GRATEFUL DEAD (with ORNETTE COLEMAN) - OAKLAND 1993
December 25, 2008 – 4:42 am
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GRATEFUL DEAD
(with Ornette Coleman)
Oakland 1993 [no label, 3CD]
Live at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, February 23, 1993. Very good soundboard.
When it comes to jamming bands, the Grateful Dead are there among the top. Given the chance to perform with free jazz master Ornette Coleman, how will the Dead perform? According to a review of Coleman’s 1988 album, Virgin Beauty, on popdose.com, “Coleman was inspired to add [Jerry] Garcia to the recording by a Dead show he had attended, and in the early ’90s Coleman would return the favor by jamming with the Dead at some of their concerts.”
This is what darazn1 posted at the archive.org when he reviewed this February 23, 1993 show:
“Ornette and his band played a set early on, but the lights were only slightly dimmed, and the sound was generally inaudible. Jerry stepped out and played on the final song…
“[During the Grateful Dead set] Drums… didgeridoo, sourround sound swirling around the Coliseum, the whole place going bonkers. Jerry returns, and from the bowels of space, a saxaphone in the fog. And Ornette steps out for some freestyling. The band returns, and the wrestling match begins. The Dead enter the Other One, and Ornette leads them back into space. Again and again, screaming with greater and greater intensity. Phil, Jerry and the drums stomp out the Other One riff like never before. Walls of sound, screams, meltdowns, explosions… those who say that this one never gets off the ground just don’t comprehend what went down. This was singularly the most intense thing I ever witnessed…
“The Other One chills, and Stella Blue follows. Ornette has his own way of integrating himself; navigates the cracks of time and space, harmonizing so beautifully. The jam at the end is long and involved. Lovelight was outstanding as well. A performance that holds its own, Ornette and Jerry just goin’ for it, all the way to the final moment. The encore left me stunned. I never felt so mortal in my life.”
That’s what usually happens when the music finds a groove and when the band really cooks. Disc One has a delightful swing but it is on Disc Three that the Dead were not only gracious enough to let Coleman lead but were up there sparring along. Magical.
All that’s left is to thank Mike Hall for sharing these tracks.
Note: Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality stereo MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, this recording has never been officially released.
Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter problems downloading the files.
Disc 1
Track 101. Cold Rain & Snow (8.8MB)
Track 102. Wang Dang Doodle (10.1MB)
Track 103. Loser (11.2MB)
Track 104. Tuning (843k)
Track 105. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again (13.9MB)
Track 106. Broken Arrow (1) (8.7MB)
Track 107. Way To Go Home (9.4MB)
Track 108. Johnny B. Goode (6.3MB)
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Disc 2
Track 201. Iko-Iko (2) (31.0MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 202. Corrina (12.3MB)
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Track 203. Lazy River Road (9.7MB)
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Track 204. Playin’ In The Band (14.7MB)
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Track 205. Drumz (3) (24.6MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Disc 3
Track 301. Space (3) (20.9MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 302. The Other One (4) (17.5MB - visit the html page to download the track)
Track 303. Stella Blue (4) (13.1MB)
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Track 304. Turn On Your Lovelight (4) (12.1MB)
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Encore:
Track 305. Brokedown Palace (4) (7.3MB)
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Notes:
(1) First time played
(2) Mardi Gras Parada with Sikiru and Denardo Coleman
(3) with Ornette Coleman and Graham Wiggins on didgeridoo
(4) with Ornette Coleman
Click here to order the Grateful Dead retrospective So Many Roads.
8 Responses to “GRATEFUL DEAD (with ORNETTE COLEMAN) - OAKLAND 1993”
Awesome show, was there and had forgotten how great the second set was, thank you!
Always looking for dead trading, hundreds and hundreds to swap? Interested? johndcoyle@gmail.com
By John Coyle on Dec 26, 2008
Hey Bigozine!
Thanks for the Dead with Ornette Coleman and all the other ones (sorry, couldn’t resist!).
Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes for the year 2009.
Love,
Serge.
By Serge ZENI on Dec 26, 2008
Thanks for posting this! Any Deadheads in Singapore??? If so give me a shout! We can talk tours and trade tapes over a cold beer!
By Liberty on Dec 30, 2008
Great job my friend thanks for sharing with us we appreciate your hard work.
By bzh55 on Dec 31, 2008
I’ve been wanting this show for years… Thank you BigO! This is one of those shows that puts the lie to the notion that there were no good GD shows in the 90’s. Awesome!
By Shaun on Jul 24, 2009
Hi There in the World!Great Thanks to the Bigozine for all the Downloads You are GREAT!!!
By udo bergmann on Jul 29, 2009
..thanks for posting this show. I was there!! and I gave up hopes of ever finding this show years ago. There was quite a vibe in the building that night. Captain Trips had us tightly belted in for the long journey. thanks so much !!! Always nice to be able to get a board of a show I was at. thanks again, D.
By drano on Feb 2, 2010