*** Garcia/Grisman/Rice

THE PIZZA TAPES

(Acoustic Disc)

This recording of a loose acoustic jam session by hippie-icon Jerry Garcia, mandolin virtuoso David Grisman, and bluegrass whiz Tony Rice was never meant for public consumption. But after an opportunistic pizza delivery boy snagged a rough mix from Garcia's kitchen counter, it spread throughout the Deadhead scene. One-upping the bootleggers, Grisman has released the master tapes of these sessions (including outtakes and studio banter) on his own Acoustic Disc label.

That the trio hadn't planned to release these recordings says something about the musical quality here -- mainly that it isn't pristine material. But that's also obvious from the first 10 seconds of the disc, as Garcia flubs an intro and then shouts, "I done fucked it up already!" Nonetheless, the trio charm their way through plenty of traditional Americana ("Amazing Grace," "House of the Rising Sun") and a couple of jazz standards ("So What," "Summertime") with a warm and congenial flow that's illuminating if sometimes meandering. Although Rice's impeccable fretboard runs are hard to ignore, it's Garcia's voice -- at its cozy and soft-spoken best -- that smooths over all the flaws.

-- Michael Endelman