The Deadcast uncovers the long-lost tape of the Dead & San Francisco’s Sufi Choir at Winterland in 1971, telling its untold story with composer Allaudin Mathieu, finding hidden connections to big band jazz, longform improv comedy, & spirituality, plus an appearance by Wavy Gravy.
The Dead and the Sufi Choir, 3/71 supplementary notes
by Jesse Jarnow
Allaudin (W.A.) Mathieu is the author of the fantastic new memoir The Shrine Thief, a thoughtful story of a life in a music, from big band jazz with Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington to improv comedy at Second City and the Committee, to arriving in San Francisco to join the seeker revolution and found the San Francisco Sufi Choir. Since the 1970s, he has operated Cold Mountain Music, with recordings by the Sufi Choir, solo projects, sheet music, books, and more.
For many years, some of the only documentation of the Dead’s brief collaboration with the Sufi Choir were Michael Parrish’s photographs and memories of the night, one of which seems to reveal a young Arthur Russell, then a part of Dr. Ajari’s Kalias Shugeno Buddhist sect.
Scholar Christopher Coffman uncovered Robert Hunter’s earliest published writing, “Starship Grateful Dead: An Instruction Manual,” a dense prose-poem that appeared in the San Francisco Oracle of the Spiritual Revolution, a Larkur-based periodical with connections to both the Sufi Choir and the Grateful Dead. Along with recovering the text, Chris Coffman also annotated Hunter’s Starship Grateful Dead.
Erik Davis is the author of High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experiences in the Seventies.
A recording of John Ashbery reading at the Living Theatre in 1963.
Sufi Sam Lewis and followers at the 1970 Equinox Celebration in Golden Gate Park.
Comment
WA Mathieu and Sufis
Fantastic program, with eye-opening information about the spiritual paths explored back then and their legacies today. Great music, too. I learned about Sufi Sam for the first time, but I wasn't surprised to hear he was a(nother) Jewish spiritual seeker from the mid-20th century, like Ram Das and so many others. Inspiring information. He could show up - or a character based on him - could show up in a novel I am writing. Thanks for the tip. Keep on truckin'.
Also, there's a cool Dead Tribute night happening in 2 weeks in Tel Aviv, Israel, with young friends of mine playing and me and other friends attending. Here's what the link says (translated by Google into English from Hebrew with a little help from me): With no links allowed, find "grateful music israel" on Web and / or FB: "Grateful Music" is proud to present: A tribute show, a jubilee concert that closed the 1974 tour and signed off the days of the "Wall of Sound" - the ambitious dream of Owsley Stanley ("The Bear") and the Grateful Dead with the aim of creating the ultimate sound experience. So what are we cooking for you on 11/21/2024 at the "Hazur" club?
About 4 consecutive hours of particularly festive live music - about 15 musicians who will play the entire massive set-list of that immortal concert, which took place as mentioned 50 years ago on 10/20/1974
Ticket price (advance sale): NIS 100 (AA: That's about USD$35)
About the great music, two bands that live and breathe The Dead's music:
THE HARDEST DAYZ & ABILENE
who will host throughout the show:
Bluesman Itamar Bek
And the two guitar legends:
Shlomo Mizrahi and Lazer Lloyd.
New music lovers who are blessed with musical curiosity come to each of our events, those who know a little and those who have never heard Grateful Dead's music - the vast majority of them return to celebrate their new love with us every year, and this is how our musical community keeps growing. For us, it is a great privilege to expose as many good people as possible to this musical magic - the show is specifically designed for all lovers of free music and dance.
As with all the events of the "Grateful Music" association, the show is not intended for profit, the ticket prices are subsidized and reflect the production costs, which, as always, is aimed at a high and polished standard in order to maximize the experience for all of us.
You are invited to join us at "Grateful Music" with a membership fee of NIS 20 per month, thereby taking part and helping us to add and nurture our cultural nature reserve
You can contact us with any questions by email:
jerryon at gratefulmusic dot co dot il
054-9955693
Hoping for better days, the return of the kidnapped in peace and an end to the damned war.
JERRY ON
Fantastic program, with eye-opening information about the spiritual paths explored back then and their legacies today. Great music, too. I learned about Sufi Sam for the first time, but I wasn't surprised to hear he was a(nother) Jewish spiritual seeker from the mid-20th century, like Ram Das and so many others. Inspiring information. He could show up - or a character based on him - could show up in a novel I am writing. Thanks for the tip. Keep on truckin'.
Also, there's a cool Dead Tribute night happening in 2 weeks in Tel Aviv, Israel, with young friends of mine playing and me and other friends attending. Here's what the link says (translated by Google into English from Hebrew with a little help from me): With no links allowed, find "grateful music israel" on Web and / or FB: "Grateful Music" is proud to present: A tribute show, a jubilee concert that closed the 1974 tour and signed off the days of the "Wall of Sound" - the ambitious dream of Owsley Stanley ("The Bear") and the Grateful Dead with the aim of creating the ultimate sound experience. So what are we cooking for you on 11/21/2024 at the "Hazur" club?
About 4 consecutive hours of particularly festive live music - about 15 musicians who will play the entire massive set-list of that immortal concert, which took place as mentioned 50 years ago on 10/20/1974
Ticket price (advance sale): NIS 100 (AA: That's about USD$35)
About the great music, two bands that live and breathe The Dead's music:
THE HARDEST DAYZ & ABILENE
who will host throughout the show:
Bluesman Itamar Bek
And the two guitar legends:
Shlomo Mizrahi and Lazer Lloyd.
New music lovers who are blessed with musical curiosity come to each of our events, those who know a little and those who have never heard Grateful Dead's music - the vast majority of them return to celebrate their new love with us every year, and this is how our musical community keeps growing. For us, it is a great privilege to expose as many good people as possible to this musical magic - the show is specifically designed for all lovers of free music and dance.
As with all the events of the "Grateful Music" association, the show is not intended for profit, the ticket prices are subsidized and reflect the production costs, which, as always, is aimed at a high and polished standard in order to maximize the experience for all of us.
You are invited to join us at "Grateful Music" with a membership fee of NIS 20 per month, thereby taking part and helping us to add and nurture our cultural nature reserve
You can contact us with any questions by email:
jerryon at gratefulmusic dot co dot il
054-9955693
Hoping for better days, the return of the kidnapped in peace and an end to the damned war.
JERRY ON