably the most prolific coverer of Bob Dylan songs. In 1995 Garcia played on three tracks for the CD Blue Incantation by guitarist Sanjay Mishra, making it his last studio collaboration.
Throughout the early 1970s, Garcia, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, drummer Mickey Hart, and David Crosby collaborated intermittently with MIT-educated composer and biologist Ned Lagin on several projects in the realm of early electronica; these include the album Seastones (released by the Dead on their Round Records subsidiary) and L, an unfinished dance work.
Garcia also lent pedal-steel guitar playing to fellow-San Francisco musicians New Riders of the Purple Sage from their initial dates in 1969 to October 1971, when increased commitments with the Dead forced him to opt out of the group. He appears as a band member on their début album New Riders of the Purple Sage, and produced Home, Home On The Road, a 1974 live album by the band. He also contributed pedal steel guitar to the enduring hit "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Garcia also played steel guitar licks on Brewer & Shipley's 1970 album Tarkio. Despite considering himself a novice on the pedal steel, Garcia routinely ranked high in player polls. After a long lapse from playing the pedal-steel, he played it once more during several of the Dead's concerts with Bob Dylan during the summer of 1987.
Having studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute, Garcia embarked on a second career in the visual arts. He offered for sale and auction to the public a number of illustrations, lithographs, and water colors. Some of those pieces became the basis of a line of men's neckties characterized by bright colors and abstract patterns. Even in 2005, ten years after Garcia's death, new styles and designs continued to be produced and sold.
[edit]Personal life
Garcia met his first wife, Sara Ruppenthal Garcia, in 1963.[17] She was working at the coffee house in the back of Kepler's Bookstore where Garcia, Hunter, and Nelson performed. They married on April 23, 1963, and on December 8 of that year the only child they had together, their daughter Heather, was born.[53]
Garcia and his fellow musicians were subjected to a handful of drug busts during their lifetime. On October 2, 1967, 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco (where the Grateful Dead had taken up residence the year before) was raided after a police tip-off.[17] Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were apprehended on marijuana charges which were later dropped, although Garcia himself was not arrested.[54] The following year, Garcia's picture was used in a campaign commercial for Richard Nixon.[55]
Most of the Grateful Dead were arrested again in January 1970, after they flew to New Orleans from Hawaii.[17] After returning to their hotel from a performance, the band checked into their rooms, only to be quickly raided by police. Around fifteen people were arrested on the spot, including many of the road crew, management, and nearly all of the Grateful Dead (except Garcia, who arrived later, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who was not taking drugs at the time).[17]
During August 1970, Garcia's mother Ruth was involved in a car accident near Twin Peaks in San Francisco.[17] Garcia, who was recording the album American Beauty at the time, often left the sessions to visit his mother with his brother Clifford. She died on September 28, 1970. That same year, Garcia participated in the soundtrack for the film Zabriskie Point.
Carolyn Adams, also known as 'Mountain Girl', gave birth to Garcia's second and third daughters, Annabelle Walker Garcia (February 2, 1970) and Theresa Adams "Trixie" Garcia (September 21, 1974). Adams and Garcia married in 1981.[53]
In 1975, around the time Blues for Allah was being created, Garcia met Deborah Koons, the woman who would much later become his third wife and widow.[17] He began seeing her while he was still involved with Adams, with whom Koons had a less-than-perfect relationship. Garcia and Adams eventually went different ways.
While touring in late 1973 the band began to use cocaine. During the band's hiatus in 1975, Garcia was introduced to a smoke-able form of heroin. Influenced by the stresses of creating and releasing The Grateful Dead Movie in 1977, Garcia's cocaine and heroin use increased. This, combined with the drug use of several other members of the Grateful Dead, produced turbulent times for the band: the band's chemistry began "cracking and crumbling",[17] resulting in poor group cohesion. As a result, Keith and Donna Godchaux were asked to leave the band in February 1979. With the addition of keyboardist Brent Mydland, the band was reaching new heights. Though things seemed to be getting better for the band, Garcia's health was descending. By 1983, Garcia had lost his "liveliness" on stage. The so-called "endless tour," the result of years of financial risks, drug use and mistakes, also became extremely taxing.
Garcia's use of heroin increased heavily over the years, eventually culminating in the rest of the Grateful Dead holding an intervention in January 1985.[17] Given the choice between the band or the drugs, Garcia readily agreed to check into a rehabilitation center in Oakland, California. A few days later in January, before the start of his program in Oakland, Garcia was arrested for drug possession in Golden Gate Park; Garcia subsequently attended a drug diversion program. Throughout 1985, Garcia fought to kick his habit while on tour, and by 1986, was completely clean.
Precipitated by an unhealthy weight, bad eating habits, and recent drug use, Garcia collapsed into a diabetic coma in July 1986, waking up five days later.[3][4] Garcia later spoke about this period of unconsciousness as surreal: "Well, I had some very weird experiences. My main experience was one of furious activity and tremendous struggle in a sort of futuristic, space-ship vehicle with insectoid presences. After I came out of my coma, I had this image of myself as these little hunks of protoplasm that were stuck together kind of like stamps with perforations between them that you could snap off."[16] Garcia's coma had a profound effect on him: it forced him to have to relearn how to play the guitar, as well as other, more basic skills. Within a handful of months, Garcia quickly recovered, playing with the Jerry Garcia Band and the Grateful Dead again later that year.[17] Garcia frequently saw a woman named Manasha Matheson during this period. Together they produced Garcia's fourth and final child, a girl named Keelin Noel Garcia, who was born December 20, 1987.[53] (Jerry, Keelin and Manasha toured and shared a home together as a family until 1993.) After Garcia's recovery, the band released a comeback album "In the Dark" in 1987, which became their best ever selling studio album. Inspired by Garcia's improved health and a successful album, the band's energy and chemistry peaked in the late 1980s and 1990.
