Jerry was the kind of player that had to play. He couldn’t be off for very long before he had to get out and start making music with someone, even if The Grateful Dead wasn’t touring or working in the studio. This led to a long stream of side-bands, most featuring bass player John Kahn but, otherwise changing in lineup (and name) from the early 70s up until he passed.

There was his brief stint with jazz organist, Howard Wales (which produced the heavy and far-out Hooterall? album.) This was followed by collaborations with Merle Saunders, Nicky Hopkins, Martin Fierro and more. And lets not forget Old & In The Way– one of the top, all-time, selling bluegrass albums- which featured Vassar Clements, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, and John Kahn (of course.) What an amazing record that was. Here’s a YouTube of their performance of “Wild Horses” (no actual video on this, just audio):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgH3vGeL_iY[/youtube]

Beginning in the 80s, the Jerry Garcia Band began to stabilize as a regular project. Organist, Melvin Seals signed on and they found a sound and stuck to it. Mixing eclectic covers of Motown hits, Dylan songs and more with select originals from Garcia’s solo albums (and even a couple that had caught on the The Grateful Dead) they put on a great show.  Here’s a clip of JGB playing Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue” in 1990:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILhXlJp2hqE[/youtube]

BTW, if you like that clip, go pick up the DVD here.