Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band: “What Is?” (2025) CD Review

One of the most important bands in my life is the Grateful Dead. I heard them on the radio when I was six (“I Need A Miracle”), started getting into them when I was ten (my older cousin played Skeletons From The Closet), and started to really get into them when I was thirteen (a radio program played bootleg tapes), and saw them in concert for the first time when I was sixteen. A common utterance back then was “There’s nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.” And that was true. Those guys were unlike any other band. Yet several bands, even then, and many more now, have covered the Dead’s music, taking it in directions that might have surprised even the band members. Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band puts the Dead’s music into a big band context, and on What Is? this group includes a few songs the Dead used to play. I suppose with a band name like that, it should come as no surprise that the Grateful Dead would figure prominently in the repertoire. And perhaps it should not be much of a surprise when Dead material is delivered in any sort of jazz context, since jazz had a strong influence on the Dead, on the way they approached a song. Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band is made up of Matt Hong on alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet; Stan Harrison on tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and clarinet; Frank Vacin on baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone and alto flute; Matt Owens on trumpet and flugelhorn; Audrey Flores on French horn; Dan Levine on trombone; Jack Schatz on bass trombone; Bill Hayes on vibraphone, xylophone and congas; Michael Aarons on guitar; Steve Count on bass; and Scott Neumann on drums. There are a couple of special guests on certain tracks. Russ Anixter did all the arrangements and orchestrations.

The album opens with a version of “What Is Hip?” that is energetic and exciting right from the start. This is a Tower Of Power tune, and it was the lead track on that group’s self-titled 1973 record. This band delivers a strong rendition with plenty of great work from the brass section and the rhythm section. There is some especially good work by Matt Hong on alto saxophone. These guys are scaling the mountain here, and doing it with a wild dance to their steps. It’s a fantastic start to the disc. It’s followed by “Dixie Chicken,” a Little Feat song I’ve always enjoyed. It’s a fun number, and these guys certainly nail that sense of fun, that sense of play, in this rendition. Everything is delightfully loose, just the kind of thing to get you feeling good. There is a bit of a second line vibe to it too at moments, adding to the fun. It’s easy to imagine this band winding through the streets of New Orleans playing this one, other folks joining in at each block. Things get a little chaotic in the middle, seeming to fall apart, but actually getting more interesting, the band breaking things down in order to explore certain places more fully, and, I suspect, to give them the opportunity to launch back into the groove with an even stronger force and greater joy. This song works incredibly well in this context. Special guest Steven Bernstein joins the band on slide trumpet on this track.

“Free Man In Paris” is an interesting choice. Joni Mitchell in a big band setting?  Sure, why not? After all, there is a certain jazz influence heard in some of her material, particularly an album like Court And Spark, from which this song comes. The song is paired with “Freedom Jazz Dance,” composed by Eddie Harris, and featuring some delicious drumming. And I love those light moments after the band returns to “Free Man In Paris.” Plus, this track features some really good stuff on vibraphone. They then go from Joni Mitchell to Beatles. I’m not sure what the best Beatles album is, though I tend to lean toward the White Album. But certainly a case can be made for Revolver, in part because of the presence of “She Said, She Said,” a fantastic and psychedelic song that the Hippie Big Band covers here. This group delivers a wonderful rendition of that song, taking the groove into some unexpected places. I love how when some of the instruments begin to explore, other instruments will touch upon the song’s main theme, so that things never stray too far afield, yet still keep us on our toes. This is one of my favorite tracks. It is followed by “Heaven On Their Minds.” I had forgotten about this song. It has been a while since I’ve listened to Jesus Christ Superstar (in part because I never want to hear “What’s The Buzz” again). The guitar figures prominently on this track, right from the start, Michael Aarons delivering some good stuff. This track also features some excellent work by Frank Vacin on both soprano saxophone and alto flute. This song is actually pretty damn wonderful as an instrumental.

