How sad it is to hear that Bob Weir died today. 78 years old, and he beat a cancer diagnosis last year. What a man, what a talent. I know he wasn't a gypsy jazz guy but he (and the Dead) did more to bridge traditional types of music (country, jazz & bluegrass) with rock than any other band I can think of in American history. They mixed all those influences together and brought the results to the masses for decades, with that infectious spirit of jazz improvisation as only they could do. I think it was Elvis Costello who said "if it wasn't for the name The Grateful Dead, they would be considered the greatest jazz band in the world". And of course Jerry Garcia was a huge Django fan, so those influences were all over their music. RIP, Bobby Weir.
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I just saw, sad news.