Remembering John Kahn: Performing With Jerry Garcia In 1986

Bassist John Kahn died on this date in 1996 at age 48, after suffering a heart attack. A longtime collaborator of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, a performance featuring the pair of musical companions is presented here in recognition of the anniversary of his untimely death.

Kahn was born on June 13, 1947 in Memphis but grew up in Beverly Hills as he was adopted by Hollywood talent agents. Kahn began playing music early on and was known for his jazz guitar chops in high school and also composed a symphonic piece, the first by a student to be performed by the high school orchestra. Around this time he also switched to double bass and played in a jazz duo.

After attending a semester at USC, Kahn transferred to San Francisco Conservatory of Music and began collaborating with notable artists like John Lee Hooker, Mike Bloomfield, Otis Rush and Brewer & Shipley, playing on the latter’s hit “One Toke Over The Line.” John would meet Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia during jam sessions at The Matrix in San Francisco along with organist Howard Wales. Garcia, Wales, Kahn and others would record the famed 1971 album Hooteroll?

John and Jerry collaborated further in Old & In The Way. After the bluegrass supergroup toured in 1973 and ‘74, Kahn joined Garcia in a number of the guitarist’s solo projects including Jerry’s team-ups with keyboardist Merl Saunders. Kahn was also a founding member of the Jerry Garcia Band and was the only member to remain in the collective until Jerry’s death in 1995. Kahn was one of Garcia’s main collaborator’s outside the Grateful Dead and the two musicians would often perform as a duo.

On November 14, 1986, the Garcia/Kahn duo delivered a set at the Marin County Veterans Auditorium in San Rafael, California for the “Benefit for Bread and Roses.” Jerry and John would perform Grateful Dead tunes as well as staple songs from their acoustic collaborations. The duo opened the set with blues standard “Deep Elem Blues.” The Grateful Dead classic “Friend Of The Devil” followed ahead of a slew of covers including “Spike Driver Blues,” “Little Sadie, “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie” and “Been All Around This World.” Another vintage Dead tune in “Ripple” came next before the duo closed things out with “Goodnight Irene.”

To remember John Kahn, watch the bassist perform with Jerry Garcia in 1986 below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVdad2XuPwg

Setlist

Deep Elem Blues, Friend Of The Devil, Spike Driver Blues, Little Sadie, Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie, Been All Around This World, Ripple, Goodnight Irene