Then we get the good ol’ Grateful Dead. The first song they tackle is “Saint Stephen,” one of the band’s great vehicles for exploration, and one I wish I had gotten a chance to see the Dead perform. Word was the band was soundchecking it toward the end. Who knows what might have been if Jerry had lived another year or two? Anyway, the Hippie Big Band gives us a good and fairly respectful rendition of the main body of the song, with a bright energy. You can easily sing along if you wish. They do not include the William Tell section, but rather go straight into a spirited rendition of “Turn On Your Lovelight” (skipping “The Eleven”). It’s fun, but nothing too wild. This track is only seven minutes after all, including both songs. They return to “Saint Stephen” just before the end. That is followed by an interesting rendition of “Uncle John’s Band,” with a vibe almost like an a cappella version at first, for there is no rhythm section for the first minute or so. Here the woodwinds shine. The rest of the band does come in just before what would be the “Goddamn, well, I declare” line, and we get some nice work on guitar. Oz Noy joins the band on guitar on this track. This is a song that I keep turning to in these days when fascist morons are running, and ruining, the show. “Ain’t no time to hate, barely time to wait.” I’m trying, I’m trying. This track has such a positive vibe to it, and features some excellent jamming toward the end. Then, holy moly, the band is seriously grooving on “Hide Away.” This is pure fun, with a delicious energy to take us right through all the troubles ahead of us. The track contains some really good guitar work. In the middle, the band shifts into Mancini’s “Peter Gunn Theme,” sticking with that for a while. I guess Russ Anixter figured the track needed yet another layer of cool. Things really take off then. I especially love that saxophone work. And, yes, if you’re wondering, “Hide Away” is a song the Dead covered on at least one occasion.

Moondance is one of those albums that absolutely everyone should have in his collection. Every track on it is excellent, and the album has a great vibe to it. One of that record’s best songs is “Into The Mystic,” and the Hippie Big Band delivers a sweet rendition of it here, capturing the wonderful vibe of the original recording and putting me in such a good mood. That’s followed by “Whipping Post.” There is a good deal of power to this band’s rendition of The Allman Brothers Band’s song right from its opening moments. This is a seriously cool version. Steven Bernstein returns on slide trumpet for this one, delivering some great stuff. And the band does explore a bit here, taking us in some interesting directions. I love how the band approaches this song. They wrap things up with “Green Hornet Theme.” And why not? Television shows had great theme music back then, and this track is a whole lot of fun. It features some delightful work on both trumpet and xylophone.

CD Track List

1. What Is Hip?
2. Dixie Chicken
3. Free Man In Paris/Freedom Jazz Dance
4. She Said, She Said
5. Heaven On Their Minds
6. Saint Stephen/Turn On Your Lovelight
7. Uncle John’s Band
8. Hide Away
9. Into The Mystic
10. Whipping Post
11. Green Hornet

What Is? was released on February 7, 2025.

Grateful Dead: “Dave’s Picks Volume 53” (2025) CD Review

One of the best gifts I’ve ever received was a subscription to the Dave’s Picks series of Grateful Dead concert recordings. Thanks, Mom! Four times a year a new Grateful Dead show arrives at my place. The first one this year is the show the Dead played on October 2, 1976 at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was an interesting year, 1976. The band had come back from the hiatus in early June, ready and eager to rock, opening that first show with “Might As Well,” a new song. There was a good energy that year. Sure, it was not the best year for psychedelic exploration of the farthest reaches of space, but the band was back with a force. Four months after the first show back, the Dead played this show in Cincinnati. This three-disc set contains the complete show, as well as some filler from the May 4, 1977 show in New York.

Disc 1

The first disc contains the entire first set. There is a bit of tuning, and then everything springs into action with “Promised Land.” “We never was a minute late.” Sure, whenever they started was the right time, regardless of what was printed on the tickets. We didn’t care so much about punctuality back then, just happy to be there. And Jerry Garcia’s guitar is already singing. Yes, things seem right. Jerry then eases the band into “They Love Each Other,” and you can hear the crowd digging it. It’s flowing smoothly, beautifully. How can you help but feel good while listening to this music? We always need it, but these days maybe more than usual. As they sing, “Lord, you can see that it’s true,” it is like we not only can see that love but feel it all around us, and the music fills the room. It’s interesting how this music also connects us to whoever was at the venue at the time. They are with us in our homes too, as we do a little time traveling, meeting in that special place outside of time that the Dead were able to create. There is a sweet little jam here, with nice stuff on keys. Then “New Minglewood Blues” comes on with a good power, and when Bob Weir sings, “The doctor call me crazy, sometimes I am, sometimes I ain’t,” we hope this is one of the crazier times. We’re ready. There is a great force behind this rendition. Jerry then mellows things a bit with “Row Jimmy,” his voice soothing, perfect in these rough times, and the guitar is like a vibrant flower rising up from the earth and swaying beside us. This is a really nice “Row Jimmy.” And I like how listening to this music pulls us outside of time, rendering the current times fangless.

