The Grateful Dead in Concert: Essays on Live Improvisation

This book offers a spirited analysis of the unique improvisational character of Grateful Dead music and its impact on appreciative fans. The 20 essays capture distinct facets of the Grateful Dead phenomenon from a broad range of scholarly angles. The band's trademark synergizing focus is discussed as a function of complex musical improvisation interlaced with the band members' collective assimilation of an impressive range of marginal musical forms and lyrical traditions. These facets are shown to produce a vibrant Deadhead experience, resulting in community influences still morphing in new directions 45 years after the band's initial impact.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078644357X
• ISBN13: 9780786443574
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 365 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher