While this may not be the ideal forum for a rigorous scholarly discourse on the etymology of the term “jam band,” a definition is certainly in order. Indeed, some observers have suggested that the groups encompassed within this broad(ening) umbrella are unified less by their sounds than by their supporters. And while a grassroots commonality exists among fans of the circuit, there are musical similarities among the bands as well: they embrace improvisation as a performance ethic and, more importantly, they are unified by a penchant for bending and blending established genres. The performers listed below cannot be neatly sequester into bluegrass, jazz, blues, funk or electronica camps — they are all of these at once.
Derek Trucks Band
Artist: The Derek Trucks Band
Release Date: 2004
This disc offers a tantalizing, protean take on the group’s “world soul.” While half the current band (vocalist Mike Mattison and keyboard player/flautist Kofi Burbridge) was not yet in the fold for this 1997 release, the enduring rhythm section of Yonrico Scott and Todd Smallie lays it down with verve. Trucks redefines the context and...