Playing Grateful Dead songs with Bob Weir: Don Was remembers

"Don Was is one of those music industry figures where you can't choose a single defining credit. He has produced for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Wayne Shorter and Elton John, served as the music director for numerous all-star group performances, composed for films and, since 2011, led the storied jazz label Blue Note Records as president."

"Was admits he had only a casual relationship with the Dead's music when he got the invitation to join Weir's new trio, but quickly fell in love with the philosophy that had guided the group and its spinoff projects for decades. "I would say they approached life very much the way they approached songs, which was largely improvisational stay in the present and feel your way through it," Was says fondly. "Trust your instincts and proceed without fear.""

Bob Weir died at 78, surprising listeners and collaborators. Since Jerry Garcia's 1995 death, Weir continued carrying on the Grateful Dead legacy through varied projects that presented Dead songs in new configurations. In 2018 he formed Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, a guitar, bass and drums trio, choosing Jay Lane on drums. For bass he recruited Don Was, a multifaceted producer and Blue Note Records president. Was embraced the Dead approach of improvisation and living in the present. With Was, Wolf Bros became an intimate alternative to festival-scale Dead & Company concerts and expanded to include Jeff Chimenti and Greg Leisz.

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