During the summer of 1990, keyboardist Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose. Mydland's death greatly affected Garcia, leading him to believe that the on and off stage chemistry would never be the same. Before beginning the fall tour, the band acquired keyboardists Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby. The power of Hornsby's keys musically drove Garcia to new heights on stage. As the band continued through 1991, Garcia became concerned with the band's future. He was burnt out from four straight years of high powered touring. Jerry thought a break was necessary, mainly so that the band could come back with fresh material. The idea was put off by the pressures of management, and the touring continued. Jerry's decrease in both his stamina and his interest to continue touring, may have caused him to use again. Though his relapse was relatively brief, lasting through the summer, the band was quick to react. Soon after the last show of the tour in Denver, Garcia was confronted by the Grateful Dead with another intervention. After a somewhat disastrous meeting, Garcia invited Phil Lesh over to his home in San Rafael, California, where he explained that after the meeting he would start attending a methadone clinic. Garcia said that he simply wanted to clean up in his own way, and get back to making music.[17]
After returning from the Grateful Dead's 1992 summer tour, Garcia became extremely sick, evidently a throwback to his diabetic coma in 1986.[17] Refusing to go to the hospital, he instead enlisted the aid of an acupuncturist named Yen Wei Choong and a licensed doctor to treat him personally at home. Garcia recovered over the following days, despite the Grateful Dead having to cancel their fall tour to allow him time to recuperate. Following this episode, Garcia quit smoking, became a vegetarian, and began losing weight.
Garcia and girlfriend Barbara Meier, who had met in December of the previous year, separated at the beginning of the Dead's 1993 spring tour. In 1994, Garcia renewed acquaintances with Deborah Koons, with whom he had been involved sometime around 1975. They married on February 14, 1994, in Sausalito, California. The wedding was attended by family and friends.[17] Garcia had divorced Adams in January of that year.
By the beginning of 1995, Garcia's physical and mental condition began a decline. His playing ability suffered to the point where he would turn down the volume of his guitar, and he often had to be reminded of what song he was performing.[17] Due to his frail condition, he began to use again just to dull the pain.
In light of his second drug relapse and current condition, Garcia checked himself into the Betty Ford Center during July 1995. His stay was limited, however, lasting only two weeks. Motivated by the experience, he then checked into the Serenity Knolls treatment center in Forest Knolls, California.[4][56]
[edit]Death
On August 9, 1995, at 4:23 am, just eight days after his 53rd birthday, Garcia's body was discovered in his room at the rehabilitation clinic.[4][56] The cause of death was a heart attack.[57] Garcia had long struggled with drug addiction,[4] weight problems, sleep apnea,[4]a long standing cigarette habit and diabetes all of which contributed to his physical decline. Phil Lesh remarked in his autobiography that, upon hearing of Garcia's death, "I was struck numb; I had lost my oldest surviving friend, my brother."[17] On the morning of August 10, Garcia was rested at a funeral home in San Rafael, California. Garcia's funeral was held on August 12, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Belvedere.[17][56] It was attended by his family, the remaining Grateful Dead members and their friends, including former basketball player Bill Walton and musician Bob Dylan, and his widow Deborah Koons,[56] who barred Garcia's other two wives from the ceremony.[17]
On August 13, a municipally sanctioned public memorial took place in the Polo Fields of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and was attended by about 25,000 people.[17] The crowds produced hundreds of flowers, gifts, images, and even a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace"[56] in remembrance.
On April 4, 1996, Bob Weir and Deborah Koons spread half of Garcia's cremated ashes into the Ganges River at the holy city of Rishikesh, India,[17][58] a site sacred to Hindus. Then, according to Garcia's last wishes, the other half of his ashes were poured into the San Francisco Bay. Deborah Koons did not allow one of Garcia's ex-wives, Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Garcia, to attend the spreading of the ashes.[59]
[edit]Musical equipment
Garcia played many guitars during his career, which ranged from Fender Stratocasters and Gibson SGs to custom-made instruments. During his thirty-odd years of being a musician, Garcia used about 25 guitars.[60]
In 1965, when Garcia was playing with the Warlocks, he used a Guild Starfire,[60] which he also used on the début album of the Grateful Dead. Beginning in late 1967 and ending in 1968, Garcia played various colored Gibson Les Paul guitars. In 1969, he picked up the Gibson SG and used it for most of that year and 1970, except for a small period in between where he used a Sunburst Fender Stratocaster.
