1997 - Merl Saunders: Fiesta Amazonica CD

In 1990, Saunders recruited Garcia to perform on his beautiful instrumental disc Blues from the Rainforest. As this masterpiece soared to the top of the new age charts, Saunders formed the Rainforest Band for a national tour. Since then, Saunders has released several live albums (Save the Planet so We'll Have Someplace to Boogie and Still Having Fun), the rock-oriented studio disc It's in the Air, and a collection of piano solos titled Meridien Dreams. But what he's really wanted to do is record a follow-up to Blues from the Rainforest. Sadly, the deaths of Garcia and percussionist Eddie Moore, both of whom played a central role on that project, forced Saunders to take a step back and rethink his strategy. As a result, Fiesta Amazonica, which was released this past February, is vastly different from most follow-up albums, and the setbacks Saunders has faced have helped him create another masterpiece and the best of his four new discs. Instead of retreading the same ground as Blues from