Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
For five years in the early '70s Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders headed up a loose-knit club band in the San Francisco area (the group never had an official name) specializing in a graceful mix of jazz, R&B, blues, gospel, and light funk with hints of bop, fusion, and even reggae. Aside from the two-volume Live at Keystone (1973), most of the group's recorded output appeared on various Saunders releases on Fantasy Records, and this remarkably cohesive compilation picks key tracks from all of these, with roughly half of the set coming from the Keystone LPs. Garcia is in full flight here as a guitarist, with Saunders' soul-jazz organ giving things a wonderfully fluid feel, and the end result is a kind of laid-back West Coast jazz-rock that is very much the sum of its parts. Among the highlights in what is a very strong sequence are the nearly 12-minute version of "Mystery Train" that opens things here, the floating elegance of the instrumental "Merl's Tune," the fusion-feel "Welcome to the Basement" with a guest shot from the Tower of Power Horns, and an interesting take on Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come," which was still a relatively unknown tune when this version was recorded in 1973. Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead fans will no doubt appreciate all of this, but Well-Matched also functions as a kind of introduction to Saunders as well, whose good-natured and pop-inflected approach to soul-jazz deserves to be better known.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr124,99/month
Sam Phillips, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Garcia, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Junior Parker, ComposerLyricist - Betty Cantor, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Kahn, Producer, Bass Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Rex Jackson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1988 Fantasy, Inc.
Walter Hawkins, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian Gardner, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Doc Pomus, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Garcia, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Kreutzmann, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - John Kahn, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Organ, Piano, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders & Friends, MainArtist - Eddie Bill Harris, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Phil De Lancie, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 Fantasy, Inc.
Jerry Garcia, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - White, ComposerLyricist - John Kahn, Producer, Bass Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bill Vitt, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1988 Fantasy, Inc.
David Grisman, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Dylan, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Garcia, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Kahn, Producer, Bass Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Producer, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1973 Fantasy, Inc.
Brian Gardner, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - J.J. CALE, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Garcia, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - John Kahn, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Organ, Piano, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Fogerty, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders & Friends, MainArtist - Eddie Bill Harris, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Phil De Lancie, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1992 Fantasy, Inc.
Brian Gardner, Producer, Recording Engineer, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel - Jerry Garcia, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Kenneth Nash, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Merle Saunders, ComposerLyricist - John Kahn, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Moore, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Fogerty, Producer, Guitar, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders & Friends, MainArtist - Eddie Bill Harris, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tower Of Power Horns, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Phil De Lancie, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bob Drew, Alto Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1992 Fantasy, Inc.
David Grisman, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer - Chris Hayes, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Chuck Rainey, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bernie Grundman, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jerry Garcia, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Scott, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Arthur Crudup, ComposerLyricist - Mike Bloomfield, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sheila Escovedo, Conga, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Fierro, Flute, AssociatedPerformer - Vassar Clements, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Fontano, Remixer, StudioPersonnel - Kenneth Nash, Percussion, Bongos, Conga, AssociatedPerformer - Geoff Muldaur, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Betty Cantor, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Kahn, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Ron Stallings, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Organ, Piano, Vocals, Synthesizer, Clavichord, Mellotron, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Howell, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - John Cohen, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Saunders, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Fogerty, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Gaylord Birch, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Don Cody, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Hawkins Family, Vocals, Unknown, Other, AssociatedPerformer - John Wilmeth, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Eddie Bill Harris, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Skip Shimmin, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Rex Jackson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Larry Vann, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Vince Littleton, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Fender, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Eccleston Wainwright, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1997 Concord Music Group, Inc.
Jerry Garcia, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - John Kahn, Producer, Bass Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bill Vitt, Producer, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1973 Fantasy, Inc.
AL CLEVELAND, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Garcia, MainArtist - SMOKEY ROBINSON, ComposerLyricist - Merl Saunders, Producer, MainArtist
℗ 2006 Concord Music Group, Inc.
Jerry Garcia, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Cliff, ComposerLyricist - John Kahn, Producer, Bass Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Merl Saunders, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Vitt, Producer, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1973 Fantasy, Inc.
Album review
For five years in the early '70s Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders headed up a loose-knit club band in the San Francisco area (the group never had an official name) specializing in a graceful mix of jazz, R&B, blues, gospel, and light funk with hints of bop, fusion, and even reggae. Aside from the two-volume Live at Keystone (1973), most of the group's recorded output appeared on various Saunders releases on Fantasy Records, and this remarkably cohesive compilation picks key tracks from all of these, with roughly half of the set coming from the Keystone LPs. Garcia is in full flight here as a guitarist, with Saunders' soul-jazz organ giving things a wonderfully fluid feel, and the end result is a kind of laid-back West Coast jazz-rock that is very much the sum of its parts. Among the highlights in what is a very strong sequence are the nearly 12-minute version of "Mystery Train" that opens things here, the floating elegance of the instrumental "Merl's Tune," the fusion-feel "Welcome to the Basement" with a guest shot from the Tower of Power Horns, and an interesting take on Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come," which was still a relatively unknown tune when this version was recorded in 1973. Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead fans will no doubt appreciate all of this, but Well-Matched also functions as a kind of introduction to Saunders as well, whose good-natured and pop-inflected approach to soul-jazz deserves to be better known.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 01:18:01
- Main artists: Merl Saunders Jerry Garcia
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Stax
- Genre: Jazz
© 2006 Concord Music Group, Inc. This Compilation ℗ 2006 Concord Music Group, Inc.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.