Phil Lesh, founding member of Grateful Dead and influential bassist, dies at 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Phil Lesh, a classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who recovered his existent calling reinventing nan domiciled of stone bass guitar arsenic a founding personnel of nan Grateful Dead, died Friday astatine property 84.

Lesh’s decease was announced connected his Instagram account. Lesh was nan oldest and 1 of nan longest surviving members of nan set that came to specify nan acerb stone sound emanating from San Francisco successful nan 1960s.

“Phil Lesh, bassist and founding personnel of The Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and afloat of love. Phil brought immense joyousness to everyone astir him and leaves down a bequest of euphony and love,” the Instagram statement sounds successful part.

The connection did not mention a circumstantial origin of decease and attempts to scope representatives for further specifications were not instantly successful. Lesh had antecedently survived bouts of prostate cancer, bladder cancer and a 1998 liver transplant necessitated by nan debilitating effects of a hepatitis C infection and years of dense drinking.

Lesh’s decease comes 2 days aft MusiCares named nan Grateful Dead its Persons of nan Year. MusiCares, which helps euphony professionals needing financial aliases different kinds of assistance, cited Lesh’s Unbroken Chain Foundation among different philanthropic initiatives. The Dead will beryllium honored successful January astatine a use gala up of nan Grammy Awards successful Los Angeles.

Although he kept a comparatively debased nationalist profile, seldom granting interviews aliases speaking to nan audience, fans and chap set members recognized Lesh arsenic a captious personnel of nan Grateful Dead whose thundering lines connected nan six-string electrical bass provided a superb counterpoint to lead guitarist Jerry Garcia’s soaring solos and anchored nan band’s celebrated marathon jams.

“When Phil’s happening nan band’s happening,” Garcia erstwhile said.

Drummer Mickey Hart called him nan group’s intelligence who brought a classical composer’s mindset and skills to a five-chord stone ‘n’ rotation band.

Lesh credited Garcia pinch school him to play nan bass successful nan unorthodox lead-guitar style that he would go celebrated for, mixing thundering arpeggios pinch snippets of spontaneously composed orchestral passages.

Fellow bass subordinate Rob Wasserman erstwhile said Lesh’s style group him isolated from each different bassist he knew of. While astir others were contented to support clip and return nan occasional solo, Wasserman said Lesh was some bully capable and assured capable to lead his chap musicians done a song’s melody.

“He happens to play bass but he’s much for illustration a horn player, doing each those arpeggios — and he has that counterpoint going each nan time,” he said.

Lesh began his agelong philharmonic odyssey arsenic a classically trained violinist, starting pinch lessons successful 3rd grade. He took up nan trumpet astatine 14, yet earning nan 2nd chair successful California’s Oakland Symphony Orchestra while still successful his teens.

But he had mostly put some instruments speech and was driving a message motortruck and moving arsenic a sound technologist for a mini power position successful 1965 erstwhile Garcia recruited him to play bass successful a fledgling stone set called The Warlocks.

When Lesh told Garcia he didn’t play nan bass, nan musician asked, “Didn’t you utilized to play violin?” When he said yes, Garcia told him, “There you go, man.”

Armed pinch a inexpensive four-string instrumentality his woman bought him, Lesh sat down for a seven-hour instruction pinch Garcia, pursuing nan latter’s proposal that he tune his instrument’s strings an octave little than nan 4 bottommost strings connected Garcia’s guitar. Then Garcia turned him loose, allowing Lesh to create nan spontaneous style of playing that he would clasp for nan remainder of his life.

Lesh and Garcia would often speech leads, often spontaneously, while nan set arsenic a full would often break into agelong experimental, jazz-influenced jams during concerts. The consequence was that moreover well-known Grateful Dead songs for illustration “Truckin’” aliases “Sugar Magnolia” seldom sounded nan aforesaid 2 performances successful a row, thing that would animate loyal fans to be show aft show.

“It’s ever fluid, we conscionable beautiful overmuch fig it retired connected nan fly,” Lesh said, chuckling, during a uncommon 2009 question and reply pinch The Associated Press. “You can’t group those things successful chromatic successful nan rehearsal room.”

Phillip Chapman Lesh was calved connected March 15, 1940, successful Berkeley, California, nan only kid of Frank Lesh, an agency instrumentality repairman, and his wife, Barbara.

He would opportunity successful later years that his emotion of euphony came from listening to broadcasts of nan New York Philharmonic connected his grandmother’s radio. One of his earliest memories was proceeding nan awesome German composer Bruno Walter lead that orchestra done Brahms’ First Symphony.

Musical influences he often cited were not stone musicians but composers for illustration Bach and Edgard Varèse, arsenic good arsenic jazz greats for illustration John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

Lesh had gravitated from classical euphony to cool jazz by nan clip he arrived astatine nan College of San Mateo, yet becoming first trumpet subordinate successful nan school’s large set and a composer of respective orchestral pieces nan group performed.

But he group nan trumpet speech aft college, concluding he didn’t person nan lung powerfulness to go an elite player.

Soon aft he took up nan bass, The Warlocks renamed themselves nan Grateful Dead and Lesh began captivating audiences pinch his dexterity. Crowds gathered successful what came to beryllium known arsenic “The Phil Zone” straight successful beforehand of his position onstage.

Although he was ne'er a prolific songwriter, Lesh besides composed euphony for, and sometimes sang, immoderate of nan band’s astir beloved songs. Among them were nan upbeat state rocker “Pride of Cucamonga,” nan jazz-influenced “Unbroken Chain” and nan ethereally beautiful “Box of Rain.”

Lesh composed nan second connected guitar arsenic a gift for his dying father, and he recalled that Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, upon proceeding nan instrumental recording, approached him nan adjacent time pinch a lyric sheet. On that sheet, he said, were “some of nan astir moving and heartfelt lyrics I’ve ever had nan bully luck to sing.”

The set often closed its concerts pinch nan song.

After nan group’s dissolution pursuing Garcia’s 1995 death, Lesh often skipped joining nan different surviving members erstwhile they sewage together to perform.

He did return portion successful a 2009 Grateful Dead circuit and again successful 2015 for a fistful of “Fare Thee Well” concerts marking some nan band’s 50th day and what Lesh said would beryllium nan past clip he would play pinch nan others.

He did proceed to play frequently, however, pinch a rotating formed of musicians he called Phil Lesh and Friends.

In later years he usually held those performances astatine Terrapin Crossroads, a edifice and nightclub he opened adjacent his Northern California location successful 2012, which was named aft nan Grateful Dead opus and medium “Terrapin Station.”

Lesh is survived by his wife, Jill, and sons Brian and Grahame.

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John Rogers, nan main writer of this obituary, retired from The Associated Press successful 2021.