Merl Saunders

Merl Saunders helped bring the Hammond B-3 organ to prominence throughout the '70s, playing its warm tones on recordings and live dates with numerous renowned jazz, blues, and rock artists.

GarciaLive Volume 12 chronicles Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders' performance at The Boarding House in San Francisco, CA on January 23, 1973, joined by John Kahn (bass), Bill Vitt (drums) and Sarah Fulcher (vox). Both sets from that evening were unique with rarely featured Motown composition "Honey Chile" and famous Carmichael/Gorrell penned "Georgia on My Mind." This one-of-a-kind, previously uncirculated show was mixed from multi-track recordings by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty).

GarciaLive Volume 15: May 21st, 1971 Keystone Korner finds Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders in the middle of their first multi-night run at the vaulted San Francisco club. The previously uncirculated two-set performance was mixed and mastered from 4-track analog reels. With John Kahn thought to be on another gig in Southern California, Garcia, Saunders, and drummer Bill Vitt shift to an organ trio configuration with Merl’s feet ably rounding out the rhythm section. Future Garcia/Saunders & Legion of Mary bandmate Martin Fierro joins the fold, his first known performance with Garcia/Saunders, on 5 songs pushing the group to dizzying heights.

GarciaLive Volume Nine presents Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders’s August 11th, 1974 performance at Keystone in Berkeley, CA. Joining Garcia & Saunders this evening were John Kahn on bass, Martin Fierro on saxophone & flute and the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann on drums. As the site of over 200 performances by Garcia in various configurations, the Keystone Berkeley stage likely felt more like an extension of the Saunders’ family garage where the group would often practice. It was a space without pressure or pretense one in which they could freely experiment with arrangements, new repertoire and, most of all, just play.

GarciaLive Volume 18: November 2nd, 1974 Keystone Berkeley presents the complete & previously uncirculated two-set Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders performance originally recorded to 1/4” analog reels by Betty Cantor Jackson.

Funky jazz from the mighty large Fantasy Records catalog – home to all those great Prestige jazz funk classics at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s!

Amazon Review by Galdrich
This is a superb collection of 60's 70's soul jazz. Your so vain being covered by David Axelrod! The Hawaii 5 - 0 theme by The Ventures.
Its a shame that Amazon dont present the track listing here. this compilation is in the vain of Cold Sweat and Paint It Black from the label brown sugar. These guys take the time to dig deep and find class. you've heard it before and its a cliche of sorts but there is definately not a filler here.

Rainforest Band is a collaboration between guitarist Vernon 'Ice' Black, bassist Tony Saunders and keyboardist Sylvester Burks. The inspiration for the group came from the original Rainforest Band formed by Merl Saunders (Tony's dad), featuring Jerry Garcia. The 1990 project Blues From the Rainforest - a Musical Suite was created out of Merl and Jerry's need to spread the word about the beauty of the rainforest, as well as the message of preservation. With influences of world music, new age and traditional blues, Saunders and company crafted tunes that took the listener on a spiritual and musical journey that was close to their hearts.

Jerome John Garcia was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as the lead guitarist and as a vocalist with the band the Grateful Dead. One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Jerry Garcia Band, the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. This Hi-Res collection of the recently launched archival series presents the Jerry Garcia Band's hystorical performances during '70-'90.

"Betty Davis" is the eponymous debut studio album by American funk singer Betty Davis, released through Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label) in 1973. The album was produced by Greg Errico and features contributions from a number of noted musicians such as Neal Schon, Merl Saunders, Sylvester, Larry Graham, Pete Sears, and The Pointer Sisters. In 2007, the album was re-issued on CD and vinyl by the Light in the Attic label.