Reconstruction | |
---|---|
Origin | San Francisco Bay Area |
Genres | Jazz-rock |
Years active | 1979 |
Past members | Jerry Garcia John Kahn Merl Saunders Ron Stallings Ed Neumeister Gaylord Birch |
Reconstruction was a band formed in 1978 by John Kahn initially to occupy him while Jerry Garcia, his long-time musical collaborator, was busy with the Grateful Dead. The band's original guitar player was Jerry Miller, best known for performing with Moby Grape. In March 1979, Garcia took over guitar duties officially. [1]
The band performed while the Grateful Dead was on a brief hiatus, switching keyboard players from Keith Godchaux to Brent Mydland, and continued well into 1979. The band varied its styles from previous Garcia/Kahn/Saunders collaborations to more of a disco and jazz sound.
Reconstruction performed only for an eight-month period in 1979. The band's first performance was January 30, 1979 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California. Its last performance was on September 22, 1979, at the Keystone in Palo Alto, California. During that period, the band played 57 concerts, all of them in California and Colorado.
The band's lineup consisted of:
Jerome John Garcia was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.
John Kahn was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.
Merl Saunders was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.
Legion of Mary was an American rock band, formed by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and his friend and musical collaborator Merl Saunders. The band existed from July 1974 to July 1975, and played about 60 live shows. Its members were Garcia, Saunders (keyboards), John Kahn, Martin Fierro and Ron Tutt (drums). The previous lineup of the band, with Paul Humphrey on drums, is sometimes also referred to as Legion of Mary, but later research has shown that they did not use the Legion of Mary name.
Garcia Plays Dylan is an album composed of various live performances featuring Jerry Garcia playing covers of Bob Dylan songs. It is culled from performances from 1973–1995, and features Garcia playing with Grateful Dead, Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia Band, and Garcia-Saunders. Garcia takes lead vocals on all tracks.
Legion of Mary: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1 is an album by Legion of Mary, a jazz influenced rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. It was recorded live on various dates from December 1974 to July 1975, at the Keystone in Berkeley, California, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, California, and the Paramount Theatre in Portland, Oregon. It was released on August 23, 2005.
Excalibur is an album by American guitarist and singer Tom Fogerty. His second solo effort, it was released in 1972. The album features Jerry Garcia on guitar, Merl Saunders on keyboards, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums.
Let It Rock: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2 is an album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California, on November 17 and 18, 1975. It was released by Rhino Records as a two-disc CD on November 10, 2009.
Live at Keystone is an album by Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California on July 10 and 11, 1973, and released later that year as a two-disc vinyl LP. It was re-released in 1988, with additional tracks, as two separate CDs, called Live at Keystone Volume I and Live at Keystone Volume II.
Keystone Encores is an album by Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California, on July 10 and 11, 1973, and released on CD by Fantasy Records in 1988. It was also released, with additional tracks, as two separate LPs called Keystone Encores Volume I and Keystone Encores Volume II.
Fire Up Plus is an album by Merl Saunders and Friends. It contains most of the songs from two LPs from the early 1970s — Heavy Turbulence, and Fire Up. It was released on CD by Fantasy Records on July 9, 1992.
Keystone Companions: The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings is a four-CD album by Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California on July 10 and 11, 1973, and released by Fantasy Records on September 25, 2012.
Pure Jerry: Keystone Berkeley, September 1, 1974 is a three-CD live album by the Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders Band. It contains the complete concert performed at the Keystone in Berkeley, California, on September 1, 1974. The fourth in the Pure Jerry series of archival concert albums, it was released on December 28, 2004.
Well-Matched: The Best of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia is a retrospective album by Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia. It contains selections from six of their albums, along with one previously unreleased track, all recorded between 1971 and 1974. It was released on CD by Fantasy Records on May 23, 2006.
Garcia Live Volume Five is a two-CD live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Keystone in Berkeley, California on December 31, 1975. It was released by ATO Records on October 21, 2014.
Garcia Live Volume Six is a three-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on July 5, 1973 at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California. It was released on June 24, 2016.
Garcia Live Volume Nine is a two-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on August 11, 1974 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California. It was released on July 28, 2017.
Jerry Garcia was an American musician. A guitarist, singer, and songwriter, he became famous as a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead, from 1965 to 1995. When not touring or recording with the Dead, Garcia was often playing music in other bands and with other musicians.
Garcia Live Volume 15 is a two-CD live album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It was recorded on May 21, 1971 at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. It contains the complete concert from that date except for the encore, which was "Deal". It was released on December 4, 2020.
Garcia Live Volume 18 is a two-CD album by Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. It contains the complete concert recorded on November 2, 1974 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California. It was released on June 10, 2022.