Former Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten currently is battling lung cancer, and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has launched a new fundraising campaign to help the veteran musicians with his medical expenses.
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According to a press release, the 81-year-old Constanten “faces significant health challenges that require ongoing care, treatment, and support.”
Donations to the Tom “TC” Constanten Fund can be made at a special webpage launched at SweetRelief.org. The funds donated will go directly toward covering Constanten’s medical bills and other important living expenses.
Reflecting on the charitable campaign, Constanten said in a statement, “Over the years I have experienced such generosity that it boggles the mind. I count my wealth in friends, and it’s a blessing I’d never want to trade away. Still, situations change and things come up.”
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund executive director Aric Steinberg added, “Sweet Relief is honored to help Tom during this difficult time in his life. Our Directed Artist Funds can provide a meaningful solution when the community rallies around the recipient, and we know that Tom’s community cares about him deeply. His influence on the musical landscape with the Grateful Dead is long-lasting, and he has touched many people around the world.”
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund helps career musicians and music industry professional in need of various services and financial aid.
Meanwhile, a friend of Constanten’s named Greg Martens recently launched a separate GoFundMe campaign to help Tom with his expenses. You can check that out at GoFundMe.com.
More About Tom Constanten
Constanten was a classically trained pianist who also studied jazz and modernist composers. He befriended and became roommates with future Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh in 1961, when both were attending University of California, Berkeley.
Constanten went on to study music in Europe, and eventually returned to the Bay Area, where he played in an improvisational group with minimalist composer Steve Reich. While serving in the Air Force, Tom was invited to take part in the sessions for The Grateful Dead’s second album, Anthem of the Sun.
He contributed piano to some songs, and also brought his avant-garde influences to the album, adding treated piano and tape loops.
After being honorably discharged from the military, Constanten was made a full-fledged member of The Grateful Dead in 1968. He was featured on the band’s third studio record, Aoxomoxoa (1969), and the group’s 1969 live album, Live/Dead.
Constanten exited the Grateful Dead in 1970 amid clashes with some of the other members.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 1994.
After leaving the Grateful Dead, Tom was involved in a variety of musical projects and bands. He also toured as a solo artist.
In addition, Constanten taught music at a number of schools, and in 1986, he was a artist in residence at Harvard University.
During the 2010s, he played with the instrumental Grateful Dead cover band Jazz Is Dead. In recent years, Constanten also was a member of another touring Dead cover project called Live Dead ’69.
(Photo by George Napolitano/FilmMagic)
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