During Garcia's "pedal steel flirtation period" (as Bob Weir referred to it in Anthem to Beauty), from approximately 1969 to 1974, he played a ZB Custom D-10 steel guitar, especially in his earlier public performances. Although this was a double neck guitar, Garcia often would choose not to attach the last 5 pedal rods for the rear or Western Swing neck. Additionally, he was playing an Emmons D-10 at the time of the Grateful Dead's and New Riders of the Purple Sage's final appearances at the Filmore East in late April 1971. Also, he had been given a Fender Pedal Steel (probably a 1000 model) prior to owning the ZB Custom, but did not play it much.[citation needed]
In 1969, Garcia played pedal steel on two notable outside recordings: the track "The Farm" on the Jefferson Airplane album Volunteers; and the hit single "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from their album Déjà Vu, released in 1970. Garcia played on the latter album in exchange for harmony lessons for the Grateful Dead, who were at the time recording their acoustic albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty.[61]
In 1972, Garcia used a Fender Stratocaster nicknamed Alligator for its alligator sticker on the pickguard.[60] The guitar was given to him by Graham Nash. This was due in part to damage to his first custom-made guitar, made by Alembic. This guitar, nicknamed Wolf for a memorable sticker Garcia added below the tailpiece, cost $1500 – extremely high for the time.[62]
In the late eighties Garcia, Weir and CSN (along with many others) endorsed Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitars. There are many photographs circulating (mostly promotional) of Jerry playing a DY99 Virtuoso Custom with a Modulus Graphite neck. He opted to play with the less decorated model but the promotional photo from the Alvarez Yairi catalog has him holding the "tree of life" model. This hand-built guitar was notable for the collaboration between Japanese luthier Kazuo Yairi and Modulus Graphite of San Rafael. As with most things Garcia, with his passing, the DY99 model is rendered legend and valuable among collectors.
Wolf was made with an ebony fingerboard and featured numerous embellishments like alternating grain designs in the headstock, ivory inlays, and fret marker dots made of sterling silver. The body was composed of western maple wood which had a core of purpleheart. Garcia later had former Alembic employee Doug Irwin replace the electronics inside the guitar, at which point he added his own logo to the headstock alongside the Alembic logo. The system included two interchangeable plates for configuring pickups: one was made for strictly single coils, while the other accommodated humbuckers. Shortly after receiving the modified instrument, Garcia requested another custom guitar from Irwin with the advice "don't hold back."[62]
During the Grateful Dead's European Tour, Wolf was dropped on several occasions, one of which caused a minor crack in the headstock. Garcia returned it to Irwin to fix; during its two-year absence Garcia played predominantly Travis Bean guitars. On September 28, 1977, Irwin delivered the renovated Wolf back to Garcia.[62] The wolf sticker which gave the guitar its name had now been inlaid into the instrument; it also featured an effects loop between the pick-ups and controls (so inline effects would "see" the same signal at all times) which was bypassable. Irwin also put a new face on the headstock with only his logo (he later claimed to have built the guitar himself, though pictures through time clearly show the progression of logos, from Alembic, to Alembic & Irwin, to only Irwin). In the "Grateful Dead Movie" Jerry is playing Wolf and this film provides excellent views of Wolf.
Nearly seven years after he first requested it, Garcia received his third custom guitar from Irwin in 1979 (the first Irwin was "Eagle", the second was "Wolf").[63] The first concert that Jerry played Tiger was August 4, 1979 at the Oakland Auditorium Arena.[63] It was named Tiger from the inlay on the preamp cover.[64] The body of Tiger was of rich quality: the top layer was cocobolo, with the preceding layers being maple stripe, vermilion, and flame maple, in that order.[64] The neck was made of western maple with an ebony fingerboard. The pickups consisted of a single coil DiMarzio SDS-1 and two humbucker DiMarzio Super IIs which were easily removable due to Garcia's preference for replacing his pickups every year or two.[64] The electronics were composed of an effects bypass loop, which allowed Garcia to control the sound of his effects through the tone and volume controls on the guitar, and a preamplifier/buffer which rested behind a plate in the back of the guitar. In terms of weight, everything included made Tiger tip the scales at 13½ pounds. This was Garcia's principal guitar for the next eleven years, and most played.
In 1990, Irwin completed Rosebud, Garcia's fourth custom guitar.[65] It was similar to his previous guitar Tiger in many respects, but featured different inlays and electronics, tone and volume controls, and weight. Rosebud, unlike Tiger, was configured with three humbuckers; the neck and bridge pickups shared a tone control, while the middle had its own. Atop the guitar was a Roland GK-2 pickup which fed the controller set inside the guitar. The GK2 was used in junction with the Roland GR-50 rack mount synthesizer. The GR-50 synthesizer in turn drove a Korg M1R synthesizer producing the MIDI effects heard during live performances of this period as heard on the Grateful Dead recording 'Without a Net'.[65][66] Sections of the guitar were hollowed out to bring the weight down to 11½ pounds. The inlay, a dancing skeleton holding a rose, covers a plate just below the bridge. The final cost of the instrument was $11,000.[65]
In 1993, carpenter-turned-luthier Stephen Cripe tried his hand at making an instrument for Garcia.[60] After researching Tiger through pictures and films, Cripe set out on what would soon become known as Lightning Bolt, again named for its inlay.[67] The guitar used Brazilian rosewood for the fingerboard and East Indian rosewood for the body, which, with admitted irony from Cripe, was taken from a 19th century bed used by opium smokers.[67] Built purely from guesswork, Lightning Bolt was a hit with Garcia, who began using the guitar exclusively. Soon after, Garcia requested that Cripe build a backup of the guitar. Cripe, who had not measured or photographed the original, was told simply to "wing it."[67]
Cripe later delivered the backup, which was known by the name Top Hat. Garcia bought it from him for the price of $6,500, making it the first guitar that Cripe had ever sold.[67] However, infatuated with Lightning Bolt, Garcia rarely used the backup.
