10/30/2024
Bob Weir on Phil Lesh/Grateful Dead... At the age of seventeen, I listened to the John Coltrane Quartet, focusing on McCoy Tyner’s work, feeding Coltrane harmonic and rhythmic ideas to springboard off of - and I developed an approach to guitar playing based off of it. This happened because Phil turned me on to the Coltrane Quartet.
Early on, he also introduced me (and us) to the wonders of modern classical music, with its textures and developments, which we soon tried our hands at incorporating into what we had to offer. This was all new to peoples’ ears. Igor Stravinsky’s work wasn’t news to me at that point, but what he did and how he did it were ongoing topics of discussion for Phil and I - and boy, did I ever grow.
Concurrent with all this was the ongoing conversation about the things (ideas) we present outside of music, and the effect it would have in shaping the world around us - let’s just say Phil wasn’t particularly averse to ruffling a few feathers. We had our differences, of course, but it’s not platitudinous to say that that only made our work together more meaningful.
Our conversation and interaction will last, at very least, ‘til the end of my days.
The Muse gives us the people and tools to work with. Where we go with that work emerges from somewhere between our intuition and her inspiration. It’s a process always cloaked deep in Mystery, and at its best, the Mystery is forever lasting after its rendering. *Look out of any window…* has that ring to it.
Meanwhile, given that death is the last and best reward for a life *well and fully lived*, I rejoice in his liberation...
