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Just for fun (I need a laugh just now!) - please share your best / worst stories from Jazz Jams you have attended (or heard about).
I was at a jazz jam where someone asked the house band to play So What. This person had made up words over the melody which she sang. The lyrics were pretty cringe, and she didn't really pull it off ("and let me tell you 'bout SO WHAT!"). She did then sing Miles Davis' solo note for note straight after though, so that was pretty cool. But yeah, I think it was her first time at that particular jam.
At the same jam a Guitar and Piano duo played the best version of Darn that Dream I've ever heard - heavily influenced by Hall/Evans, but you honestly could have heard a pin drop while they were playing and the place erupted when they finished! It inspired me to seek out more opportunities to play in a Duo setting!
Would love to hear some funny / cringy / cautionary tales(!) from your jazz jam experiences
Last edited by jamiehenderson1993; 04-21-2026 at 10:41 AM.
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04-21-2026 10:13 AM
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One of my worst jam session experiences was when I was studying jazz in college and went to local spot up in Harlem.
Horn player called "Night in Tunisia" and I my guitar kept feeding back--loud and howling!
A lot of "old heads" from the neighborhood in the audience. Got some disapproving looks, to say the least. Was extremely embarrassed, to say the least.
Sometimes, you gotta be the JAMF before you can be a BAMF.
Live and learn
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Interesting question, thanks for posting! I hope to read more jam session experiences. Jam sessions are among my main musical activities and I like reading about them, too.
In participating in open jazz jam sessions regularly for the past ten years, I've had a lot of good experiences and only a couple of bad ones. Among the bad ones was a blues jam and a jazz jam. For the blues jam, there was band setting up on stage and a sign up sheet on a table in front of the stage. I'd never been to this venue before and ventured up on the stage to ask how things work. The drummer was friendly and helpful, but the singer/guitarist less so; I almost felt snubbed. Granted, I was unfamiliar with the venue and the locale, so perhaps I stepped on some toes by going up on stage uninvited. So I signed up and sat down to watch. The band launched into several loud and very lively blues tunes which were done very well. But it went on for almost an hour and no one else had yet signed up. The stage was in the back of the venue, and several steps up from the dance floor. In the front of the room there was a bar. The more I listened the more I realized that if I stepped up on stage, I'd probably not fit in very well, since they were doing what appeared to be known songs that I didn't know. It felt something more like a concert than a jam session, so I decided not to unpack my guitar and left before playing. I had participated in other blues jams elsewhere, but this one felt somewhat unfriendly, and the elevated stage made it seem distant. So lesson learned: Going to a new venue for a jam, hang out a few times before deciding to signing up to participate.
The jazz jam, in a different venue but in the same general locale, was less formal. There was no sign up sheet and those on stage seemed to already know one another. It was casual and they seemed to be just vamping on a groove and having fun. There was no guitarist, only a drummer, bassist and several horn players and they seemed to be doing funk more so than usual jazz jam session tunes. I didn't have an amp, and was not sure how the bassist would feel about me asking them to plug into their amp, so I just sat and watched a bit and left before playing. Lesson learned: Check if the venue has a backline.
Of the many, many more positive experiences at jam sessions, two stand out. One was also at a new venue that I'd never been to. I went with my brother, who is a drummer. We went on a whim to check it out, so I didn't have my guitar. There was a sign up sheet with several names already on it. The session was hosted by a keyboardist and a bassist. Before anything began, the venue (a bar) was already getting crowded. The bassist and the keyboardist, joined by a drummer, played two tunes to get the jam rolling. Both were relatively common jazz standards. Then they looked at the signup sheet and had a bit of banter about some familiar people in the house, etc., and started calling them up to join them for couple tunes. There was a sax player who did a standard and a bebop head, as well as several vocalists. Besides those participating, there were a lot of people for the music, including many who were dancing. It was a very social atmosphere, a lot of those in attendance seemed to know one another, and everybody was having fun. So after the first set, one of the hosts came up to us and introduced themselves, inviting us to join in the second set. There was an amp on stage, and when I said I didn't have my guitar, the host said I could use one that was up there brought by one of the singers. We thanked them, and said we'll join next time we're in town. We felt very welcome and it looked like a great local music scene with a lot of regulars and also very open to newcomers like us.
