Last weekend marked the annual Jungle Jam festival, bringing a great lineup of jam-oriented musicians out of Jaco Beach, Costa Rica. One of the lineup highlights was certainly Oteil & Friends, a packed super jam collective led by Dead & Co/Allman Brothers/Aquarium Rescue Unit bassist Oteil Burbridge.
Oteil packed Jungle Jam with some great friends, as the roster included keyboardist Jason Crosby, guitarists Scott Murawski and John Kadlecik, and drummer Jeff Sipe, with whom Burbridge was bandmates in the ARU. The group played multiple shows, including a tribute to Bob Marley on opening night. You can stream that show here.
On the second night, the group performed a tribute set to the Grateful Dead. This must have been expected when you consider the lineup, with Furthur guitarist John Kadlecik, frequent Grateful contributor Jason Crosby, and Burbridge’s newest gig with three of the core four surviving members. The show was nothing short of excellent, as the group opened with “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider” and dusted off hits like “Scarlet/Fire” and “Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World.” The band closed out with a ripping version of “Bertha,” putting a cap on a performance that fans were truly grateful to witness.
Listen to a full stream of the show below, courtesy of taper Phil Simon: