Acclaimed rock bass player Rob Wasserman dies

NEW YORK  — Rob Wasserman, the Grammy-winning highly respected bass player and composer who performed and recorded with Bob Weir, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Brian Wilson and many other musicians, has died. He was 64.

Matt Busch, the manager for Weir, Wasserman's close friend, says Wasserman died Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, posted Wednesday on his Facebook page that Wasserman, who had been diagnosed with cancer, had been hospitalized for a serious health issue. A few hours later, he reported that Wasserman had "lost his struggle."

"I'm devastated to pass along that Rob Wasserman lost his struggle today, and we have lost a beautiful friend and artist. I can still hear the sound of his bow playing those strings unamplified and pure. It's one of the most glorious sounds I've ever heard, and the music and warmth he gave us will live on in the hearts of everyone he touched."

A former student of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Wasserman started out playing violin and switched to stand-up double bass when he turned 20; from there, he drew upon a wide range of influences.​

He was best known for his work in Weir's band RatDog, formed after Weir left the Dead and for which Wasserman was a founding member. The band released only one studio album, Evening Moods in 2000, but they toured for a decade until Weir shifted his focus to the group Further, which featured former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

Wasserman also was known for his 1988 Duets album that included Reed, Aaron Neville and Rickie Lee Jones. Duets was nominated for three Grammys, and brought singer Bobby McFerrin a Grammy for male jazz vocalist.

He released his first jazz album, the acclaimed Solo, in 1983; his most recent album was 2005’s jazz-rock fusion effort Cosmic Farm.

Fans tweeted YouTube clips of Weir and Wasserman playing together, like this one from 1994.