Reprinted from Modern Drummer Magazine, June 2009
A Rainforest Band
Tribute to Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia at the Starwood Festival
October 24th, 2008, sadly, marked the passage of a beloved pioneer of jazz/world music fusion: keyboardist Merl Saunders. The Grammy-nominated album Blues From the Rainforest, also featuring Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia and percussionist Muruga Booker (Weather Report, P-Funk, Free Funk), was an early New Age hit. This blend of Amazonian Rainforest sounds, tribal rhythms, synthesizers and electric guitar, gave birth to Merl Saunders & the Rainforest Band. This was one of several Merl Saunders projects, often with Jerry Garcia and other members of the Grateful Dead family, like the albums and appearances of Garcia/Saunders, High Noon, Legion of Mary, The Jerry Garcia Band, Jazz is Dead, and others. Ten years of performance and four albums later, the band was retired when Saunders suffered a stroke.
In a special tribute to Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia, we are pleased to report the return of The Rainforest Band! It will take place
at The 2009 Starwood
Festival in
Included are veteran members Tony Saunders (Merl’s son) on bass, percussionist Muruga Booker & Shakti (Global Village Ceremonial Band), guitarist Michael Hinton (Country Joe & the Fish, High Noon) and Bill Thompson (Blues From the Rainforest) on keyboards/synthesizer, joined by special guests Ken Kozora on keyboards, Perry Robinson on clarinet, and Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum. They guarantee an evening of terrific music ranging from the spiritual to the funky, with some special treats for the Deadheads, dedicated to the good work Merl and Jerry did for the Rainforest Action Network.
Speaking of Sikiru Adepoju, who Mickey Hart calls “the Mozart of the
Talking Drum”, Starwood will also feature Sikiru Adepoju & Heart Beat: an
incredible assembly of global talent in the tradition of Planet Drum. Sikiru, a veteran
of Babatunde Olatunji’s Drums of Passion, has
combined members of his 2003 band Afrika
Heartbeat and other premier artists to form this more
universal ensemble, including steel drum & djembe
artist Douglas “Val” Serrant (featured
on Airto Moreira’s album Life After That), Guitarist Peter Fujii (from
the classic Pharoah Sanders album Rejoice!), percussionist Deen Badarou
(from What Will Tomorrow Bring by Femi Kuti), trap drummer Deszon X. Claiborne (from the Don
Cherry album Multikulti) and DJ Deegan Mack Adams, engineer for Infinite Studios (Turf
Talk - West Coast Vaccine by The
Cure). Sikiru has played with just about every Mickey Hart project since 1990, including the Grammy-winning albums Planet
Drum (1990) and Global Drum Project
(2008). He’s recorded with Stevie Wonder (Jungle
Fever, 1991), Muruga Booker & Babatunde Olatunji (Circle of Drums, 2005), Airto Moreira (Life
After That, 2003), and the String
Cheese Incident (On the Road, 2004), among many
others.
Also on the bill is the dynamic
Middle-Eastern drumming & dancing troupe Raquy & the Cavemen! Combining elements of Egyptian, Israeli and
Indian music & dance with the hard-rock influence of drummer Liron Peled, Raquy Danziger
weaves truly electric and eclectic rhythms guaranteed to get you on your feet!
(Both bands will also appear and offer workshops at the Beachland Ballroom July 18th in
Other Starwood acts this year
include that terrific Cleveland Jam Band The
JiMiller Band, featured at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, the Further Festival, the 10,000 Lakes Festival, and House of Blues. They’ve opened for
PHISH, Rusted Root, Blues Traveler, Little Feat and String Cheese Incident.
Also from
The Starwood Festival is a blend of over 150 classes on New
Age, tribal and magical spirituality, with cutting-edge ideas and
counter-cultural speakers. It’s a six-day camping event held near