Jazz is Dead is an instrumental Grateful Dead cover band that interprets classic Dead songs with jazz influences. The group is notable in featuring veterans of jazz and jazz fusion ensembles. In 2023 the band is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a lineup of Alphonso Johnson (bass), Steve Kimock and Bobby Lee Rodgers (guitars) and Pete Lavezzoli (drums). While tribute bands became very popular, the members of Jazz Is Dead sidestepped the accompanying clichés of most tributes with their Grateful Dead concept. The jazz fusion veterans perform instrumental versions of Grateful Dead classics, at once showing the influence of jazz fusion on the Dead and the quartet’s playing and arranging prowess. With a near-endless Grateful Dead discography to pick from, Jazz Is Dead has the talent and material to become one of the world’s most popular and original cover bands.