JAZZ IS DEAD NEWS 30th ANNIVERSARY EXPLORATION INTO - GRATEFUL DEAD’s LANDMARK RECORDING : “BLUES FOR ALLAH” WITH AN ALL-STAR BAND : JEFF PEVAR GUITARIST with PHIL LESH & FRIENDS, DAVID CROSBY/CPR T LAVITZ KEYBOARDIST with WIDESPREAD PANIC, DIXIE DREGS JEFF SIPE DRUMMER with PHIL LESH & FRIENDS, AQUARIUM RESCUE UIT ROD MORGENSTEIN DRUMMER with DIXIE DREGGS, WINGER DAVE LIVOLSI BASSIST with JOHN SCOFIELD, TOWER OF POWER The story behind “BLUES FOR ALLAH” The composition, production & release of “Blues For Allah” Recorded 4 Jun to 13 Jul 1975. Released 1 Sep 1975 (on UA/ Grateful Dead Records) signaled a musical departure for San Francisco’s GRATEFUL DEAD. It might better be viewed as an “arrival,” for it showcased jazz leanings unlike anything the band had previously offered. The compositions were complex and polyrhythmic in the extreme.  Performed live only five times, all in 1975. First performed live at The SNACK benefit, March 23, in Kezar Stadium, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. "Blues For Allah" opened and closed the Dead's set, which also included "Stronger Than Dirt." Hunter's note in Box of Rain says "This lyric is a requiem for King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, a progressive and democratically inclined ruler [and, incidentally, a fan of the Grateful Dead] whose assassination in 1975 shocked us personally." And this note from a scholar … I always thought that BFA referred to the Yom Kippur War (October 1973) between Israel and the Arabs--the song was written no more than a year or so thereafter, and after all the initial release of the album had the Hebrew and Arabic translations of the lyrics (only to the song BFA). I spent a lot of time in Israel-- when friends of mine in the states would ask me "who's right, Israel or the Palestinian Arabs?," all I could say was "The truth lies somewhere in between." And another note from a scholar … The song title "Blues for Allah" may be a parody of the title of the Charlie Parker song "Blues for Alice". Note: "Blues For Alice" is included on many Parker recordings, and has also been recorded by Rahsaan Roland Kirk and by Tony Furtado, among others. The Needle's Eye is Thin Three of the four writers of the New Testament gospels include nearly identical quotations of Jesus saying "And I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (--Matthew 19, v. 24) The other passages are found in Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25. This is usually pretty good evidence that the quotation may be truly ascribed to Jesus; the other piece of evidence is that this is one of those "unpopular" sayings, one of the difficult things that the teacher said. So we can be pretty certain that this is an accurate quote. Some biblical scholars have attempted to soften the message by ascribing its meaning to a narrow gate in Jerusalem through which a camel could actually pass, but most scholars seem united in the view that Jesus meant to say that it is impossible for a rich man to enter the "kingdom of God." Whatever that might be meant to be. This note from a reader: I just want to say that I think you should include the entire quote from Matthew 19:24 "24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. " You miss the most important part of the lesson if you leave out, "...with God all thinks are possible."