After Garcia's death, the ownership of his Wolf and Tiger came into question. According to Garcia's will,[53] his guitars were to go to Doug Irwin, who had constructed them.[68][69] The remaining Grateful Dead members disagreed—they considered his guitars to be property of the band, leading to a lawsuit between the two parties.[68][69] In 2001, Irwin won the case. Irwin, being a victim of a hit-and-run accident in 1998,[69] was left nearly penniless. He placed Garcia's guitars up for auction in hopes of being able to start another guitar workshop.[68]
On May 8, 2002, Wolf and Tiger, among other memorabilia, were placed for auction at Studio 54 in New York City.[68] Tiger was purchased for $957,500, while Wolf was bought for $789,500. Together, the instruments were bought for 1.74 million dollars, setting a new world record.[69] Wolf is in a private collection kept in a secure climate controlled room in a private residence at Utica, N.Y., and Tiger is in the private collection of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.[70]
[edit]Legacy
Garcia appeared in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind as an extra during the scenes in India in a crowd shot.[71] During the following year, the Grateful Dead would occasionally improvise the theme from "Close Encounters" in concert.
In 1987, ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's came out with Cherry Garcia, which is named after the guitarist and consists of "cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes".[72][73][74][75]
Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994.
Famous guitar player and known Jerry fan Warren Haynes wrote the song "Patchwork Quilt" in memory of Jerry. Grammy award winning reggae artist Burning Spear paid hommage by releasing the song 'Play Jerry' in 1997.
In the episode titled "Halloween: The Final Chapter" on the show Roseanne, aired shortly after his death on October 31, 1995, a tribute to Jerry Garcia was made, and the character name of the baby was Jerry Garcia Conner.
In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Jerry Garcia 13th in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[5]
In 2005, Rapper Proof from the group D12 released an album named after Garcia, Searching for Jerry Garcia. The album was dedicated to the Grateful Dead and released ten years to the day of Garcia's death.
Ween recorded the song, "So Long Jerry" during the sessions for their 12 Golden Country Greats album, but it was left off the album, eventually appearing on the "Piss Up a Rope" single.
According to fellow Bay Area guitar player Henry Kaiser, Garcia is "the most recorded guitarist in history. With more than 2,200 Grateful Dead concerts, and 1,000 Jerry Garcia Band concerts captured on tape – as well as numerous studio sessions – there are about 15,000 hours of his guitar work preserved for the ages."[76]
On July 30, 2004, Melvin Seals was the first Jerry Garcia Band member to headline an outdoor music and camping festival called the Grateful Garcia Gathering. The festival is a tribute to the Grateful Dead's guitarist Jerry Garcia. "Jerry Garcia Band" drummer David Kemper, joined Melvin Seals & JGB in 2007. To date, other musicians and friends of Jerry's have also included Donna Jean Godchaux, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, G.E. Smith, Barry Sless, and Jackie Greene to name a few musicians.
On July 21, 2005, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission passed a resolution to name the amphitheater in McLaren Park "The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater."[77] The amphitheater is located in the Excelsior District, where Garcia grew up. The first show to happen at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater was Jerry Day 2005 on August 7, 2005. Tiff Garcia was the first person to welcome everybody to the "Jerry Garcia Amphitheater." Jerry Day is an annual celebration of Jerry in his childhood neighborhood. The dedication ceremony (Jerry Day 2) on October 29, 2005 was officiated by mayor Gavin Newsom.
On September 24, 2005, the Comes a Time: A Celebration of the Music & Spirit of Jerry Garcia tribute concert was held at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California.[78] The concert featured Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Bruce Hornsby, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Michael Kang, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, Mark Karan, Robin Sylvester, Kenny Brooks, Melvin Seals, Merl Saunders, Marty Holland, Stu Allen, Gloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch.
Also in 2008, Georgia-based composer Lee Johnson released an orchestral tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead, recorded with the Russian National Orchestra, entitled "Dead Symphony: Lee Johnson Symphony No. 6." Johnson was interviewed on NPR on the July 26, 2008 broadcast of "Weekend Edition", and gave much credit to the genius and craft of Garcia's songwriter. A live performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Johnson himself, was held Friday, August 1.[79]
Seattle rock band Soundgarden wrote and recorded the instrumental song "Jerry Garcia's Finger", dedicated to the singer, which was released as a b-side with their single "Pretty Noose".
The argentinian band Massacre included a song called "A Jerry Garcia" (To Jerry Garcia) on their album "Juguetes para olvidar".
Numerous music festivals across the United States and Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK hold annual events in memory of Jerry Garcia. — with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh at Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes
Josh Oh trouble ahead. Jerry in red
Jon Hammond
Works at Musikmesse
Randy Mills
Ohio University
Josh Oh
Frenchie at H.A.M. Industries subsidiary of F.M.U
Teruo Goto
Works at Dirty old Musician.
