Kahn, the band featured Garcia on banjo and vocals, future progressive bluegrass luminary David Grisman on mandolin and vocals, songwriter Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals, and Vassar Clements on fiddle. From 1970 to 1975, Kahn played in the Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia Band and was an integral part of later iterations of the Garcia/Saunders collaboration, including Legion of Mary (1974–1975) and Reconstruction (1978–1979); the latter group was initially intended to serve as a musical outlet for Kahn during Garcia's tours with the Grateful Dead. Kahn was the only founding member of the Jerry Garcia Band (1975–1978; 1980-1995) besides Garcia to remain with the group until its dissolution following the guitarist's death in 1995. In addition to serving as the band's nominal manager (these responsibilities were delegated to Grateful Dead employees Rock Scully and Steve Parish), he selected the group's repertoire in consultation with Garcia. During this period, he also played alongside Garcia in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (1987–1988) and served as the guitarist's only accompanist in the Garcia & Kahn acoustic duo that toured intermittently from 1982 to 1986. Offstage, Kahn and Garcia maintained a close friendship. Although several figures in Garcia's life (including brother Tiff Garcia and Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick) characterized him as a deleterious influence, daughter Annabelle Garcia was more equanimous: "Yeah, Dad did drugs with John and Linda, but that was just the way it was. They offered my dad a safe haven—a place he could come to get some drugs if he wanted it, and a place to sleep if he needed it, and the company that he needed. [...] John and Linda were very sweet people and I know at least they made my dad feel comfortable." Despite underlying acrimony stemming from his relationship with Garcia, Kahn did occasional work for the Grateful Dead, serving as a recording engineer alongside Betty Cantor-Jackson and Bob Matthews for the band's aborted Egypt '78 live album documenting performances at the Giza Plateau in September 1978. Selections from these concerts were eventually released as Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 (2008). He also contributed horn arrangements and uncredited organ and additional production to Shakedown Street (1978) following the departure of nominal producer Lowell George. Death Kahn died of a heart attack in his sleep on May 30, 1996 in Mill Valley, California. References External links [ John Kahn on Allmusic] John Kahn discography on DeadDisc.com