Roundhouse Bands: Paul Abella’s Jazz Plays Dead

Jazz Plays Dead is six of Chicago’s hottest jazz players taking on the music of the Grateful Dead, and deciding to do so as a rock band. Bassist Chris Bernhardt comes from a strong jazz and blues background with his group, BMR4. Saxophonist Mike Levin is a first call saxophonist for gigs and recordings all over Chicago, Fred Simon can be heard frequently doing solo piano and playing keys with Tributosaurus (and goes by the moniker “Grateful Fred”) and vocalist Linda Solotaire brings a classically trained precision to what were some famously loose vocals. Behind the drum kit and playing percussion, Paul Abella is like a combination of Billy Kreutzman and Mickey Hart all rolled into one greasy ball of funk. The end result is a Grateful Dead project that can jam on the Dead’s headiest material with maniacal glee, and they can’t wait to bring their madcap take on the Grateful Dead’s music to Two Brothers’ Roundhouse on January 2nd!