We didn’t talk much about it other than the craziness of it all. It really kept us on our toes.ĭid Jerry ever talk with you about Elvis? He might look back, ask for an E chord or something, and then just jump in start singing. We had to know hundreds of songs and then be prepared for anything.

While Elvis wasn’t necessarily known for his improvisation, is it true that he worked without setlists at that point in his career? It was totally unexpected but appreciated. Even though one might think that the two don’t really connect that well musically, he must have seen or heard something, and he took it from there. I believe he had heard some recordings and seen some footage of all that stuff that I had done with Elvis. What led John Kahn to invite you to that first session? Plus, it was different with the musical abilities of the players. Just the instrumentation itself gave it more of a jazz and R&B sound than the Dead were playing. Martin would come along a little bit later and add his thing to it. So that’s what led me to these weekends at the Keystone in Berkeley with Jerry and Merl. I had been playing with those guys for so long that I felt like I was ready for a new opportunity. I’d recorded a couple albums with Emmylou Harris, and some of the guys who also played with Elvis were going on the road with her in a group called the Hot Band. It was a breath of fresh air for me to go out and try something different. I agreed to come up there because I’d had a good experience with them and it was one of my favorite places. He told me about the Keystone and wanted to know if I’d come up there for the weekend. Then, John asked if I would be interested in doing some live gigs up in the San Francisco area. I thought the music was cool and we got along very well. We played for a couple of days there at the studio in LA. I was based in LA, and John Kahn called me to do a recording with Jerry. This was at a point in my life when I split my time between studio work and live playing. How did you first connect with Jerry Garcia? The following previously unpublished conversation from 2018 focuses on Legion of Mary, the memorable, albeit short-lived project featuring Merl Saunders, Martin Fierro, John Kahn, Garcia and Tutt that debuted in 1974. In addition, he performed with Garcia in the live setting through the late ‘70s, returning for a final stint in 1981. He would later contribute to Reflections (1976), Cats Under the Stars (1978) and Run for the Roses (1982).

Tutt’s association with Jerry Garcia began with his work on Garcia’s 1974 album Compliments. The drummer later joined Diamond’s group in 1981 and remained through the icon’s final tour in 2017. He was a member of Presley’s TCB Band from the time Elvis returned to the stage in 1969 at Las Vegas’ International Hotel until his death in 1977. Tutt is best known for his work with Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond and Jerry Garcia. Renowned drummer Ron Tutt passed away on Oct. Ron Tutt with the Jerry Garcia Band, circa 1975: Nicky Hopkins, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Tutt (l-r).

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