jam session

techniquesJAM SESH-unfrom English

An informal gathering where musicians improvise together without rehearsal or predetermined arrangements.

In Depth

Jam sessions are the laboratory of jazz and the social glue of the music community. Musicians gather, call a tune, agree on a key and tempo, and play. Jam sessions served as the training ground for every major jazz innovation: bebop was developed in after-hours jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem. The jam session ethic of spontaneous creative interaction has influenced rock, funk, and electronic music. The skills required, including listening, adaptability, and musical vocabulary, define musicianship itself.
Did you know?

Minton's Playhouse in Harlem was where Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk jammed together in the early 1940s, essentially inventing bebop in real time.

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