Jazz Is Dead, the all-star, Grateful Dead-inspired fusion group, is reinventing itself by performing acoustically and with extensive vocals for the first time. Initially an all instrumental tribute to the Dead, bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report), keyboardist T Lavitz and drummer Rod Morgenstein (both Dixie Dregs) and former guitarist Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit) flirted with some lyrics and vocals on its second album, "Laughing Water: Wake of the Flood Revisited," a follow-up to the 1998 debut, "Blue Light Rain."

    But with their latest live project, "Workingman's Beauty," featuring new guitarist, Jeff Pevar, who kind of swaps places with Herring in Phil & Friends, they will pursue the vocally harmonic, country-rooted music of the Dead's 1970 studio masterpieces, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty." Having also worked extensively with David Crosby, one of the biggest influences on the harmonic country-rock direction of "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty," Pevar will take on Jerry Garcia's vocal and pedal steel duties, while rising to the prowess of David Grisman's mandolin chops.    

"The way a guy plays guitar is a combination of dexterity and taste and inventiveness and passion," says David Crosby, who is partners with Pevar in Crosby, Pevar & Raymond (the third member being Crosby's son, James). "Peev has all of those things. Pretty much any style he's playing--the blues, rock 'n' roll, edge-of-jazz kind of stuff -- he's there. And besides being talented, he's just a wonderful guy. He's one of the nicest guys in the music business. To have that kind of talent and not be a jerk? It's just insanely wonderful. He'll be my friend all my life."    

On a month-long tour that will kick off March 1, Jazz Is Dead is expected to capture a live album at a recording-friendly venue, such as New York's Bottom Line on March 18 and 19. The complete itinerary consists of dates available at the band's web site,  www.jazzisdead.com. Stop by right after you read this nice chat with fellow Jersey Shore boy T Lavitz.

What inspired 'Workingman's Beauty'?

    As usual, it was (concert/record producer) Michael Gaiman, who first initiated Jazz Is Dead. It's his brainchild. He was telling me how he didn't think Jimmy was available because he was going to be with Phil Lesh so we'd have to get somebody else and he was thinking of getting somebody else who was not completely what we had just done with the blazing, jazz-rock, chopsy stuff. Then he mulled it over and said, 'What about acoustic?' I felt that if we kept an open mind about it, it would be OK. Then we got Jeff as the guitarist and we loved him. We were well aware of how he worked with Jimmy in Phil Lesh & Friends. We're going to keep an open mind about it. I'm going to play mostly piano and Alphonso is going to have an upright, acoustic sound. Rob is going to play with a smaller kit. And Jeff's also going to play mandolin and pedal steel.

What's it going to sound like?

    I don't know. We haven't started rehearsing yet, but I'm starting to listen in my car to the albums and it reminds me of when I was growing up in New Jersey. When I was 15, I wore out 'Workingman's Dead.' My brother and I played it over and over and over. It's weird to hear it because it brings me back as it does for most Deadheads, that old, old stuff.

    I know we'll have Jeff play melodic stuff, then do different things when it breaks down. We'll take out parts that really stand out. Personally, I like the original concept of Jazz Is Dead, which is the Grateful Dead meets Miles Davis, learning these melodies and chords and improvising around them. That's what the Dead did.

    At the end of the month, we'll have our first rehearsal out here in California, then March 1 is the first gig. It all happened so quickly. But we're top-notch guys. Everyone's going to be listening and coming to rehearsals knowing the music. Then we'll do arrangements. Somebody'll say, 'You know what would be cool?' Usually that's where the good ideas come from. Michael has the idea of doing all the classic albums. I'm a disco queen so I like 'Mars Hotel' a lot. I also like 'Touch of Grey,' but everybody thinks that's the sell-out period. That's always a good argument in music. OK, isn't everything Phil Collins and Sting has done a sellout because it's produced nicely and has good melodies? But aren't they still talented guys? They are what I like. I like to play really weird stuff, but I like to listen to melodic stuff.

    I did the Zambiland (Orchestra) a couple of times and I was amazed. Here was Yonrico Scott with Jon Fishman and Jeff Sipe, a bunch of percussionists at the top of their game in the hippie circuit. It was total chaos but all three of these guys laid down the greatest hypnotic groove. There were a thousand people dancing with their eyes closed, twirling. That was weird and fun to play for those people. It was a real eye opener because I realized that moving to music with a beat is important.

In the past couple of years, you've done a reunion tour and live record with the Dixie Dregs. Any plans to do anything with them again in the near future?

    The Dregs just did Detroit, Denver, L.A. and San Diego. I'm ready. My Hammond B3 is at Steve Morse's house to nudge him. He asked me why and I said, 'So it'll be there when we start recording." He just laughed. He's doing Deep Purple and the Steve Morse Band and he's deep into that until June.

Besides changing it up once in a while with, like, 'Workingman's Beauty,' what keeps you interested in doing Jazz Is Dead?

vv     There's a bunch of elements. I get to play with Rod and Alphonso and they're great players, so I want to keep doing it again. Michael Gaiman, the creator of the band, loves Dead music and loves when instrumentalists take them in and put a spin on it, like Wes Montgomery did with The Beatles. It's like Tina Turner. She doesn't write her songs but everyone thinks she's a great performer. Michael wants to hear their music brought to life with a different slant. And I get to make a living doing something where I'm told to improvise rather than working with more of a structure. I love structure, but as a sideman for a pop band you're playing the same 10 or 15 songs for a 10-month tour. Whereas I did 10 months straight with Widespread Panic and it was never the same. What do you think

Jeff will add to Jazz Is Dead?

    I'm just speculating, but you have to be a certain kind of person to play in a band like this. You have to have certain sensibilities and finesse and prowess: the proficiency of a jazz or classical musician on a technical level, but the sensibility of a Deadhead or someone who's been in a jam band. He's played with Crosby, Stills and Nash and Phil Lesh and all those Northeastern jam bands, like the guys in Max Creek, who are into kind of stretching it out the way those bands do. Someone who's just a studio or even a jazz guy may not get it.

You were a Deadhead growing up in Lakewood, N.J.?

    I wouldn't say I was the description of a Deadhead. I was a big fan of Weather Report. I had two or three of their albums and went to see them twice. Everybody in the '70s knew me as a fan of Weather Report, but you say that about a Dead fanatic, that you saw them twice and they'd be like, 'What's the matter with you?' My ace in the hole was that I played with the Dead in August of '90. So I grew up listening to the Dead and the Allman Brothers, but then I got turned onto Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Chick Corea and Water Report later. Then I studied their roots and got into acoustic jazz so it was perfect for me.

The Dead often are slighted be critics as being noodlers. But yet they seemed to have the chops to turn folks onto jazz and other improvisational music, whether it be Charlie Parker and Miles Davis or Jazz Is Dead.

    The chops I respected most of the Dead -- other than Jerry's -- was their ability to go some place as a band in a song. A lot of guys' feet are planted, like AC/DC. They're great, but they couldn't do that. They have to play a certain way. The could go some place together, weaving like jazzers do. It could have a Latin feel or a swing feel, it didn't matter, they'd just get together and go. That's what I loved about them. That and now that I'm listening to them, it brings back memories to being a teen-ager.

Comment on your near lifelong friendship with C Lanzbom of Soulfarm, formerly Inasense.

v     We're true, old friends. He gave me the name T. When I was 14 and he was 12, people started calling him C. That was a logical nickname for him because of his name. So they came up with T for me.   

  We learned to play together. I was playing classical piano, but I didn't know how to play anything but classical. Then we learned some things by Cream and Neil Young's "Down By the River." We even started to record. My father had a reel-to-reel tape recorder and we'd record on the left side and then play it and record on the right side. We actually made stereo recordings.   

  We've stayed friends over the years. I spoke to him yesterday or the day before in fact. I played on that Soulfarm live album and probably will play on his next solo project. We have good times that are from long ago.

What's up with Justice League, the supergroup you had with Jimmy Herring and Richie and Kenny from Little Feat? 

v     We may do a recording this spring.

It's funny that Paul and Fred are opening for you on a couple of the Jazz Is Dead shows, but they aren't in Justice League. You must really love Little Feat.

    I was the biggest Little Feat fan in college, then after Lowell George died, the Dregs hooked up with them. I remember the first time we played with them, Paul Berrere comes walking into the dressing room with this three-piece light blue suit. And he was saying how he was one of the biggest Dregs fans. It had come full circle.

    We became really good friends, but by 1983, both bands had disbanded. Andy West, Rod and I went out with Paul Barrere & Friends and I met this girl in Boston. Eighteen years later, we just got engaged. I met Cheryl in 1983 and we dated for a little while but then lead our own lives. I saw her again at a Jazz Is Dead show in '98. Then when I went to C's live recording at Wetlands last March, she came down from Boston to meet me in New York. I asked her to move out (to California). Eighteen years later, that's come full circle too. It's so bizarre, but I'm thrilled. My daughter gets along with her just great. It's just a dream come true.