Drummer Bill Kreutzmann, best known as the steadfast heartbeat of the Grateful Dead from 1965 to 1995, has devoted his life to stretching and surpassing the percussive limits of music. Armed with his signature dynamic rhythm and uncanny subtlety, Kreutzmann’s lifetime pursuit has garnered him the reputation as an unequivocal, if enigmatic, backbeat.
Enigmatic because, during his three-decade career with the Grateful Dead, and even since then, Kreutzmann has let his sweet rhythm and undeniable musical charisma do the talking. And that’s right where he’s most comfortable.
He and fellow Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart (who joined Kreutzmann and the band in 1967, making the Grateful Dead the first rock band to have two drummers), were together known as the “Rhythm Devils” due to their ability to send audiences into paroxysms of polyrhythmic ecstasy.
Today, Kreutzmann’s compelling musical dialogue continues in his potent new trio project BK3, Bill Kreutzmann featuring bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt) and guitarist Scott Murawski (Max Creek).
With BK3, Kreutzmann finds himself lined up and locking into a powerful new wave of musical freedom. In all it’s lineup variations (Phish bassistMike Gordon and Allman Brothers’ bassist Oteil Burbridge have both done gigs with BK3), Kreutzmann is thoroughly enjoying making music with such great players, and is driven by musical chemistry that is simply “over the top.”
BK3 toured select dates in 2009. Listeners heard echoes of Kreutzmann’s four-decade trip in BK3’s original material, which features a dozen new songs co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.
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