This past FriÂday, the bassist of The GrateÂful Dead, Phil Lesh, passed away at age 84. Almost immeÂdiÂateÂly the tribÂutes poured in, most recÂogÂnizÂing that Lesh wasÂn’t your ordiÂnary bassist. As Jon ParÂeÂles wrote in the New York Times, Phil Lesh held songs “aloft.” His “bass lines hopped and bubÂbled and conÂstantÂly conÂversed with the guiÂtars of JerÂry GarÂcia and Bob Weir. His tone was roundÂed and unassertive while he eased his way into the counÂterÂpoint, almost as if he were thinkÂing aloud. [His] playÂing was essenÂtial to the Dead’s parÂticÂuÂlar gravÂiÂty-defyÂing lilt, sharÂing a colÂlecÂtive mode of rock momenÂtum that was teasÂing and probÂing, nevÂer bluntÂly coerÂcive.”
My first encounter with the GrateÂful Dead came when I was 16 years old. I vividÂly rememÂber the guy who played bonÂgos on my friend’s head when we arrived at the show. I also rememÂber the spinÂners tripÂping on acid, dancÂing down the halls and short-cirÂcuitÂing my litÂtle mind. But the conÂcert itself remains only a hazy memÂoÂry. And cerÂtainÂly the artistry of Lesh, GarÂcia, Weir, and the drumÂmers was lost on me. Only years latÂer, did it all start to click. That’s when I dialed into the BarÂton Hall conÂcert at CorÂnell (May 8, 1977) and encounÂtered Lesh’s bass lines at the start of “ScarÂlet BegoÂnias.” Once you hear them, they’re hard to shake. The video above zooms into that perÂforÂmance, explorÂing the develÂopÂment of Lesh’s bass playÂing throughÂout the spring of ’77. The next video down lets you hear the comÂplete BarÂton Hall perÂforÂmance of “ScarÂlet BegoÂnias” in all of its gloÂry.
When othÂers try to capÂture what made Phil, Phil, they’ll feaÂture anothÂer beloved show–VeneÂta, OR (6/27/72). Below, you can hear isoÂlatÂed tracks of Phil’s bass work on “Bertha” and “ChiÂna Cat SunÂflower/I Know You RidÂer.” (Click the links in the priÂor senÂtence to hear Lesh and the band perÂformÂing the songs together–so you can hear how the bass ties in.) Trained in free jazz and avant-garde clasÂsiÂcal music, Lesh infused rock with the influÂences of Coltrane, MinÂgus, and Stravinsky–not to menÂtion othÂers. And, with that, the bass was nevÂer the same.
For anyÂone wantÂiÂng to get furÂther into the Phil Zone, read his excelÂlent memÂoir SearchÂing for the Sound: My Life with the GrateÂful Dead.
Bertha
ChiÂna Cat Sunflower/I Know You RidÂer
RelatÂed ConÂtent
When the GrateÂful Dead Played at the EgyptÂian PyraÂmids, in the ShadÂow of the Sphinx (1978)