The Essential Jam Bands

Throughout all the talks about music I’ve ever had with anyone and all the joint listening sessions in which I’ve participated with close friends, I have been able to deduce that there is a general love-hate relationship between music lovers and jam bands. For the most part, people either obsess over the spontaneous, sometimes brilliant, other times sloppy nature of jam bands’ music, or they decide they can’t put up with the music for one or more of several reasons (to name a few): it’s too long and can’t keep their attention, it’s not scripted out enough to fulfill their tastes, the songs aren’t catchy enough, or---my least favorite---they simply can’t put up with the culture associated with the music.

In this post, I want to provide a list of some of the “essential” jam bands, ranked in an order based on a system combining my personal preferences---which I acknowledge are quirky---and what I believe might suit the average uninitiated listener. I admit, some jam bands are an acquired taste, so I hope that what I have to say helps some people find an enjoyable beginning to their exploration of jam bands or can aid those people who like a couple jam bands find some more musical groups to add to their list of recordings. Experts, in my opinion all jam bands are great in their own right, so don’t get too angry if you don’t agree with my “rankings” (although, internet wars over the supremacy of individual bands can get quite entertaining, definitely a stockpile of some of the dumbest quotes posted on the web for sure).

1. Umphrey’s McGee: These guys are one of the tightest (musically in sync) jam bands out there, especially when you consider the shear amount of improvisation over different styles they pull off successfully. They play lots of heavy yet melodic metal, with intricate harmonized guitar lines exemplifying the bands high level of musicianship. They also have recorded and performed several nice country flavored tunes with skilled guest artists; these songs still have the classic Umphrey’s sound, but they are certainly a nice change of pace. So far I’ve only named the extremes---Umphrey’s incorporates elements of dirty funk, chilled out reggae, Latin music, and even some jazz (both of the group’s percussionists are phenomenal and interlock seamlessly). And I can’t forget! The band has a sense of humor; jokes about body odor and bowel movements frequently punctuate Umphreys McGee compositions. They’re catchy songwriters, check ‘em out.

2. Phish: I think it’s safe to say Phish can be considered one of the classic jam bands. They weren’t among the first, but they have established themselves forcefully over the last 25 or so years and they keep getting better. Phish is definitely one of the more psychedelic jam bands, at least when compared to groups like Umphreys, but they also frequently demonstrate refined musicianship. Drummer John Phishman and bassist Mike Gordon provide a generally funky foundation for the band, while guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell provide a blend of solid fusion leads and trippy textures through use of various affects and tones. They have a distinct sound that may seem odd to first time listeners, but once acclimated audiences can easily enjoy hours of adventurous jamming. As with all jam bands, a good way to get started is search around for shows with generally high praise from dedicated listeners and tapers.



Once you’ve found a show you think might be worth giving a solid listen, you can purchase soundboard recordings from the artist websites, or find free audience recordings online.

A comprehensive database of live Phish downloads can be found at phishows.com
For a huge selection of free recordings from a wide variety of bands, try

the internet archive.



3. The Grateful Dead: The Dead were the original true free-spirited jam band and the music lives on in the projects of the still-living members. The reason I didn’t put the Grateful Dead at the top of the list is that, although so much of their music is fantastic and thought shaping, their sound is a bit dated, at least for listeners of the current generation who now, by conditioning, expect a certain crispness in music. The Dead were a loose band and they thrived on it; at one point their band was comprised of two guitarists, a bassist, two keyboardists, and their famous two drummer combo. You’ll have to search, but when you find shows during which the band was really on the top of their musical game, you might have trouble stopping listening because the happiness exuded by the band on good nights is incomparable to anything else in music. If spacey blues/folk/country/funk interests you, in addition to a wonderfully entertaining history documented in several fine pieces of literature such as Phil Lesh’s autobiography “Searching for the Sound: My Life with the grateful Dead”, then the dead are more than worth exploring. In addition to the Internet Archive, try Grateful Dead Radio for streamed historic shows, and the special program “The Grateful Dead Hour.” At the very leaset, please check out some of the drums/space segments from some of the top shows (these are segments comprising of either all percussion instruments or all electric instruments, far out!).

4. STS 9: Electro city, what else is there to say? Actually a lot. STS 9, or “Sound Tribe Sector 9” is a great relatively new band combining real instruments and well orchestrated lush electronics. They stretch out live, but always keep a dance pulse present, which really helps those attending the show more so than those listening to the tapes. Not to discredit the music, though, they do a great job of mixing and matching themes from different songs off their studio albums with improvised grooves, providing a texturally different experience each individual performance. They are definitely worth giving a listen, especially if you’re looking for more innovative jam bands who focus more on rhythm than soloing.

5. Dave Mathews Band: I didn’t put “Dave” higher on the list simply because so many people already know the group. They are certainly less of a jam band than others on this list, but they are such outstanding musicians---from versatile drummer Carter Beauford to progressive multireedist Jeff Coffin---that I had to put them in the top 5. DMB is a great band to help people who enjoy pop music at least appreciate the art of jamming. Dave and the boys frequently sandwich complex energetic jams in between segments of exquisite pop creations to form a musically hardy concert experience.



Besides these, see also:

Bluegrass: Hot Buttered Rum and The String Cheese Incident---the latter is a “progressive bluegrass” group who mixes other styles of funk with their electric bluegrass feel in long full-sounding jams while the former is more authentic bluegrass, with burning solos performed on acoustic instruments.

More Livetronica: Lotus---a band with less fully developed electronics than STS 9, but more of a live rock band feel… They groove hard.

Poppier Jams: O.A.R.---one of the most underrated jam bands, O.A.R. has a knack for creating catchy pop tunes that tell stories and emphasizing the emotions in these stories with thrilling saxophone-and-guitar driven jams.