BCNARTS: Best Bets: Sam Grisman Project Performs Music By David Grisman And Jerry Garcia

He might have grown up in a conservative New Jersey family, but David Grisman wound up creating a big part of the catchy, syncopated sound that defined the Bay Area's free-wheeling folk scene in the late 20th century.

After moving to the Bay Area, Grisman, a stunningly talented mandolinist, began establishing his musical identity, one that brought him in contact with Jerry Garcia. The two formed a lifelong friendship and musical partnership. Grisman was a member of the Garcia-led bluegrass band Old and In the Way and helped create a musical blueprint that melded folk, bluegrass, classic string-band music and gypsy jazz. Garcia dubbed it "Dawg" music in Grisman's honor, reportedly because Grisman was being followed by a pooch one day when the two were strolling on Stinson Beach.

We don't know what happened to the pooch, but Grisman's music lives on, partly in the form of Grisman's son, Sam, also a talented string musician. Noting that his love for his father's music comes from its sound and the joy and camaraderie it represents, the young musician has created the Sam Grisman Project, which specializes in performing Grisman/Garcia tunes, particularly from the early 1990s, as well as Sam Grisman's own songs.

The band performs at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage club at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $49-$54. Go to thefreight.org.

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