From February 1971 to July 1975, Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders played many live shows together when the Grateful Dead were not on tour. Their band's lineup for the Lion's Share concert was Garcia on guitar and vocals, Saunders on keyboards and vocals, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums. A few days later, the band played two shows at the Keystone in Berkeley, California that are documented in the albums Live at Keystone, Keystone Encores, and Keystone Companions.[5]
At the July 5 Lion's Share concert, a trumpet player whose identity is no longer known sat in on the second set.[1]
On PopMatters, Jedd Beaudoin said, "A total of eight official releases from that [Garcia and Saunders] partnership exist, including a 1974 date from the Keystone. But this one, tracked at the small-ish Lion's Share just after Independence Day '73, is the one that takes them all.... The song selection is choice and the group sounds hungry for new musical heights.... Now, if we could just find out who the heck is playing trumpet we'd be in great shape."[6]
