Originally posted by badmoon
Well then, are the Dead a jazz band fellow jazz enthousiasts?
Plenty of polyrhythmic music. Constant improvisation. Heaps of extemporizing solos using spontaneous phrasing and melodic referencing that is clearly interwoven with the playing of the other instruments. Some of the songs are not from the jazz tradition, perhaps. But the approach to everything is consistent with jazz. What's not played is as important as what is played. Some sections are 'free'. Sponteneity all over the place. Massive songbook (95 songs in 6 shows, only one song repeated... almost 19 hours on stage), wide range of influences, obviously including jazz. They've even got a sax player guesting!