The next experience was a little of both. It was at another venue in a different locale, and some time afterwards. This time, I was with the Mrs. and my brother with his lady, and our aunt was visiting from out of town. We didn't intend to play, but wanted to check it out for future reference. The venue was what appeared to be a sports bar with several large screen TVs around. It was early, there were only a few people there. But the sign up sheet had several names on it, mostly guitarists. The host band, a guitarist, a singer / keyboardist, and a drummer, played a short set, more in the vein of crossover jazz pop. I think there was a Steely Dan and a Stevie Wonder tune and other well-known jazzy pop type things. They played a full set and it was quite loud, especially for our aunt. During a break, my brother and I talked briefly with the leader. He was very friendly and we felt welcomed. When he heard we were just visiting, had family with us, and would not be able to participate, he heartily invited us to join next time we were in town. As we talked with the host, several guitarists arrived and sat down near the stage. We assumed that they were those who had already signed up on the sheet. We thanked the host and left.
I've had other jam session experiences in which I actually played, but this is already getting somewhat verbose so I'll stop here and look forward to reading your stories.
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I was at a session once in South Brooklyn and the sax player in the house band was vibing everyone super hard.
I got up and he called The Touch of Your Lips and I was like … “don’t know that one.” Then he called I Loves You Porgy, and I was like … “sorry man.” And then he just started playing. I just unplugged and left.
There are for sure people who know those tunes, but he was definitely reaching for ones he didn’t think the young guys would know. So that was very very lame.
Another session I would go to in Park Slope was run by John McNeil and was just fun. Super welcoming but without compromising the pretty high level music going on. John would lead some tunes and just throw alternate changes at people as a puzzle. It was very fun. No specific memory of that one, but it stands out to me as an archetype of what a jam session can be if you want it.
More recently, my six year old son has started coming to a jam session with me and is loving it. So that rules. A buddy of mine runs that one and also really puts in work to make it a place for students and beginners that also is cool for more advanced players.
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At Open Jams, I've had more frustrating experiences than good ones.
The problem has usually been not having a chance to adjust my tone. In that situation, I only find out what I'm going to sound like when my solo starts and, in most cases, there's no opportunity to adjust anything. It has often been a random amp which I may or may not be able to adjust (sometimes because it's too far away) and not having time or space to set up my pedalboard. So, I end up soloing with somebody else's tone. So my preference is invitation-only jams where I can bring my stuff and set it up.
For a bad jam story, at a camp one of the teachers decided that the jam (which included very good players) needed his leadership. The first thing he did was shout, "no books". He then proceeded to call a series of tunes that most of the players had never heard. He was playing kb and whispered the changes to the bassist (a very high level player). The forms were not typical AABA for 32 bars. All kinds of variations. So, if you wanted to play you had to be able to figure out the changes and the roadmap. The changes weren't too difficult for most of the tunes, but the roadmaps were tricky.
I ended up thinking, if you're the guy who insists on no-books, then somebody else should call the tunes.
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I actually might qualify as a no books partisan. I don’t really care either way when I show up, but I definitely prefer it. I would MUCH rather hear people play blueses all night and be engaged and sounding good, than hear interesting tunes played uncomfortably.
I also think it encourages the very healthy habit of saying now again that “ah man I don’t know that one.”
Again — most sessions have a community iReal iPad and I think that’s totally cool, but I also like the no books vibe provided someone actually gives a sh** to facilitate the tune selection.
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Also with respect to rps post in particular … a jazz camp is almost by definition an educational setting. So if you’re going to have no books, then you also need to do the educating.
If you want people figuring out the tunes by ear, you could choose tunes with identifiable chunks and walk them through how to do that.
If you want people being comfortable with the rep, you could have a twenty tune “book” or something that people get before hand so that they get a manageable version of the experience.
So I’m not condoning what sounds like pretty egregious behavior from an educator.
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Agreed on preferring people to just call tunes they know and not be reading, but I don't vibe anyone that does it.
My biggest pet peeve as someone who has run a lot of sessions is when horn players get up in the middle of the tune when the head has already been played because they decided they like the tune and want to join in. If you weren't invited up and on stage for the count in, remain in your seat with your arms and legs in for the duration of the ride.
