Forty Years in the Making: The Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Don Was brings his new band to Traverse City

By Ross Boissoneau | Oct. 4, 2025

Don Was has an appreciation for the past, but he doesn’t live there. That’s one way to describe the music of the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, the band he is bringing to The Alluvion Oct. 8 to kick off its first-ever tour.

Was describes this band as a “nine-piece soul jazz group,” and its sound recalls some of the music that influenced Was when he was growing up in Detroit. That includes CTI and Blue Note recordings by the likes of Stanley Turrentine and Horace Silver, along with the music of his hometown of Detroit, whether it’s jazz stalwarts like Marcus Belgrave and Curtis Fuller or rock legends such as the MC5 or Iggy Pop.

The president of the legendary jazz label Blue Note—and half of the ’80s funk/rock duo Was (Not Was) with David Weiss—will be holding down the bass chair in the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, which represents an approach Was has been trying to create for decades. “I’ve been hearing the sound in my head for about 40 years,” he says.

A Storied Career

Those 40 years were home to plenty of other sounds along the way. After leaving the group he and Weiss formed, Was became one of music’s most in-demand producers. He helmed the desk for the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, and others, with combined sales approaching 100 million records.

His accolades include a BAFTA Award for Best Original Score (Backbeat), an Emmy for Music Direction (The Beatles: The Night That Changed America), and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association.

The veteran bassist also kept up his performing chops, playing on many of the albums he produced, such as Dylan’s 1990 album Under the Red Sky, the 2001 album Lions by the Black Crowes, and recordings by the Chieftains, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Sobule, the Stones, and more. He also has toured Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, a group he co-founded with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir.

Was says remaining open to different styles and means of expression has enabled him to work with such a diversity of artists. “I took bass lessons from Ron Carter. I started crying in that first lesson. I couldn’t believe fortune had smiled at me and I was in the same room as him. … Then Meshell Ndegeocello. She showed me something else. George Porter—it’s been a constant adventure.”

He brought that openness with him when he was asked to lead the iconic jazz label, Blue Note. He had attended a show by vocalist Gregory Porter, and the next morning at breakfast told Capitol Records President Dan McCarroll, “You should sign him.” McCarroll responded, “No, you should.”

It turned out that McCarroll was looking for someone to head the jazz label, which Capitol distributed. “Bruce Lundvall had Parkinson’s and they were looking for somebody who understood the legacy [of Blue Note] but could move it forward. I bought my first Blue Note record [at] 14. I loved the ethos of Blue Note. It [becoming the label president] has been in pursuit of never having a job,” Was says with a laugh.

His signings include Robert Glasper, Immanuel Wilkins, and Ndegeocello alongside releasing recordings by jazz stalwarts Charles Lloyd, Wayne Shorter, and others. He has pushed the boundaries of jazz by incorporating elements of hip hop and electronica while allowing the artists to remain true to their vision, much the same way his vision resulted in the Pan-Detroit Jazz Ensemble.

A Seamless Sound

The creation of the Pan-Detroit Ensemble came about somewhat unexpectedly. “Terence Blanchard was putting together a series for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra,” Was explains. “He asked me if I wanted to do one of the nights.” When Was assented, he realized he needed something he lacked: a band.

So he turned to the city where he’d grown up, which had contributed so many important jazz musicians, such as Hank, Thad, and Elvin Jones, Donald Byrd, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and more.

Was told Cleveland’s Scene Magazine how he’d always thought it would be cool to have Miles Davis and Merle Haggard in a band together. “I could hear what that would sound like. If I have a complaint about the music we made with Was (Not Was), it’s that you can see the seams where we sewed the rock and R&B and jazz together.”

So for the show for the DSO, Was turned put together a band that would effortlessly meld soul and jazz with the grit of their shared Detroit background.

Along with Was, the group includes some of the Motor City’s most accomplished jazz performers, including Jeff Canaday (drums) Vincent Chandler (trombone), Steffanie Christi’an (vocals) John Douglas (trumpet), Wayne Gerard (guitar), Mahindi Masai (percussion), Dave McMurry (saxophone), and Luis Resto (keyboards).

The show will feature songs from the group’s forthcoming debut album, Groove in the Face of Adversity, alongside a full performance of The Grateful Dead’s Blues For Allah, in celebration of that album’s 50th anniversary.

Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Jazz Ensemble will perform two shows Oct. 8 at 7pm and 9:45pm. For tickets, go to thealluvion.org.