A fun little moment on guitar leads into a totally enjoyable “El Paso,” and Bob delivers an excellent performance in telling that great outlaw love story. The band follows that with “Tennessee Jed,” which feels just exactly right. Everything is clear, crisp, cheerful. Just a whole other world, isn’t it? Or at least it seems so these days, and it’s so certain, this place, so true. “The law come to get you if you don’t walk right.” Will it come to that? Who knows? Everything is unraveling so quickly. Well, here we stroll right into a good jam, and all movement is right. This song is a highlight of the first set. It sounds like Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart are itching to keep going. Bob then leads the group into “It’s All Over Now,” tearing into those lyrics, a growl rising up from somewhere. He means business. “I used to love her, but it’s all over now.” I believe every word he delivers. It’s all over, but the fun surely isn’t, the rhythm tells us. “Brown-Eyed Women” follows, with some great stuff on guitar, bright fingers playing upon the very air we breathe, tapping it into a recognizable shape and sending it off. “Sound of the thunder with the rain pouring down.” Oh yes, here in Los Angeles we’ve been getting some much needed rain. I only wish it could have come earlier. “Brown-Eyed Women” ends sweetly, gently.

The band begins its first exploration then with “Let It Grow,” which has a bit of good jamming even at the very beginning. And I love the power behind that declaration, “I am!” The band flies forward then on nimble wings, the jam taking us from one place to another in a heartbeat, a wild energy at moments, the music shaking itself free of extra layers of skin – sleeker, thinner, faster – as it gathers itself for the burst through the last known obstacle into another realm, one that has familiar elements but works on its own level. This is a fantastic jam with a glorious force behind it. And then suddenly, and I mean suddenly, there is a drum solo, which makes me happy. We hear the counting back in, and then, bam, we are back into the lyrics. Before long, the band goes into the jam again, flying and pounding, until other spirits in the form of smoke curl around us, becoming a part of it, as the sound becomes more insistent. The band does take us in for a gentle landing at the end, before Jerry decides to finish the set with one more solid rocker, sort of the way the set began, and “Might As Well” is a fun way to wrap it up.

Disc 2

The second disc contains the first half of the second set. Interestingly, the set opens with “The Music Never Stopped,” a song that would be a first set closer in the years I saw the band. But what a great choice to kick off a set, get everyone dancing, and then craft the avenue along which they go. The jam toward the end has a much different flavor from what it would have in later days, and then they return to that stronger theme. There are no arrows here; the band ends this song properly, and pauses before starting a beautiful rendition of “Candyman.” Each note of Jerry’s guitar lead seems to contain a story, and the vocal work is wonderful. Then there is that great thumping, which announces “Samson And Delilah.” The guys jam on that rhythm a bit before the first line is delivered, and that groove carries them through. Check out Phil Lesh’s bass work during the jam. And I love those little comments on guitar that react to Bob’s words. Phil delivers more great stuff in the next jam. This is a really good “Samson And Delilah.”

There is another pause before Jerry leads the band into “It Must Have Been The Roses.” This pretty rendition takes us to a beautiful place, and you might find yourself with a tear or two in your eyes. Are those tears for the mythical past of song, or because of a present yearning? “And it’s strange how no one comes round anymore.” “Big River” then comes shuffling in, pushing things forward. I love when Keith Godchaux is dancing on keys. At that point, I assume all who are listening are dancing. That song too comes to a proper close before the band eases into “Friend Of The Devil,” giving it to us nice and slow. No need to rush to one’s demise. The sheriff moves just as slowly, so no worries of getting caught at this time. And there is the sense that perhaps the sleep this character might get in the song could be eternal sleep. Death hangs around nearby, it seems. But it’s okay, the music tells us. Order Death a drink before you go, and have one last dance, for lights spring up around us like flowers, even as we move toward oblivion.  This is such a good “Friend Of The Devil,” and it’s how the second disc closes.

