Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bill Vitt – Live At Keystone - Volume II

Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn & Bill Vitt – Live At Keystone – Volume II

A loose, soulful, and deeply exploratory live set, Live At Keystone – Volume II captures a different side of Jerry Garcia away from his work with the Grateful Dead, in a more intimate club setting where blues, jazz, country, and improvisation freely blur together.

At the heart of the performance is the long-standing musical partnership between Garcia and keyboardist Merl Saunders, whose organ work adds warmth, colour, and harmonic depth to every track. Bassist John Kahn and drummer Bill Vitt provide a steady, responsive groove foundation, allowing the music to stretch out organically without losing its shape.

The setlist leans heavily into extended improvisation and reinterpretation. Standards like My Funny Valentine are transformed into expansive, searching journeys, while blues staples such as Someday Baby and That’s Alright Mama are delivered with raw, unhurried energy. Covers like Mystery Train and Like A Road Leading Home highlight the band’s ability to shift seamlessly between styles, always anchored by feel rather than strict genre boundaries.

What emerges is less a tightly arranged concert and more a flowing musical conversation - spontaneous, unpolished, and alive in the moment. Live At Keystone - Volume II stands as a snapshot of four musicians locked into a shared language of improvisation and groove.

Tracklist:

1 That’s Alright Mama – 4:18
2 My Funny Valentine – 18:06
3 Someday Baby – 10:13
4 Like A Road Leading Home – 10:58
5 Mystery Train – 11:32