John Kahn
Encyclopedia
John Kahn was an American rock
bass
player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia
's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead
.
. Adopted at birth by the Kahn family, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California
. At Beverly Hills High School
, he earned a reputation as a precocious musician playing jazz guitar and composing a symphonic piece, "Western Impressions", the first orchestral work by a student to be publicly performed by the high school orchestra under the direction of Robert Holmes.
In his junior year at high school, Kahn switched to acoustic bass and formed a jazz duo with a pianist, Peter Isackson, who encouraged him to study with Monty Budwig, a member of the house rhythm section at Shelly's Manne-hole. Kahn moved to Sausalito, California
in 1965, where he began gravitating towards the rock culture that was in full bloom at the very time that Haight Ashbury was becoming the capital of Hippiedom. He moved back to Los Angeles in 1966, but not managing to get into the jazz scene at a time when jazz culture was under pressure from black power radicalism and the destabilizing force of free jazz, which rewarded experimental anarchy to the detriment of pure musicianship, Kahn moved back to the Bay Area in 1967 and began working with rhythm and blues and then rock musicians.
Kahn first began his collaborations with Jerry Garcia's numerous side projects in May 1970, as bassist of Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales
. He played in every line-up of the Jerry Garcia Band
, and was in many other Garcia side projects, including Reconstruction
, the reformed version of Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
that made its public debut in 1979.
Kahn was also bassist for Legion of Mary
, an incarnation of the Jerry Garcia Band that featured both Garcia and Kahn, as well as Merl Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Martin Fierro
on saxophone and flute and Ron Tutt on drums. Legion of Mary played only from January 23 to July 6, 1975.
Kahn also was bassist for the Merl Saunders
and Jerry Garcia Band, which made its debut in May 1973 and continued on and off until Jerry's death. The last Jerry Garcia Band show with Garcia being played at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 23, 1995. Kahn played acoustic stand-up bass
in Old and in the Way
, which toured from March through May 1973. The band, along with Kahn, featured Garcia on banjo and vocals, David Grisman
on mandolin and vocals, Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals and Vassar Clements
on fiddle. Kahn also played alongside Garcia as acoustic bassist in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, and often during the early eighties as the guitarist's only accompanist in the Garcia and Kahn folk duo.
Although Kahn did occasional work for the Grateful Dead
, serving as producer/engineer for the band's aborted Egypt '78 live album and contributed organ and additional production to the Shakedown Street
album, according to Blair Jackson, Kahn was generally not well liked within the Dead's scene for allegedly encouraging Garcia's drug habit, especially during the 1990s, as Garcia's health began to decline.
Prior to his involvement with Garcia, Kahn played on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
and was briefly a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
in one of its later line-ups. Other collaborators include Maria Muldaur
, Nick Gravenites
and John Lee Hooker
.
Kahn died of a heroin overdose.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
.
Biography
John Kahn was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Adopted at birth by the Kahn family, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. At Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
, he earned a reputation as a precocious musician playing jazz guitar and composing a symphonic piece, "Western Impressions", the first orchestral work by a student to be publicly performed by the high school orchestra under the direction of Robert Holmes.
In his junior year at high school, Kahn switched to acoustic bass and formed a jazz duo with a pianist, Peter Isackson, who encouraged him to study with Monty Budwig, a member of the house rhythm section at Shelly's Manne-hole. Kahn moved to Sausalito, California
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
in 1965, where he began gravitating towards the rock culture that was in full bloom at the very time that Haight Ashbury was becoming the capital of Hippiedom. He moved back to Los Angeles in 1966, but not managing to get into the jazz scene at a time when jazz culture was under pressure from black power radicalism and the destabilizing force of free jazz, which rewarded experimental anarchy to the detriment of pure musicianship, Kahn moved back to the Bay Area in 1967 and began working with rhythm and blues and then rock musicians.
Kahn first began his collaborations with Jerry Garcia's numerous side projects in May 1970, as bassist of Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales
Howard Wales
Howard Wales is an American keyboardist and sometime collaborator of Jerry Garcia.He was a session player for numerous musical acts, including James Brown and the Four Tops.-Selected discography:* A.B. Skhy – A.B...
. He played in every line-up of the Jerry Garcia Band
Jerry Garcia Band
The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side-projects until his death in 1995...
, and was in many other Garcia side projects, including Reconstruction
Reconstruction (band)
Reconstruction was a band formed in 1978 by John Kahn initially to occupy him while Jerry Garcia, his long-time musical collaborator, was busy with the Grateful Dead. The band's original guitar player was Jerry Miller, best-known for performing with Moby Grape...
, the reformed version of Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
that made its public debut in 1979.
Kahn was also bassist for Legion of Mary
Legion of Mary (band)
Legion of Mary was an American rock band, formed by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and his friend and musical collaborator Merl Saunders. The band lasted from July 12, 1974 to July 5, 1975. Its members included Garcia , Saunders , John Kahn , Martin Fierro and Paul Humphrey...
, an incarnation of the Jerry Garcia Band that featured both Garcia and Kahn, as well as Merl Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Martin Fierro
Martin Fierro (saxophonist)
Martin Fierro was a tenor saxophonist who played in the jazz, freeform rock, and avant-garde traditions. Fierro played with the Sir Douglas Quintet, Legion of Mary / Jerry Garcia, James Cotton, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Loudon Wainwright III, Queen Ida, Jazz Is Dead, The String Cheese...
on saxophone and flute and Ron Tutt on drums. Legion of Mary played only from January 23 to July 6, 1975.
Kahn also was bassist for the Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
and Jerry Garcia Band, which made its debut in May 1973 and continued on and off until Jerry's death. The last Jerry Garcia Band show with Garcia being played at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 23, 1995. Kahn played acoustic stand-up bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
in Old and in the Way
Old and in the Way
Old & in the Way was a bluegrass supergroup in the 1970s. The group performed traditional tunes such as "Pig in a Pen" as well as bluegrass-flavoured versions of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" and Peter Rowan's "Panama Red"....
, which toured from March through May 1973. The band, along with Kahn, featured Garcia on banjo and vocals, David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
on mandolin and vocals, Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals and Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
on fiddle. Kahn also played alongside Garcia as acoustic bassist in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, and often during the early eighties as the guitarist's only accompanist in the Garcia and Kahn folk duo.
Although Kahn did occasional work for the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, serving as producer/engineer for the band's aborted Egypt '78 live album and contributed organ and additional production to the Shakedown Street
Shakedown Street
Shakedown Street is the tenth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was released on November 15, 1978 by Arista.The album was released for the first time on CD in 1990 by Arista Records before being re-released in 2000 by BMG International. It was then remastered, expanded, and released as part of...
album, according to Blair Jackson, Kahn was generally not well liked within the Dead's scene for allegedly encouraging Garcia's drug habit, especially during the 1990s, as Garcia's health began to decline.
Prior to his involvement with Garcia, Kahn played on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album documenting performances from two of blues-rock's most notable American musicians of the late 1960s...
and was briefly a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
in one of its later line-ups. Other collaborators include Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s...
, Nick Gravenites
Nick Gravenites
Nicholas George Gravenites , with stage names like Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock and folk singer–songwriter, and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influential bands and names of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s...
and John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
.
Kahn died of a heroin overdose.
External links
- [ John Kahn on Allmusic]
- John Kahn on IMDB
- John Kahn discography on DeadDisc.com