John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Adopted at birth by Hollywood talent agents, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California and was babysat by Marilyn Monroe, who was represented by his father in the early stages of her career. According to spouse Linda Kahn in a 2017 Reddit Ask Me Anything prompt, he began to take piano and music theory classes at 4 and 5, respectively. Following the death of his father at a young age, he was mentored by Mischa Elman, a cousin of his father. At Beverly Hills High School, he earned a reputation as a talented jazz guitarist. He also composed a symphonic piece, "Western Impressions," the first orchestral work by a student to be publicly performed by the school's orchestra (under the direction of Robert Holmes). In his junior year, Kahn switched to double bass and formed a jazz duo with a pianist, Peter Isackson, who encouraged him to study with Monty Budwig, a member of the house rhythm section at notable Hollywood jazz club Shelly's Manne-hole. After attending the University of Southern California for a semester, he transferred to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1965. During this period, he lived in nearby Sausalito, California and began to gravitate toward the incipient rock culture of the Haight-Ashbury district. In 1967, he began working as a session musician, specializing in electric bass, with a litany of notable blues, folk, and rock performers, including Mike Bloomfield, Nick Gravenites, Mississippi Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker, Brewer & Shipley (a longstanding collaboration that encompassed their 1971 Top Ten hit "One Toke Over the Line"), Tom Fogerty, Maria Muldaur (who was in a relationship with Kahn for several years in the 1970s), Al Kooper, Jackie DeShannon and Otis Rush. Kahn first played with Garcia in May 1970 as the bassist of a jazz rock group that coalesced around Garcia and organist Howard Wales (who facilitated their introduction) during Monday night jam sessions at The Matrix, a San Francisco nightclub of the era; this ensemble would go on to record Hooteroll? (1971; credited to Garcia and Wales). He also played acoustic bass in Old & In the Way, a bluegrass supergroup that toured in 1973 and 1974. Along with