Grateful Dead

The new decade opens at Oakland Coliseum Arena, the scene having outgrown Kaiser Auditorium; crowd control problems remain a constant worry. The highlight of the spring tour is a visit from distinguished jazz saxophone player Branford Marsalis at Nassau Coliseum on March 29th. His playing delights both band and audience, leading to a standing invitation to return. Another old musical friend, David Grisman, receives a large check as the Ralph J. Gleason Music Award winner from the Rex Foundation in June, which leads to a renewed playing relationship with Garcia and many fine CDs of acoustic music down the road. On June 30th, Hart, Weir, and Garcia are part of a celebration honoring Nelson Mandela at Oakland Coliseum. On July 26th, Brent Mydland is found dead. The band selects Vince Welnick as the new full-time keyboard player, and Bruce Hornsby as a most-of-the-time sit-in player. They tour the east coast in September and then, for the first time in nine years, Europe in October.