Melvin Seals Recruits All-Stars For Jam Cruise 17 Atrium Set: Full Set Audio

One of the best parts of Jam Cruise are the atrium sets that take place around a piano in the ship’s lobby. The recently completed Jam Cruise 17 featured a number of standout atrium sets including one from Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals. Melvin put together an impressive ensemble to back him and showed off a different side of his musicality over the course of his performance on Saturday, January 19. A crispy audience recording of Seals’ set has surfaced.

Melvin recruited guitarist Steve Kimock, vocalist/trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, bassist George Porter Jr., percussionist Mike Dillon and guitarist Lebo (Dan Lebowitz) to start his set with a take on The Meters’ “Cissy Strut,” the Motown gem “Expressway To Your Heart” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Sitting In Limbo.” Hartswick handled vocals on the latter with backup from Melvin Seals & JGB’s Sunshine Becker. As the set progressed after “Bird Song,” more members of Seals’ main band swapped in such as guitarist and bassist John-Paul McLean who added to “The Harder They Come” and “Deal.” Listen to Melvin’s set thanks to taper Erin Lunders:

Setlist

Set: Cissy Strut, Expressway To Your Heart, Sitting In Limbo, Bird Song, The Harder They Come, Deal