Disc 3

The third disc contains the rest of the second set, plus filler from May 4, 1977. After a bit of tuning, Bill and Mickey lead the group into “Dancing In The Street.” That beat itself sends that call out for people to dance. Can you imagine it, people dancing away the world’s troubles? Because there is no space for that sort of trouble on the dance floor, so turn the world into a dance floor. “There’ll be music everywhere.” Perfect. They repeat “Dancing, dancing, dancing in the street” to get everyone connected, Bob joking at one point, “Form a line.” And then the band starts jamming, delivering a jam that has a strong groove, keeping everyone together. They aren’t quite ready to reach for those other realms, but rather are content to get everything moving in this realm and start pushing on toward the outer edges. Preparing, you see. The guitar and piano converse about it as the drums demand attention. The other instruments fade and the drum solo takes over, soon pulling together and chugging forward as we gather around the fire. The entire night is in motion around that fire, and the fire itself might be directing that motion. Phil’s bass forces that motion into mass, and we go pounding into “The Other One.” The energy is tremendous, unbridled, uncontrollable. Just ride where it desires to go, and hold on tight. A smaller star begins bouncing around at the ceiling, like a colossal insect, investigating all corners, all avenues, and getting excited by what it finds, a passage straight through the final veil. And then we are into the song’s first verse. Now the boys are fully committed to the journey, to exploration, to discovery, even if what they find is dangerous or frightening in some way. Things feel in danger of falling apart, but are pulled together again, Phil wrapping them in heavy coil. And then all sorts of new creatures pipe in, scamper around, even tiny animate rocks. The band takes us to a pretty plateau, a place to relax. And it is there we encounter “Stella Blue,” some nice guitar work taking us into that song. “In the end there’s just a song,” Jerry sings. Ah yes, but that song is everything. This is a gorgeous, haunting rendition. The band was so good at taking everything out close to the edge, to the end, taking a curious, if not cheeky, peek at the inevitable finale, while also making us feel that bright beginnings were not only possible, but likely. “It seems like all this life was just a dream.” Then as it lets go, there are lights ahead signaling something, maybe a warning, and “The Other One” begins to build again, the beast reawakening, shaking itself from the dream, and we get the song’s second verse. There is a slightly awkward transition into “Sugar Magnolia,” but no matter. Soon we are rocking to this beloved number, always a good set closer. And that’s how the show ends. There is no encore.

But that’s not how the disc ends. There are five more songs, all from the first set of the show the Dead played on May 4, 1977. Last year’s Dave’s Picks bonus disc contained the entire second set from May 4, 1977, and Dave’s Picks Volume 50 contained several songs from the first set. So with this filler material, we now have the complete show. It begins with a fun rendition of “New Minglewood Blues,” which was the fourth song of the set. The disc then jumps ahead a bit to “Cassidy,” one of my favorite songs. This is a sweet rendition, its magic falling upon us in light showers. Jerry then leads the group into “Deal.” There are some wonderful moments where Jerry’s guitar has its own light, leading us in some dance. Things slow down then at the beginning of “Looks Like Rain,” a rendition that contains beautiful harmonies. The music reaches some spectacular heights during the jam. “Brave the storm to come.” That vocal work toward the end is excellent, truly. This becomes a really special “Looks Like Rain.” This disc concludes with a strong version of “Brown-Eyed Women.”

CD Track List

Disc 1

1. Promised Land
2. They Love Each Other
3. New Minglewood Blues
4. Row Jimmy
5. El Paso
6. Tennessee Jed
7. It’s All Over Now
8. Brown-Eyed Women
9. Let It Grow >
10. Might As Well

Disc 2

1. The Music Never Stopped
2. Candyman
3. Samson And Delilah
4. It Must Have Been The Roses
5. Big River
6. Friend Of The Devil

Disc 3

1. Dancing In The Street >
2. Drums >
3. The Other One >
4. Stella Blue >
5. The Other One >
6. Sugar Magnolia
7. New Minglewood Blues
8. Cassidy
9. Deal
10. Looks Like Rain
11. Brown-Eyed Women

Dave’s Picks Volume 53 was released in late January. My copy arrived on the first of February (hurrah, “Cosmic Charlie”). This release is limited to 25,000 copies. Mine is number 6305.

