Photo via Owsley Stanley Foundation’s Official Facebook/ A. Meyerowitz (Retro Photo Archive)

The Owsley Stanley Foundation has shared details on its latest project and forthcoming release. The 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, dedicated to the preservation of Bear’s Sonic Journals, has concentrated its efforts on cultivating a 112-page booklet of original essays, photographs, and recordings that emphasize the soundman and self-taught chemist’s relationship with Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh. 

The 12th collection to come from the Owsley Stanley Foundation will launch on the final night of Grahame Lesh & Friends-hosted Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on the late bassist’s birthday, and again, the following week during the concert series’ West Coast extension at San Francisco’s Fillmore on March 22. 

In a social media post outlining the concept behind the Owsley Stanley Foundation’s latest endeavor, the folks fronting the project introduced it as “our tribute to Phil Lesh. When we first formed OSF, Phil told us that if we could find these particular recordings, he would produce them for release. He enthusiastically told us how, on one afternoon in 1974, he had swung by to grab Bear on a moment’s notice, helped him lug the gear to the venue, and then convinced the artist to allow them to record the performance.”

Even though it was one of the first releases we went digging for, it turned out to be one of the hardest ones to locate. Sadly, Phil passed away just around the time when we found the missing recording. Like so many, we were devastated to lose Phil, so we stopped everything and turned our full attention to doing this release in a way that would have pleased him.”

As a result of their efforts, the Owsley Stanley Foundation promises the forthcoming arrival of “a lavish 112-page booklet of original essays and photographs to share the story of this music, its importance to Phil, and why it took us 10 years to find the recordings. This entire project has been an act of love and devotion to Phil.”

Emphasizing the intended takeaway, they delineated that the deliverable will mark the first time pairing one of Bear’s Sonic Journals with a new live recording, informed by Bear’s techniques. According to the aforementioned post, “The new recordings include a world premiere release of four original compositions.”

Before concluding their post, the foundation shared, “We’ll post some teasers of the music in the coming days…” For the latest OSF 12 visit owsleystanleyfoundation.org. 

Scroll down to read the full post, which describes the project and its contents.