Bear’s Sonic Journal: Concordance – 150 Years of Charles Ives

Bear's Sonic Journal Concordance: 150 years of Charles Ives

So you think you are a Deadhead? Or maybe you run to the snack bar during “Drums” and “Space.” Well, I’m here to let you know that there’s a lot more to that than you had originally imagined. Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead bass player, and Owsley Stanley, chemist and recordist, were greatly influenced by the improvisational music of Charles Ives. This became the Grateful Dead’s earmark. Thanks to Bear (Owsley Stanley, who chose to be known by that nickname), we have examples of the content of roughly 1,400 recordings from his vault of mostly improvisational music. This two CD set, Concordance: 150 Years of Charles Ives, represents a collaboration between Owsley Stanley and Phil Lesh.

Charles Ives was an American neo-classical composer whose work goes back to the 1800s. He was influenced by the Transcendentalist movement, as depicted in his music. His style appealed enormously to both Lesh and Bear and led the way to sections of music from the Grateful Dead catalog. His work was performed on Concordance by John Kirkpatrick, pianist, in 1974. This work was then performed by Donald Berman, pianist and President of the Charles Ives Society, in 2025.

This later recording also includes four additional works from composers born between 1958–1963 who were influenced by the Transcendentalists. The natural world and the various emotions it evokes—peace, fear, apprehension, tranquility—are displayed through startlingly beautiful arrangements. All you have to do is relax and let the music flow around you.

This work is best summed up by Phil Lesh, whose description of this music includes “the sonic wonderland of the Concord with its references, detours, changing time signatures and fresh contributions of notes.” Phil Lesh and Owsley Stanley (Bear) deserve our gratitude for recovering and producing this historic work. Frequent listenings will reveal the depths of emotion inherent in these recordings. Give them a chance to work their magic on you.