“It’s so hard when you come in to bands like Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers where the fans actually care who the bass player is”: How Oteil Burbridge set about replacing Phil Lesh to become Dead & Company’s new singing bass hero

Musicians Oteil Burbridge (L) and John Mayer of Dead & Company perform on stage at Sleep Train Amphitheatre on July 27, 2016 in Chula Vista, California.

Bassist Oteil Burbridge is as in-demand to his fanbase as he is professionally. There's the muso crowd that laid early claim to him for his jazz and fusion-informed fingerboard feats and straight-to-the-heart, scat-'n'-play bass solos with Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, followed by uber-respectable credits with the Jaco Pastorius Big Band, and Herbie Hancock.

There are the jam-band devotees who view him as a native son for his deep-grooving tenure with the Allman Brothers Band, and satellite projects with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Vida Blue, Frogswings, BK3, Gov't Mule, members of Phish, and his own Peacemakers.