Cult or not? At the end just yet Garcia ...

In connection with the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia, the term "legendary" but then frequently overused. Garcia's jazz quintet "Legion of Mary" with Merl Saunders, John Kahn, Martin Fierro and Ron Tutt is often afflicted with this label. Now there is the second time this tape recordings officially, from December 1974. Jazz is of course hardly. Mainly because the most typical jazz element Fierros saxophone and flute, here does not dominate entirely, in my opinion, come up short, is mixed too low and is executed to make matters worse, even with unspeakable Wah Wah-alienation. Fierro is for me really the disappointment of this set, for more than a few splashes of color is not enough of Use. Not at all disappointing is the song selection: "Boogie on Reggae Woman", "Wondering Why", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (all with Saunders' vocals) are, "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Valdez in the Country" but then real rarities, at least three of them were in my opinion, so far not formally. Twice is "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" presented as an endlessly plodding final dirge for the victims of the civil war - that really can not stand in any mood to. Although the "Freedom Jazz Dance" convinced by the first (somewhat messy) unison lines, finally must (and will) Fierro have a go, Garcia's improvisations are then but only moderately original. And so it remains back to Garcia and Saunders, the repertory classics "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", "I Second That Emotion" or "Mystery Train" breathe real life. How do they just do it - the songs eternally drag then, uniformly, without variation, and then lift suddenly dreamily at altitudes that one would never have thought possible. Patience calls this music, "Wondering Why" spreads soulful slow pace over nearly 25 minutes. Only "Dixie" is both time under ten minutes. But such music nobody else made up. This criticism may seem perhaps too negative. It's also quite easy to use all of these targets. The four star's but for the rest - all that remains inexplicably fascinating Saunders' sometimes beglückendes e-piano and organ playing, improvisation Garcias, the places can compete with its best located. Wonderful surprising tempo changes, sudden swings's then just yet. A comical, and then again: cosmic music. "The mood [...] what low key, [...] with a room so relaxed you can almost hear the shuffle of winter coats." It says so in the beautiful and informative booklet. Nothing to add.