The BBC Arena documentary Grateful and the Dead (1996), made by Jeremy Marre, was an entertaining, informative and quietly surprising piece that explored the connection between the Grateful Dead and several avant-garde British composers who received grants from the band’s charity arm, the Rex Foundation, out of the blue, at the behest of the bass player Phil Lesh. Although it has now disappeared completely, in 2009 I contacted Jeremy hoping to get a copy; he didn’t have one, and apologised for not being able to help.
Having now realised that he also made the Grateful Dead episode (1997) of the Classic Albums series and an excellent series on improvisation for Channel 4, On the Edge – Improvisation in Music (1992), that featured the band’s lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, I am even more grateful for the efforts and expertise of an open-hearted documentary maker and gentleman.
.jpg?w=600)