Kim Crockett
Arroyo High
Michael D Hinton
The COLLEGE of MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE
Friends
Yashko Golembiovsky
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles (ACA)
Michael Hardy
Glen Ellen, California
Barry Arnaut
US NAVY AVIATION
Kristin Hunt
Frankfurt Germany -- Arriving early for one of my many gigs (207 gigs there) at Jazz-Kneipe Frankfurt, during the days I was living in Paris France 1993. I would usually take the train in from Paris. Gig was 22:00 (10PM) to 3:00 in the morning. You can actually see the musicians names on the program, some of them are no longer with us: Izio Gross Trio, (me) Jon Hammond Trio, Piano George (R.I.P.), 'Jogy Jazz Classics', Mirko Stranojevic Quartet, Daniel Tochtermann Trio - the address was Berlinerstrasse 70 in back of the Frankfurter Hof Hotel - now it is an upscale restaurant called "Heimat". I contacted the new owner to see if we could do something there during the Musikmesse next year - Oliver Donnecker, but he said "There is no space left for musicians and also we have a high priced concept." - good memories from there, thanks for the gigs Regina! (and all the pizza)! JH — at Berliner Straße 70 Frankfurt
BB King Rules! King of The Blues - Jon Hammond
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_King
Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American songwriter, vocalist, and famed blues guitarist.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. and No. 17 in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
BB King and Jon Hammond
King was born in a small cabin on a cotton plantation outside of Berclair, Mississippi, to Albert King and Nora Ella Farr on September 16, 1925.
In 1930, when King was four years old, his father abandoned the family, and his mother married another man. Because Nora Ella was too poor to raise her son, King was raised by his maternal grandmother Elnora Farr in Kilmichael, Mississippi.[4] Over the years, King has developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist's vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players, from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Jeff Beck. King has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop, and jump into a unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille." King grew up singing in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. At age 12, he purchased his first guitar for $15.00[4] although another reference indicates he was given his first guitar by his cousin, Bukka White. In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.[5][6]
In 1946, King followed his cousin Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.[4] However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas where he began to develop a local audience for his sound. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the legendary Memphis radio station WDIA. King's Spot became so popular, it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.
Initially he worked at the local R&B radio station WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, where he gained the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, later shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B.B.[7][8] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!", he said.[9]
[edit]Career
[edit]1949–2005
In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."[10]
Performing with his famous guitar, Lucille
King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),[11] Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, he cannot play chords well[12] and always relies on improvisation. This was followed by tours across the USA with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern US states.
In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved guitar, a Gibson semi-hollow electric. Two people died in the fire. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that near-fatal experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over women.
King meanwhile toured the entire "Chitlin' circuit" and 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked. The same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury.
In the 1950s, B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music, amassing an impressive list of hits including "3 O'Clock Blues", "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and this hence into his current label, Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
King won a Grammy Award for a tune called "The Thrill Is Gone";[13] his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time for an R&B artist. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. He gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love".
King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004 he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."[14]
B.B. King in concert in France 1989
From the 1980s onward he has continued to maintain a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley.
[edit]2006–present: farewell tour and later activities
Aged 80 at the time, on March 29, 2006, King played at Hallam Arena in Sheffield, England. This was the first date of his United Kingdom and European farewell tour. He played this tour supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". The British leg of the tour ended on April 4 with a concert at Wembley Arena. And on June 28, 2009 King returned to Wembley arena to end a tour around Great Britain with British blues icon John Mayall. When questioned as to why he was embarking on another tour after already completing his farewell stint, King jokingly remarked that he had never actually said the farewell tour would be his last.[15]
In July King went back to Europe, playing twice (July 2 and 3) in the 40th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival and also in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset on July 14. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke. The European leg of the Farewell Tour ended in Luxembourg on September 19, 2006, at the D'Coque Arena (support act: Todd Sharpville).
In November and December, King played six times in Brazil. During a press conference on November 29 in São Paulo, a journalist asked King if that would be the actual farewell tour. He answered: "One of my favorite actors is a man from Scotland named Sean Connery. Most of you know him as James Bond, 007. He made a movie called Never Say Never Again."
In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King.[16] in Indianola, Mississippi.[17] The museum opened on September 13, 2008.
B.B. King at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Ontario (May 2007)
In late October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performs it nightly around the world. It was his first live performance recording in 14 years.
On July 28, 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival with 20 other guitarists to raise money for the Crossroads Centre for addictive disorders. Performing in Chicago, he played "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss", "Rock Me Baby" and "Thrill is Gone" (although the latter was not published on the DVD release) with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan and Hubert Sumlin. In a poignant moment during the live broadcast, he offered a toast to the concert's host, Eric Clapton, and also reflected upon his own life and seniority. Adding to the poignancy, the four-minute speech — which had been underlaid with a mellow chord progression by Robert Cray throughout — made a transition to an emotional rendition of "Thrill is Gone". Parts of this performance were subsequently aired in a PBS broadcast and released on the Crossroads II DVD.
Also in 2007, King accepted an invitation to contribute to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records). With Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk, King contributed his version of the title song, "Goin' Home".
In 2007 King performed "One Shoe Blues" on the Sandra Boynton children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in the video.
In June 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee; he was also the final performer at the 25th annual Chicago Blues Festival on June 8, 2008, and at the Monterey Blues Festival, following Taj Mahal. Another June 2008 event was King's induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame alongside Liza Minnelli and Sir James Galway.