Night Of A Thousand Stars, Hosted By Ben Vaughn, 2-11-25

Ben Vaughn

Ben Vaughn hosted an incredibly fun evening of music yesterday at UnUrban Café in Santa Monica. The show featured sets by Cynthia Carle and Andrew Sandoval, as well as two sets by Ben Vaughn, all in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. This was only my second time at this venue, and it is quickly becoming a favorite place to catch live music.

Ben Vaughn Duo

The evening began just after 7 p.m. with a short set by Ben Vaughn Duo (that is Ben Vaughn on acoustic guitar and Teresa Cowles on bass guitar). They opened the set with “Looking For A Friend,” which had a sweet, gentle vibe. Both Ben and Teresa imitated horns during one section of the song. “The Pico Boulevard horns,” Ben said afterward. They then played “Apropos Of Nothing.” “I feel good and I don’t care why.” Ah yes, why question a good feeling in these times of rampant anger, despair and anxiety? I felt good, and I knew precisely why. Music like this has that effect every time. That’s, in fact, why I was there. Ben introduced the next song, “When Losers Rules The World,” by saying he wrote it thirty years ago. Someone in the audience yelled out, “You ain’t that old.” And that was that. A three-song set to get things rolling.

Cynthia Carle

A few minutes later, Cynthia Carle was ready to go. This was my first time seeing her perform. She opened with a song about a reenactment group, where a live round ends up in one of the guns. But don’t worry, no one died. “Both of them will live to fake fight another day,” she sang. There was a good deal of humor to the song, but it was the next one that had me laughing out loud. Titled “Angels,” it’s a song about how some people believe in guardian angels, but if they’re real, “must mean that I got shitty angels.” You’d think all the terrible things that happen would keep anyone from believing in guardian angels. But, yeah, if they exist, it must mean that some of them just really suck at their jobs. The ones people like us have assigned to them wet themselves in an emergency. This song also contains a little nod to Them’s “Gloria.” Cynthia indicated that song was the first part of the religious segment of the show, and followed it with the second part, “God Is Living In The Basement,” a song she named after its first line. She did the same with “There’s A Duck Down The Drain,” though the line that had me laughing was, “Who’s got a camera? Oh, that’s right, everybody.” Another highlight of the set was “I Can’t Be Hunter Thompson’s Monkey.” She explained a bit about who Hunter S. Thompson was in the song’s introduction, though I would bet everyone in the audience had a pretty good idea already. They might not have known that he had a pet monkey, however, an animal that did its best to keep up with Thompson’s pace and drug intake, and eventually, according to some reports, committed suicide. The song is told from the perspective of that monkey, and it’s fucking hilarious. The rest of her set also had me (and everyone else) laughing aloud – “Different” (“I’d love you more if you were different”) and “Pioneer.” Her set ended at 7:57 p.m.

Andrew Sandoval

Perhaps the rare solo acoustic set by Andrew Sandoval will no longer be so rare, for last night, just two weeks after his previous show, he returned to UnUrban Café for another great solo set. After the first song of his set, “I Can’t Be Lonely,” he mentioned that other show: “They say it’s a night of a thousand stars, but I was here a couple of weeks ago, so they must have run out and had to repeat some.” Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad he’s doing shows because his music is wonderful.  He followed that with “Singing Only Songs,” from The Low Humbles album A New Design For You, and then “Someone New.” “Someone New” was included on From Me To You, as was the next song of the set, “A Change Of Scene.” This was one of the songs that especially stood out last night. And maybe that’s because of these lines: “But you may not find the answers/To the questions that are troubling your mind.” There is a lot troubling our minds these days, and perhaps we have to be okay without the answers, without the solutions. Or maybe the solution is go somewhere new. “I’m hoping that a change of scene will do me well,” Andrew Sandoval sings here. Is that what we all need? Where shall we all meet up? Finland? Denmark? In introducing “High Tower,” he mentioned that the song was on his second album. “I don’t know if you have them all,” he said. “I have them all.” I don’t, but certainly want them all in my collection. He told the crowd that he wrote “Something Warm” as a prayer for the wintertime. “I need something warm/Something I can hold onto.” That song also was on From Me To You. He followed that with “Above The Clouds,” which comes from A New Design For You. This song is so pretty. There is something magical about it, sounding like a beautiful pop fairy tale. “All of my problems have floated away.” He wrapped up the set with “Friend Of Mine.”

