Re: [Harp-L] Jason Ricci and New Blood - Jam Band?

["46long Blake" <46long@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris -

Fair enough on the Jam band thing. I think that Jason would be the
last person who would want to narrowly categorize their music. Your
points are good ones.

But you gotta remember, if you want to sell records and get people in
the door, you need to market your product, and to do so it helps to do
some general labeling.   If the "jam band" label had never been
affixed to the band, they'd never be in this month's Relix magazine,
let alone on their CD sampler of the month. I imagine they're pushing
in many different directions.

I also think it's fair to say that JRNB's music would be appealing to
the "jam band crowd" (speaking as a former member of that crowd,
before mortgages and kids)  as JRNB's music fits many of the criteria
appealing to that genre - longer song length, virtuoso solo
instrumentalists, jazzy improvisation departing from and returning to
more rock-based themes, blending of one song in to another (FGF -->
Turkish -->AG --> Turkish), the fact that songs seem to "evolve"
through the course of a tour, etc.

And I think you're overstating a bit when you suggest exact
performances from one night to the next of given songs - there's too
much improvisation involved.  Sure, to be tight, you have to have some
predictability and a strong structure, and, perhaps more importantly,
you have to be able to listen to each other for subtle clues about
upcoming changes in, forgive the term, "jams." When this happens, it
sounds really polished, and almost rehearsed. But from experience,
much of "tightnes" in jams comes from listening to clues / cues from
your bandmates - most of which the average audience wouldn't pick up
on.


Cuz' at the end of the day, It's not really Blues, and the Blues crowd
cannot sustain / propel JRNB alone. They need to branch out to a
wider, younger audience. Once people get in the door, the rest will
take care of itself. Like I said in a recent post, it's not like many
people go to a JRNB show and leave saying, "eh, it was O.K. I
guess......."

 - Blake

On Dec 18, 2007 1:51 PM,  <Cljdm@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hey,
>
>
> Keep hearing JR's band being referred to as a jam band. Wondering what
> defines such a category? To me the Grateful Dead were a jam band. I think JR  would
> feel he is not a "jam band", I would like to ask him sometime, but  probably
> will not do that.
>
> What I hear in Jason and the New Blood's style  is a tightly arranged  and
> highly rehearsed sound. I hear sought of planned out movements  throughout  the
> lengthiest of his tunes. Also tight jazz arrangements in  others. Along of
> course with his blues and funk tunes. The amazing aspect of the  bands music is
> it defies just one category. Jam band does not fit, in  my opinion,  or is
> justified. I would bet that New Blood and Jason play  their tunes exactly the same
> every time, or pretty darn close to it. They  certainly do not seem to "jam'
> to me. I don't know, I might be wrong.
>
> I was not crazy  over their new CD. I liked it, but not crazy in love  with
> it. But the more I listen to the CD, the more I hear why this is really a
> special, unique, tightly composed musical accomplishment. I would  even say
> groundbreaking in some ways (incorporating different cultures of  music).
> Sophisticated stuff, that has taken me some time to realize what is  really being put
> down here. I plan to keep listening.
>
>                       Happy Holidays,
>
>                                  Chris Mastakas
>
>
>
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