In July 2008, Sirius XM Radio's Bluesville channel was renamed B.B. King's Bluesville.
On December 1, 2008, King performed at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown, Maryland.[18] On December 3, King and John Mayer were the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert, playing "Let the Good Times Roll" by Louis Jordan. On December 30, 2008, King played at The Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his performance was in honor of actor Morgan Freeman.
European Tour 2009, Vienna, July 2009
In Summer 2009, King started a European Tour with concerts in France, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
In March 2010, King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.
King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.[19]
On June 25, 2011 King played the pyramid stage at The Glastonbury Music Festival. On the June 28 he opened his new European tour at The Royal Albert Hall, London, supported by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Slash.
Barack Obama and B.B. King singing "Sweet Home Chicago" in February 21st 2012
On February 21st 2012, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama hosted, “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues”, a celebration of blues music held in the East Room of the White House and B.B. King was among the performers. Later on that night, President Obama, encouraged by Buddy Guy and B.B. King, sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago".[20]
On March 22, 2012, King played a concert at the Chicago House of Blues, where Benson made a guest appearance and both King & Benson held a jammin' session for over 20 minutes, it was also the celebration of Benson's birthday.
King performed on the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi.[21]
On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos Festival, Lebanon.
Over a period of 63 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.[22]
[edit]Equipment
More info about the guitar, see Lucille (guitar)
B.B. King uses simple equipment. King played guitars made by different manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records (USA).[23] However, he is best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980 Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005 Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the '80th Birthday Lucille', the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to King, which he has been using ever since.[24].
He uses Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amp. King has been using this amp for a long time. The amp was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 70's and 80's. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric EQ, and four inputs. He also has used a Fender Twin Reverb.[25]
He uses his signature model strings Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.[25]
[edit]B.B. King's Blues Club
Sign outside B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale Street, Memphis
In 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002[26] and another in Nashville in 2003.[27] A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009[28] and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.[29] In 2007, a B.B. King's Blues Club in Orlando opened on International Drive. The Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Las Vegas stores are all the same Company.
[edit]Legacy
King is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues-rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Peter Green, Derek Trucks, Duane Allman, Elmore James and Stevie Ray Vaughan.[30]
[edit]Philanthropy
In 2001, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the US. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
[edit]TV appearances
B.B. King has made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,[31] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street,[32] Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He has also made a cameo in the movie Spies Like Us.[33]. He voiced in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.[citation needed]
[edit]Personal life
King has been married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.[4] It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, is the grandfather to fifty grandchildren.[4] He has lived with Type II diabetes for over twenty years and is a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.
King is an FAA licensed Private Pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, IL (now Lansing Municipal Airport – KIGQ).[34][35] He frequently flew to gigs, but under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another licensed pilot; and as a result, King stopped flying around age 70.[36]
His favorite singer is Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King speaks about how he was, and is, a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King has credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s — with B.B. King at Bb. Kings Blues Bar Grill
BB King, Shuffle, Blues, Jon Hammond, Louisville Kentucky, Organ Group, Birthday Cake, Musikmesse, Frankfurt, Local 802, Musicians Union, Jazz, Music
Labels: BB King, Birthday Cake, Blues, Frankfurt, Jazz, Jon Hammond, Local 802, Louisville Kentucky, Music, Musicians Union, Musikmesse, Organ Group, Shuffle
http://www.amazon.com/The-NDR-Sessions-Projekt-Hammond/dp/B000G8PGHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344078727&sr=8-1&keywords=NDR+SESSIONS+Projekt
This new release from Jon Hammond marks his move into mainstream jazz. Utilizing the famous NDR Orchestra and Studios in Hamburg, Germany, Jon has crafted an excellent organ jazz record utilizing drums, sax and trombone. Outstanding support from saxophone soloist Lutz Buchner adds a lyrical modern jazz sound to the recordings. Excellent drumming by Heinz Lichius and the soulful sound of Joe Gallardo on trombone round out the disc. Great classic tunes are covered, along with some originals, including "My One and Only Love," "Skylark," "Besame Mucho," "Blues In The Night" and "No X-Cess Baggage Blues."
NDR Studio 1 Control Room
Jon Hammond Journal August 4, 2012
Oakland California -- Jon Hammond Trio rehearsal with Jim Grantham tenor sax, Jon Hammond Sk1 organ, Jack Dorsey drums
San Francisco California -- Jon Hammond and Legendary Jazz Drummer Donald Duck Bailey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Bailey_(musician)
Donald "Duck" Bailey is an American jazz drummer.
He is probably best known as the drummer in the trio of jazz organist Jimmy Smith from 1956 to 1964 and also for his work with The Three Sounds on Blue Note Records. Bailey also worked as a sideman for some of
the most famous musicians in jazz including Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Hampton Hawes, Sonny Rollins, and Red Mitchell. He also played with John Coltrane in their early Philadelphia years. Bailey is also known as "The King of Organ Trio Drummers". In 1978, Bailey released a harmonica album called "So In Love" (Trio Records) in Japan which received rave reviews. His latest project "Blueprints of Jazz Vol.3 featuring Donald Bailey" was issued on the Talking House record label in 2009. Bailey continues to perform around the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.