Ben Vaughn Trio

Less than ten minutes later, the Ben Vaughn Trio was on stage. Yes, that’s right, the Duo had grown to a Trio during Andrew Sandoval’s set, with Debbie Shair now on accordion and backing vocals. Teresa Cowles and Debbie Shair both play in the group EZ Tiger (and the last time I saw that band, Andrew Sandoval’s band was on the same bill), and you might also know Debbie for her work in the band Heart. Also, she plays on Andrew Sandoval’s What’s It All About album. They opened the set with “Jerry Lewis In France.” Afterward, Ben Vaughn mentioned what he refers to as the Rick Springfield Line Of Death, meaning that another musician can never get closer to the audience than the lead singer is. Apparently, a friend of his was playing bass in Rick Springfield’s band and one night found himself close to the edge of the stage, and then found himself fired from the band.  Crazy. Ben Vaughn followed “Jerry Lewis In France” with “Miss Me When I’m Gone,” a delightful number from Texas Road Trip. It had a cha-cha-cha ending. Then we were treated to “Too Sensitive For This World,” a song that speaks to me more and more as the world gets more and more twisted. “I don’t think I can last/Until these bad times pass.” And folks joined him in singing the title line in that last section. “Pièce De Résistance” followed. This is another delightful number, basically a collection of French words and phrases that we use in this country. That was then followed by “Song For You” and “Two Miles Road,” the latter featuring a great bass line.

Ben Vaughn Trio

Ben Vaughn stepped back to let Teresa and Debbie cross the Rick Springfield Line Of Death and sing lead on “Love Leave Me Alone.” It was a wonderful rendition, so I don’t think their line crossing will lead to any terminations. Teresa then did some great whistling on “Walkin’ My Way (Back To Your Heart).” Ben got a pick out of his wallet for “On The Rebound,” an especially funny number that had the audience laughing out loud. That was followed by a new song, which I believe is called “Where Did You Go, Greta Garbo,” or perhaps simply “Greta Garbo.” Before he started the song, he explained the nicknames for Teresa Cowles and Debbie Shair, Steps and Pops respectively. Steps, because Teresa is always counting her steps; Pops, because Debbie tells Dad jokes. It was a cool song, and had a cha-cha-cha ending. However, that wasn’t actually the end of the song, and wouldn’t be the only song of the set with a false ending. When he ended it for real, it still had that cha-cha-cha, but softer this time. “Shingaling With Me” is an adorable song that makes you feel that everything is all right. Ben then wrapped up the set with “I’m Just Sayin’,” which had multiple endings, all of them cha-cha-cha endings, at no extra cost. The show ended at 9:24 p.m. This is exactly the kind of evening I live for.

Set Lists

Ben Vaughn Duo

1. Looking For A Friend
2. Apropos Of Nothing
3. When Losers Rule The World

Cynthia Carle

1. Tombstone Vigilantes (not certain of the title)
2. Angels
3. God Is Living In The Basement
4. There’s A Duck Down The Drain
5. I Can’t Be Hunter Thompson’s Monkey
6. Different
7. Pioneer

Andrew Sandoval

1. I Can’t Be Lonely
2. Singing Only Songs
3. Someone New
4. A Change Of Scene
5. High Tower
6. Something Warm
7. Above The Clouds
8. Friend Of Mine

Ben Vaughn Trio

1. Jerry Lewis In France
2. Miss Me When I’m Gone
3. Too Sensitive For This World
4. Pièce De Résistance
5. Song For You
6. Two Miles Road
7. Love Leave Me Alone
8. Walkin’ My Way (Back To Your heart)
9. On The Rebound
10. Where Did You Go, Greta Garbo
11. Shingaling With Me
12. I’m Just Sayin’

UnUrban Café is located at 3301 Pico Blvd., in Santa Monica, California.