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| Jennifer Hartswick & Christian McBride @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Music Heals International’s 10th Anniversary concert Monday night at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley was a memorable evening for a terrific cause. Rising out of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the organization funds music education and delivers hope to children at eight schools in Haiti – where gangs control an estimated 80% of capital city Port-au-Prince. In a situation where survival and fear often rule childhoods – MHI provides hope through giving young people the opportunity to develop musical talents - along with life skills and confidence – via instruments, instruction and opportunities to play. With much success achieved in Haiti, MHI has expanded their efforts to Venezuela as well.
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| Sara Wasserman @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
MHI Executive Director and Founder Sara Wasserman (daughter of RatDog cofounder and bassist Rob Wasserman and a touring musician in her own right) served as host of the evening and introduced a particularly poignant piece of the night. For this night only, Sara brought her father’s standup bass out of its retirement to be played by legendary jazz bassist and eight-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride.
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| Paul Beaubrun @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
As Rob Wasserman’s bass stood watch over the first set, Paul Beaubrun (Arcade Fire) - a mainstay of the annual Music Heals International events took the stage. The Haitian singer-guitarist brought his infectious happiness and positivity and circulated throughout the room during his time on stage. After starting out his set solo, he was joined by crossover turntablist DJ Logic and then by drummer Jay Lane of Dead & Company, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros and RatDog for an experimental jam that had the benefit crowd swaying.
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| Crosby, Lebo, Beaubrun, and Grisman @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Beaubrun soon widened the all-star event by bringing up jam band royalty and Bay Area favorites to join him. Guitarist/singer Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz (ALO) and bassist Sam Grisman (son of legendary bluegrass musician and Jerry Garcia co-conspirator David “Dawg” Grisman) joined Beaubrun, along with multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby on keyboards. Beaubrun rode the energy of the group and then extended into the crowd – calling for everyone to raise and then hold hands. The entire room joined along in one of the night’s most memorable moments.
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| Lebo, Nelson, and Grisman @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
After a terrific Bob Marley cover, Beaubrun yielded the stage to more Bay Area music loyalty as surprise guest David Nelson (New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jerry Garcia Band, David Nelson Band) came out and sat center stage with both the audience and his fellow musicians giving rapt attention. Nelson, who played as a guest artist on Grateful Dead’s original “Aoxomoxoa”, “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” albums delivered an excellent version of “Friend of the Devil” among other songs. Crosby led a compelling “Lazy River Road” after Nelson exited the stage, before Lebo introduced singer, trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick to join. Those familiar with the jam band scene know that Hartswick is renowned for her soulful voice and she wowed throughout the rest of the night.
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| Jay Blakesberg, Sara Wasserman, and Richard Habib @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The intermission saw Sara Wasserman and MHI Advisory Board Member Richard Habib conducting a very successful auction that was highlighted by contributions from photographer Jay Blakesberg and guitars from Martin (signed by the night’s performers) and a very special Gibson collector’s edition to be signed to the winner by Willie Nelson and his son Lukas Nelson (a frequent performer at these benefits and a MHI Board Member). The younger Nelson, who was unable to attend due to touring conflicts that arose from his Maui fire relief work, sent a heartfelt video for the occasion. Sara Wasserman announced that a share of the night’s proceeds would also go towards Maui’s recovery. The auction itself appeared to generate $20,000 or more in donations.
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| Sara Wasserman & Richard Habib @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Following the auction, Wasserman introduced the night’s headliner McBride. The Philadelphia native proudly raised her father’s bass and played an engrossing solo bass before once again welcoming Hartswick to the stage. The two had a magic on-stage connection with Hartswick’s voice and trumpet-playing complementing McBride’s spectacular work on bass. The rest of the night saw the lineup mix multiple times as the Dead and jam catalogs were explored. Lebo, Crosby and Lane returned to the stage for several songs and then McBride, Lane and DJ Logic put on a three-man improvisational lesson for all in attendance. Later, Lane (who has a terrific voice and can often be heard providing extra vocal depth for Weir & Wolf Bros) even took a turn as lead singer.
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| Lebo, Hartswick, and McBride @ Sweetwater Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The Music Heals International benefit was once again a triumphant and memorable fund-raiser - fueled by Sara Wasserman’s dedication and the contributions of the Bay’s music royalty and Christian McBride. If you are looking to help their efforts, online donations are accepted at this link.
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