As Sideman
With George Braith
Two Souls in One (Blue Note, 1963)
With Jimmy Smith
The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Organ (Blue Note, 1956)
At Club Baby Grand (Blue Note, 1956)
The Sounds of Jimmy Smith (Blue Note, 1956)
Plays Pretty Just for You (Blue Note, 1957)
Jimmy Smith Trio + LD (Blue Note, 1957)
Groovin' at Small's Paradise (Blue Note, 1957)
House Party (Blue Note, 1957)
The Sermon! (Blue Note, 1958)
Softly as a Summer Breeze (Blue Note, 1958)
Cool Blues (Blue Note, 1958)
Six Views of the Blues (Blue Note, 1958)
Home Cookin' (Blue Note, 1958–59)
Crazy! Baby (Blue Note, 1960)
Open House (Blue Note, 1960)
Plain Talk (Blue Note, 1960)
Straight Life (Blue Note, 1961)
Plays Fats Waller (Blue Note, 1962)
I'm Movin' On (Blue Note, 1963)
Bucket! (Blue Note, 1963)
Rockin' the Boat (Blue Note, 1963)
Prayer Meetin' (Blue Note, 1963)
With The Three Sounds
Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1967)
Coldwater Flat (Blue Note, 1968)
With Jack Wilson
Song for My Daughter (Blue Note, 1969)
— with Donald Bailey.
Anaheim California -- Jon Hammond and main man Joe Lamond -
Joe Lamond has been president and CEO of NAMM Since 2001,
http://www.namm.org/board-members/joe-lamond
National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the global not-for-profit 501(c)(6) trade association representing 9,000 manufacturers and retailers of musical instruments and sound products.
NAMM’s mission is to strengthen the music pr
oducts industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music. Lamond has led the team of dedicated NAMM employees towards accomplishing its mission by producing trade shows including its annual ‘NAMM Show,' the world’s largest trade-only event for the music products industry; and then reinvesting the proceeds into grants, scholarships, industry promotions, public and government relations programs designed to increase active music making and strengthen music education in our schools. These efforts have increased consumer demand for NAMM Member products and services, positively impacted industry sales and ultimately grown the size and popularity of the NAMM Show.
Lamond has dedicated himself to the cause of music education as a fundamental right for all children and led NAMM’s efforts to increase funding and support for music education including the creation of the Support Music Coalition, funding of music brain research and lobbying for education reform. He has also been a staunch supporter of the role of the community music store, the backbone of NAMM’s membership. With the rapid transformation of retail through advances in technology, the Internet and social networking, Lamond has directed NAMM University’s efforts to strengthen the role of the local community music store as a vital resource for consumers when buying and learning to play a musical instrument.
Under Lamond’s leadership, NAMM created NAMM International, LLC to better serve its growing global membership; partnering on the Music China trade show in Shanghai and collaborating with Messe Frankfurt to launch the NAMM Musikmesse Russia trade show in Moscow. Lamond directed the formation of an International Coalition, which now includes representatives from 20 of the world's largest markets to share industry best practices and support global music education for all children. He also led NAMM to create the NAMM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to serve as the philanthropic arm of the association and to raise funds to support NAMM’s mission. Over the past 10 years, NAMM and the NAMM Foundation have reinvested nearly $80 million dollars in support of its mission and to promote music making for people of all ages.
Lamond has traveled extensively throughout the United States and to more than 40 countries promoting NAMM’s mission and the importance of music education. Speaking at conferences, in front of government leaders and education policy experts, Lamond has made a strong case for the proven benefits of music making throughout the lifespan and for increasing attention on the power of music and the arts as tools of creativity and innovation, health and wellness and cultural diplomacy to resolve conflict and bring people and countries closer together.
Initially a Forestry major, Lamond is a graduate of the State University of New York, Morrisville with an AAS degree in Business Administration. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from State University of New York, Potsdam in 2009. Lamond was inducted into the National Boys and Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007 and was the charter member of the Conn-Selmer Institute Hall of Fame. Under his leadership, NAMM was awarded the Americans for the Arts Corporate Citizen award, was honored by VH-1 Save the Music Foundation on their 10th anniversary and shared numerous television awards with Sesame Workshop for initiating a partnership that ultimately led to the creation of the Sesame Street Music Works program designed to promote the fun and benefits of playing music to preschoolers and their parents.
Prior to joining NAMM as director of market development in 1998, Lamond worked for NAMM member retailers in Sacramento for 16 years including 10 years with the award-winning Skip’s Music. Lamond is a member of the San Diego chapter of YPO, Young Presidents Organization and ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership. Lamond is married and has two teenage children. He is an active outdoorsman and drummer.
— at NAMM.
Ivry-sur-Seine France (Suburb of Paris) -- Lunch Time with André Thus and Hammond France Team - Jon Hammond - 20 years ago in 1992 when I was living in Paris - JH
— with André Thus in Ivry-sur-Seine, Ile-de-France.
New York NY -- Jon Hammond (far right) HammondCast! http://www.HammondCast.com/
Ringwood Victoria Australia -- Jon Hammond warming up for a Keynote Presentation and Live Recording Session at Bernies Music Land
http://www.amazon.com/Live-At-Bernies-Jon-Hammond/dp/B003K7TMWM
Editorial Reviews
Wonderful live recording of Hammond Organ with drums.This classic organ club format was at its zenith in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Live at Bernies captures this unique feel and sound, with
the internationally recognized hands of Jon Hammond and Michael Jordan providing expert renditions of many classic favorites. This crystal clear live recording sounds like you have an Organ Lounge in your living room! The performances are excellent and Jon displays his great experience and demonstrates the capabilities of the Digital New B3. The natural live feel is very refreshing.
