CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Soul Serenade

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: The Derek Trucks Band

Release Date August 05, 2003
Derek Trucks has proven that there is still room for improvement on the creative platform. He and is super talented band are the best I've heard in a long time. These boys use the full musical palette of colour...it aint just BLUE!!

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Joyful Noise

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: The Derek Trucks Band

Release Date September 03, 2002
I'm picky.
And this cd surpasses what I had expected.
I love when artists can show versatility from song to song.
This cd does this, and then some,
without losing the bluesy vibe.
LOVE it.
if you ever get a chance to see these fellas live,
DO IT.
I had so much fun I had to buy a cd as a memoir.
This was a great choice:)

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

End of the World Party (Just in Case)

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Martin & Wood Medeski

Release Date September 07, 2004
As a long time fan of MMW, I have been disappointed with some of their post-Combustication work, but this CD has certainly revived my love of their funky hooks and fusion jazz. I play it alongside Herbie Hancock, Miles and John McLaughlin, and "End" never fails to draw me in. I especially like "Bloody Oil" and "New Planet" coming through back to back, and "Curtis" is a wonderfully uplifting tune that creeps up and then soars. The other noteworthy song is "Queen Bee" which feels like a sixties throwback and I can imagine the Doors jamming it out while Jim Morrison takes an extended break in the wings. It is more than gimmicks and hooks though as they develop their musical motifs and take chances, including some feedback that drives my more conservative wife crazy.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

A Go Go

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: John Scofield

Release Date April 07, 1998
This is a good album, though a few of the tracks are fairly uninspired. Not sure why it's so highly praised. I think MMW freaks are more into it than Sco freaks. I'm a Sco freak, and to my ears, he's recorded much better albums. (Hand Jive, Groove Elation, Uberjam, Up All Night, Bump). MMW's music is a bit too diffuse for me; I don't have the patience to wait around for them to get inspired. Scofield's music is much more focused and disciplined, even when he's "jamming." Neither his writing nor his playing on this album are up to his usual standards.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Coolin' Off

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Galactic

Release Date July 07, 1998
If you are looking for some great, chill, laid back funk, then this album is it. Galactic really lays down the funk throughout. Pop this CD in the player, roll down your windows, lean back, and enjoy the ride.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Soulive

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Soulive

Release Date April 22, 2003
I think thi is the best album of this band, they are great and the music is the best.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Blue Light Rain

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Jazz Is Dead

Release Date June 09, 1998
Amazon consumers almost always dismiss and vote down negative reviews, but there needs to be some balanced feedback on "Blue Light Rain." Jazz Is Dead plays Grateful Dead style background music. This music is bland, boring and uninspiring; this group does little justice to the Grateful Dead. I'm not coming from a fanatical "I'm a Grateful zealot and nobody can do the Grateful Dead like the Dead" point of view. Far from it, I believe that a good tribute pays homage to the parent while simultaneously making a fresh interpretation. There is no innovation here, despite the talented and otherwise accomplished musicians. Indeed, Jazz is Dead is the ultimate example of how a group can be less than the sum total of its parts. On a Friday night, any party band in any college town can play music of this caliber. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Ruckus

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Galactic

Release Date October 07, 2003
If, like me, you love to see Galactic live, do not buy this CD. I always felt like the Houseman was a necessary distraction for the band to keep the funk on the planet.

This album is all Houseman and no funk! That is a crime!

I don't mean that its not up to galactic funk standards, that would be one thing. I mean it is over-produced, the drums are so electronica they sound like drum machines. Are you kidding me, Stanton is funk soul of the band (the world?) and that it what they are reduced to?

Are you getting the point. Even the lyrics suck. Nothing more than repeated choruses.

Enough

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Crazyhorse Mongoose

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Galactic

Release Date September 01, 1998
This was the first album I bought of Galactic. I read an article about them in Bass Player Magazine, and they listed the Meters as one of their influences. I was not disappointed.

HAMPS HUMP is a great cover, different from the orginal but with a modern sound. Also QUIET PLEASE is 10 minutes of great jamming. I have heard many live versions of this song (as well as seen it performed a few times) and this CD version is the best.

All in all a quality buy if you like Booker T/Meters type music.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Doin' Something

CD-Charts > Music > Jazz Jam Bands
by: Soulive

Release Date March 13, 2001
This is a great follow up to Soulive's first album. Now they're signed to probaly the greatest record company in the country; Blue Note, which also hosts Medeski Martin Wood, Terence Blanchard, Joe Lavano, Charlie Hunter, Cassandra Wilson, and many more.

I am a huge fan of organ trios. Sometimes I wish they just recorded with the three of them, but the horns do sound nice. This is tight grooves. Soulive are the kings of modern soul funk jazz.

Soulive hasn't released a studio album in a while. And it's really bugging me. I want to hear how these guys are progressing. With their last studio release, Next, Soulive proved to have some soul left in them, but we haven't gotten anything in a while.

I happened to catch a Soulive preformance on BET jazz the other night, and these guys were smoking. ... Read More: