By Blair Jackson

Rock impresario Bill Graham may be long gone, but his memory and his legacy live on, and the philanthropic organization that bears his name continues to do important work. The Bill Graham Foundation, the group’s web site says, “gives grants primarily in the areas of music, the arts and education, while also supporting social work, environmental protection, and spiritual and compassionate projects in our community. In this spirit, the Bill Graham Foundation seeks to assist those whose needs are oftentimes not served by larger philanthropic organizations.”

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Jackie Greene and Phil Lesh.
Photo: Bob Minkin © 2008

This year’s big BGF fund-raiser took place on Friday, January 11, at San Francisco’s Fillmore nightclub (appropriately enough) and featured a stellar lineup of mostly Bay Area musicians in what was billed as “A Special Evening of Duets.” After opening remarks by photographer Michael Zagaris and long-time Bill Graham Presents event producers Bob and Peter Barsotti, folk-jazz stylists Tuck & Patti (who are a duo on and offstage) were the first to perform. They were followed by the intriguing pairing of former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and blues guitar titan Roy Rogers for a well-received set of jazzy instrumental music and a Doors medley that included “Roadhouse Blues” and “Riders on the Storm.”

Celebrating Bill Graham's birthday at the Fillmore:
(Back row, L to R): Ramblin' Jack, Phil, Jackie,
Tuck & Patti.(Front row, L to R): Roy Rogers, Wavy Gravy,
Ray Manzarek.Photo: Bob Minkin © 2008

After some fond remarks from former Grateful Dead crew member Steve Parish, ex-Jefferson Airplane manager Bill Thompson and Journey manager Herbie Herbert, the music continued with Jackie Greene and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. They laid down cool versions of “San Francisco Bay Blues” and Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” before being joined by Phil Lesh for a nice workout on “Friend of the Devil.” Then Phil and Jackie played their own set, which consisted of one of Jackie’s new songs, “Ball and Chain,” and then a trio of Dead tunes: “Casey Jones,” “Brokedown Palace” and, of course, “Box of Rain.”

Following more tributes to Bill, Linda Ronstadt performed, unfortunately without her designated duet mate, Aaron Neville, who was ill and unable to come at the last minute. Still, she wowed the crowd with heartfelt versions of “Desperado,” “Blue Bayou” and others. Then, closing the show was a rousing dance set by Booker T. Jones, who led a crack band (including guitarist Vernon Black) through a dynamite selection of MGs hits (“Green Onions,” “Hip Hug-Her,” etc.), Memphis classics such as “Midnight Hour” and “Hold On I’m Comin’” and even Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and “Purple Haze.” Yow!

Special thanks to our intrepid correspondent on the scene, Dave Clark!

A couple of other notes: Fans of Phil & Friends will be excited to learn that, as a gift to all of you, Phil has made seven shows from the group’s triumphant Nokia Theatre series last fall available for FREE downloads though several different “mirror” sites, including etree.org and archive.org. Included in this batch of shows is the historic Halloween gig (featuring one-time-only versions of such tunes as “I Put A Spell on You,” “Boris the Spider,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Voodoo Chile,” as well as Phil reading from Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum”), a show featuring Ryan Adams, and just a ton o’ great stuff (I’m kind of partial to the 11/8 show). So thanks for all that, Phil! For more info, go to Phillesh.net. ...Jackie Greene’s next album, Giving Up the Ghost, will be out April 1 on the 429/Savoy label. Both Phil and P&F guitarist Larry Campbell appear on the project, which includes three songs (out of 12 total) that made it into the P&F repertoire: "Ball and Chain," "Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind" and "Downhearted." We’ll have more on that closer to the release date…