— at Bernies Music School.
New York NY -- Main Man Rudy Sheriff Lawless Jazz Drummer hangin' by the giant portrait of Oscar Peterson at Local 802 Monday Night Jazz Session - Jon Hammond
— with Oscar Peterson at Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802 AFM.
New York NY -- Jon Hammond photo of the great living legend jazz pianist Harold Mabern http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Mabern
here with Alex Layne bass and Timothy Hayward alto sax at Monday night Jazz Session at Local 802 Musicians Union. Harold is telling the younger cats some serious stuff about jazz and playing! - JH
Harold Mabern (born March 20, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a hard bop a
nd soul jazz pianist.
Early in his career, Mabern played in Chicago with Walter Perkins' MJT + 3 in the late 1950s[1] before moving to New York in 1959. Mabern has worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet (1961-1962), Donald Byrd, Miles Davis (1963), J. J. Johnson (1963-1965), Lee Morgan (1965), Hank Mobley (1965), Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Joe Williams (1966-1967), and Sarah Vaughan. In more recent years, he has recorded extensively with his former William Paterson University student, the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander.(1)
He performed in a video recorded session with Wes Montgomery in 1965 that is currently available on DVD as Wes Montgomery Live in '65.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mabern led four albums for Prestige Records, performed with Lee Morgan, and recorded with Stanley Cowell's Piano Choir. Harold Mabern has recorded as a leader for DIW/Columbia and Sackville and toured with the Contemporary Piano Ensemble (1993-1995).
A longtime faculty member at William Paterson University, Mabern is a frequent instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
As leader
A Few Miles from Memphis (1968)
Rakin' and Scrapin' (1968)
Workin' and Wailin' (1969)
Greasy Kid Stuff! (1970)
Falling in Love with Love (2002)
Don't Know Why (2004)
Joy Spring (2006), solo piano
[edit]As sideman
With Art Farmer
Perception (Argo, 1961)
Here and Now (Mercury, 1962) - with Benny Golson
Another Git Together (Mercury, 1962) - with Benny Golson
With Freddie Hubbard
The Night of the Cookers (Blue Note, 1965)
With J. J. Johnson
Proof Positive (Impulse!, 1964)
With Roland Kirk
Reeds & Deeds (Mercury, 1963)
The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra (Mercury, 1964)
With Jackie McLean
Consequence (Blue Note, 1965)
With Blue Mitchell
Bring It Home to Me (1966)
With Hank Mobley
Dippin' (Blue Note, 1965)
With Lee Morgan
The Gigolo (Blue Note, 1965)
Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1970)
The Last Session (Blue Note, 1971)
With Frank Strozier
MJT + 3 (1960)
March of the Siamese Children (1962)
Remember Me (1976)
What's Goin' On (1977)
with Eric Alexander
Mode For Mabes (1998) Delmark
The First Milestone (2000) Milestone
The Second Milestone (2001) Milestone
Summit Meeting (2002) Milestone
Nightlife In Tokyo (2003) Milestone
Dead Center (2004) HighNote
It's All In The Game (2006) HighNote
— with Harold Mabern, Alex Layne and Timothy Hayward at Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802 AFM.
Jon Hammond photo of Little Jimmy Reed aka Leon Atkins - playing his trusty guitar "LIL REED"
from Enterprise Alabama
New York NY -- Jon Hammond photo of Quincy Jones with his girlfriend and Reverend Al Sharpton at an ASCAP event
Quincy Jones on HammondCast http://www.jonhammondband.com/music-183.html
HammondCast 161 KYOURADIO special guest ORJAN FAHLSTROM Leader of HR Big Band "The Dancer" & " Bodhisattva", MACEO PARKER + WDR Big Band "Them That Got" QUINCY JONES in Toronto
— with Quincy Jones and Rev. Al Sharpton.
Jon Hammond playing Excelsior Accordion on recording date for Dennis Finnegan album - http://www.accordionradio.com/
San Francisco California -- Here's the Colorful VW Beetle again!
*other sighting from Jon Hammond: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151000575582102&set=a.61160682101.82732.558692101
At a big Microsoft Press Conference I attended announcing the famous failed KIN Phone:
http://hammondjazz.wordpress.com/tag/kin/
video coverage of KIN Phone event http://archive.org/details/JonHammondKINMicrosoftPMXDangerPhonePressEventHammondCastbroughttoyoubyJonHammond
"Colorful Custom Painted VW Beetle apparently belonging to a musician or music person - vanity plates read 4 Music (u as a heart)" - JH
— at Mighty.
New York NY ASCAP Headquarters -- 1995 Marcy Drexler signs Jon Hammond to ASCAP just before Jon went on sabbatical to Europe for 5 years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (commonly known as ASCAP) is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that protects its members' musical copyrights by monitoring public performan...See More
— at The Ascap Foundation.
ASCAP, Licensing, Jon Hammond, Organ, Quincy Jones, Rev. Al Sharpton, NDR, Studio 1, Radio, Jazz, Blues, Soul Music
