Given the Jimmy Herring talk,I’m listening to Jazz is Dead(Estimated Prophet) and wondering,any fans of this music?
Man this is kick ass-what a bunch of musicians Herring is surrounded by...wow.
Alphonso Kohnson,billy Cobham and T Lavitz-monster lineup
I have the 1999 Jazz Is Dead cd, Laughing Water, which is their take on Wake Of The Flood; very enjoyable
Love that band. Saw them at a bar across from Wrigley Field in 99 after a co-worker's recommendation.
I walked into the show not expecting much and walked away completely floored.
Awesome talent
Great Sky River is one of my favorite albums of all time.
My first Allman/Dead Gorge show back in 2004 was like the first time both bands shared the stage since Watkins Glen, and we listened to Great Sky River on the drive out. It was incredible, however it set me up for a disappointing Dead portion of the show because Jimmy did NOT play like what I had just heard on that album lol!!
[Edited on 1/9/2020 by Joe_the_Lurker]
I have two of their albums and I really like both , the wife and I caught them at BB King’s in Times Square when we were in NY for some ABB shows at the Beacon , really excellent show .
there has been variations of personnel regarding jazz is dead,, awesome interpretation of Dead tunes..saw with billy cobham first time and then...
1998 – 1999
Billy Cobham – drums
Jimmy Herring – lead guitar
Alphonso Johnson – bass
T Lavitz – keyboards
1999 – 2001
Jimmy Herring – lead guitar
Alphonso Johnson – bass
T Lavitz – keyboards
Rod Morgenstein – drums
Jeff Sipe – drums
2001 – 2002
T Lavitz – keyboards
Rod Morgenstein – drums
Jeff Sipe – drums
Jeff Pevar – lead guitar
Kenny Gradney – b
Not sure why but Jimmy’s tone is different than most of his other work.
Including his other music covering Dead songs.
Very enjoyable studio stuff - we even get a guest spot by brother Derek!!
I do find their studio work a little clean, maybe the production is a tad sterile, but still very enjoyable. I like the live boots better.
I was lucky to see them at a small place in the city - Bottom Line? Bitter End? I confuse the two - and was expecting Cobham but got Sipe instead. Still wonderful.
RIP T Lavitz.
I've heard of them but have never listened to a note of their music. What would some of you guys categorize them if you were to do so? Any starting point for checking them out?
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Lee, imagine a loose Dixie Dregs playing Dead tunes.
Lee, imagine a loose Dixie Dregs playing Dead tunes.
Accurate.
Not sure why but Jimmy’s tone is different than most of his other work.
Including his other music covering Dead songs.
According to his gear page on his site he was using Marshall's for the most part with Jazz is Dead.
He almost exclusively plays Fuchs and Fenders now I believe.
Yes, I have a few of their shows and love 'em! Of course, I think Jimmy Herring is always phenomenal!
Jimmy has a Stratocaster with big pickups like a Gibson that has a tremendous tone.
Lee, imagine a loose Dixie Dregs playing Dead tunes.
Accurate.
Agreed.
Back then I believe Jimmy's main guitar was a Fender Custom Shop sunburst Strat with two regular PAFs, back before he found the Lohler pickups in his current humbucker Strats (black one and white one). But late 1990s was also around the time Jimmy endorsed Modulus guitars and he was playing those a good bit around the time of the first album, Blue Light Rain. He also picked up a couple or three PRS semi-hollowbodies during the JID run that he also played on the ABB summer 2000 tour. I suspect he was playing the PRS guitars on the third JID album Great Sky River that came out in 2001. Possibly the 2nd album also that was released mid-1999.
Back then Jimmy played a LOT of Marshall and Fender amps, with a mix of combos and half stacks. He was experimenting a lot back then with amps. I remember for awhile he was running a Fender head into a Peavey Classic-50 combo amp (the 4x10" variety) that he was using only as a cabinet with the Peavey amp disconnected. And sometimes with a Fender reverb effect head that he played suspended in the air with a rope holding it over a truss up in the ceiling. Weirdest thing.
