Watch the Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble performance on-demand:
https://www.sfjazz.org/donwas

About this clip:
Producer and bassist Don Was and his Pan Detroit ensemble perform their version of the classic 1970 Grateful Dead song “Loser” during their concert on September 27, 2024 — part of the SFJAZZ 2024-25 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.

Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: https://www.SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
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About this concert:
Superstar producer, musician, composer, radio host, and Blue Note Records president Don Was brought the distinctive musical flavor of his Motor City hometown to these dates. His Pan-Detroit Ensemble is made up of many of the city’s great jazz musicians including saxophonist Dave McMurray, keyboardist Luis Resto, and vocalist Steffanie Christi’an, with a sound marked by a funky, urban rawness and bone-deep grooves.

Taking inspiration from a wide range of Detroit jazz, blues, funk, and rock legends including John Lee Hooker, Donald Byrd, Joe Henderson, George Clinton, Mitch Ryder, and The Stooges, Was’s Pan-Detroit Ensemble contains multitudes.

Their repertoire spans a mix of new originals and resonant interpretations of songs written by exploratory Detroiters Yusef Lateef, Olu Dara, and Henry Threadgill, as well as material from Was’s personal projects Orquestra Was and Was (Not Was).

In Was’s own words, “There’s a unique sound and feel to Detroit that permeates the music in a way that resonates all over the globe. There is a rawness, a lack of pretension and an unmistakable, underlying groove that reflects the people and culture of the city.” Join us for these two nights with an American original.

PERSONNEL:
Don Was: bass, vocals
Dave McMurray: tenor saxophone
John Douglas: trumpet
Vincent Chandler: trombone
Wayne Gerard: guitar
Luis Resto: keyboards
Jeff Canady: drums
Mahindi: percussion
Steffanie Christi'an: vocals

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