ISBN 9781609742249. Jerry Garcia, the lead guitarist, singer, and alleged leader of the Grateful Dead, became an icon of the 60s youth movement. It was well-known that Jerry was a huge fan, and probably considered himself a player, of old-time American music, from mountain fiddle and banjo music, to English ballads, to jug band music to bluegrass and blues, and more. On the "Shady Grove" recordings one can hear the deep commitment, respect, and love Jerry had for this traditional American music. He's very faithful to the original artists' music. That may be surprising if you expect more of an ego-driven "my version" approach from one the biggest rock stars ever. What you have here is a vibrant collection of wonderful traditional American songs, from a great variety of genres, played in a style closely based on their traditional sources. Of course within those parameters we hear wonderful and personal readings of the tunes from both Jerry and mandolinist David Grisman. Dix Bruce has carefully transcribed many of Jerry's solos from the album, trying to determine not just what he was playing but how he was playing it. Melodies, tablature, lyrics, and chords are included in arrangements designed to be playable on the guitar while presenting the melodies as closely as possible. Jerry's banjo solos are transcribed here for guitar.

ISBN 9781610652407. The non-jazz improvisation series is a concept that germinated in Dick Weissman's mind while he was attending music school. He wrote a 15-piece arrangement of the old square dance tune, Cripple Creek, and wanted the trombone to take a solo as part of the arrangement. When the trombonist kept playing a bebop solo that was totally unsuitable for the chart, Dick realized that - in addition to the many musicians who do not improvise - there are even jazz musicians who don't know how to improvise outside the limits of their own stylistic backgrounds. Fingerstyle and flatpicking techniques demonstrate the use of the guitar as an incredibly versatile instrument that holds its own in a variety of musical genres. Various guitar tunings are included. All examples are written out in traditional and tablature notation.