As I recall, the first record Blue Light Rain was recorded on the first tour live at an empty venue. I suspect that is partly why the sound is different b/c I imagine his setup was for a full venue and sounds quite different empty. To me, not being a big Dead fan at all, that is their strongest record, but Jimmy holds back with his playing and is rather restrained (not unlike when he did the ABB tour in 2000). But that had the strongest material and sounded like a studio record, and also very solid playing with the other 3 players.
The 2nd and 3rd albums are live with crowds. Laughing Water (2nd album) is enjoyable, but it was not the best live recording. Better than a taper recording, but doesn't sound like they had the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio by any means. Great Sky River (the 3rd album) was a much better live recording, and parts of it are very very good, but as an overall album I thought the material wasn't quite as strong as the other two albums.
My view, not being a big fan of the Dead. I really came to enjoy the songwriting listening to jazz fusion versions with the melodies played by Jimmy or T Lavitz.
Not sure if this will post an image, or how long it will remain online, but this was the advertisement in guitar mags for the late-90s/2000 Modulus Genesis that Jimmy endorsed for awhile.
[Edited on 1/13/2020 by Zambi]
I love the couple Jazz is Dead albums I have. I believe they're the first 2. Great stuff.
I love the couple Jazz is Dead albums I have. I believe they're the first 2. Great stuff.
Dude makes his first post about Jazz is Dead ~11 years after registering....
Gotta love this place!
Welcome, Phoffifozz!
Aw, Jazz is not dead! It just smells funny.
to quote FZ
He makes it smell funny on Jazz From Hell alright 😮 - who else but Frank could do an album like that
Also, who can play guitar like Frank does on St. Etienne - few - Frank, what a treasure
Well this is a nice treat to stumble upon in my YT feed. From the JiD first tour in fall 1998:
Lee - suggest starting here around 8 minute mark for Scarlett Begonias or 20:30 mark for Estimated Prophet. I think those would be good introductions to JiD, but there is lots more that is very very good.
It's a great video mixed together with a soundboard audio recording. Where the video from the show is missing, the taper used psychedelic vid from other parts of the show to fill-in which can be a bit trippy (e.g., the first 7 minutes or so). And some of the audio mostly at the end where the SBD recording is missing is fused together with an AUD recording. Overall, very enjoyable though.
I never did get a good look-see at Jimmy's amps because they are mostly hidden behind Billy Cobham's drumset. But sounds like Marshalls to my ears. He also had the PRSs back in 1998. This is the larger of the original two semi-hollowbodies he got from PRS. This one is much fatter/thicker, more like an ES-335, with two F-holes. He also used another one around that time, same colors, but was thinner and I believe either had a closed top or had only one F-hole. He played both on the summer 2000 ABB tour.
Better video here from 3 weeks earlier:
This time Jimmy is playing the Modulus Genesis solidbody. Better camera angles and clearly Marshall and Holland heads, looks like both running through Marshall cabinets. Jimmy would run his clean and dirty heads through an Ernie Ball stereo volume pedal and use the pedals as blend/pan pedals to dial-in the dirty sound. (Jimmy often uses/used the same with his effects when you see him with multiple Ernie Ball volume pedals, allowing him to also dial-in the effects loop.) Pretty cool.
====================
And one more from the Summer 1999 tour after Billy Cobham went back home to Switzerland, so with Rod Morgenstein and Jeff Sipe on drums:
Don't know if it's the different drummers, or the front-line having better familiarity with the catalog, or both, but the energy is noticeably higher than the other two vids. And Jimmy is back to the 'fat' PRS semi-hollowbody, but this time running through Fender clean sound and Marshall dirty sound, both through Marshall cabs. Love the Jimmy's tone and energy in this one.
