In the spirit of the holiday season, the Jerry Garcia Music Arts record label has rereleased the instrumental rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” with Grateful Dead guitarist legend Jerry Garcia and mandolinist great David “Dawg” Grisman’s The song, also known as “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” is an ancient Christmas carol, dating from the 15th century.
The recording originates from a concert performed on December 7, 1991, at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco. The Garcia/Grisman ensemble played this traditional English Christmas carol live on only three occasions.
The song will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Gracenote, iHeartRadio, MediaNet, VerveLife, Deezer, Napster, Tidal, Shazam and 7digital.
Additionally, the song is being presented with a new edition of a cheerful Garcia pen and ink holiday-themed drawing titled “Merry Christmas.” The piece can be found online in the Terrapin Gallery and is featured in an art collection curated by Jerry Garcia’s daughter, Keelin Garcia and his wife Manasha Garcia.
A portion of the art and music proceeds will be donated to charity. The following musicians and audio engineer contributed to this lively rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”:
Jerry Garcia — guitar
David Grisman — mandolin
Jim Kerwin — bass
Joe Craven — percussion and fiddle
Dave Dennison — live mix and recording engineer
visit www.jerrygarciamusicarts.com