Oh and also horn players "quietly" warming up across the room while the band is attempting to make music.
Generally, people's lack of self awareness is what ruins a jam.
But on the other hand the majority of people and occasions are positive and well intentioned. Even when the music is bad because a beginner really can't hang I'm not at all bent out of shape unless they lack the awareness to sit down after 1-2 tunes. Nothing worse than a drummer or bass player who can't keep a tempo or form together that expects to play 5 tunes.
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I had a couple of occasions to play with Richie Cole in a jam session. He was from my area, and always supportive of the local guys. He would raise the level of everybody, the way he could lead a band.
On the bad side, there's been times where I hung around and only got to play one tune, because the leader wanted to showcase his buddies, or the room was really crowded and noisy.
The worst ones was just of my own making, dealing with performance anxiety (more when I play trumpet, not guitar). The uncertainty of the environment, who shows up, what tunes, etc. I've found stressful at times.
These days I've been going to one where the bar is low, everybody is using a tablet, but I've found it to be kind of lame and tedious, and I'm wondering what to do next musically.
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You should view this as a good thing, and part of the challenge. The only time I can see it being a problem is when you are forced to plug into some piece of crap amp like a Quitter 101 or Katana but the whole point is to do your best to meet the challenges and overcome them.
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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I'd be thrilled with a Quilter or Katana at a jam. But I do agree with your point that jams teach you to play outside of your safe zone - unfamiliar people, room, gear, etc. Makes you a resilient player
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This is jam-adjacent but with some overlap in the welcoming and good-manners departments.
I attended the same summer workshop for 23 years--Augusta's Swing Week--that featured both classes and a lot of nightly jamming, much of the jams with staff but always welcoming of students. And that's where I learned to play along (or sit out), to read the circle, to not get in the way of a soloist or singer. And thanks to Augusta's teaching culture, the staff players were good about calling out changes if needed. (There was also a set of "official" jam tunes and no shame attached to using those charts.) But then, the point of the whole enterprise was to play, to get better, to fit into an ensemble.
Jams outside of the workshop environment are, of course, different critters, and their goals and conventions are set by whoever runs them, but I've always been a bit bothered by a cutting-session atmosphere. And "no books" strikes me as the first cousin to the cutting session. None of my playing-out mentors used charts on stage, but they didn't forbid me having memory aids available.
These days, my jamming is of the folk/country kind, with widely varying levels of competence among the participants, so the problems are mostly with players who can't quite keep time, who are fuzzy about the form, or who noodle behind a soloist. But this is musical-social, not even pro-am performance, so the stakes are pretty low.
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The only jams I've ever been to that had a real cutting session vibe were blues jams in Nashville TN but it still had an air of respect and friendship for everyone involved, but probably because everyone was really good or you didn't get called up, lol. People were definitely playing for keeps, that was the thrill of it and that is something kind of ingrained in guitar town USA. I checked in on that jam a while back as someone had been recording it or streaming it or something and it seemed like the quality of actual blues players had fell off a cliff. It was all younger dudes playing blues that don't actually PLAY blues and it showed. Twenty years ago it was seasoned veterans who had backed name artists. C'est la vie. Originally Posted by RLetson
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When I was a young man, I would get up and play tunes I didn't know or even had heard before, all without any notation or chord sheets.
I told myself that I even though I played very, very badly, I was improving my ears.
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My worst was probably trying to bring my Gibson L-7 to play at the smalls afternoon session once. Immediate and quite uncontrollable feedback. I heard the house band guitarist, someone fairly well known in the NY scene, say to someone afterwards "did you hear that guys guitar feeding back? Jesus Christ!" Needless to say that was the last time the L-7 has been to smalls lol.
One of my favorites was going to a jam and Paul Bollenback was hanging out because he is friends with the host. Naturally I felt quite nervous to play in front of him, but things actually went pretty well and I had a nice convo afterwards with him. After it ended I was walking home and ran into him again, turns out we live like two blocks from each other, so we walked home together. Super nice guy and super cool experience.
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I play double bass at a jazz jam in a local pub. On one occasion the only musicians who turned up were me, the drummer, and one gypsy jazz guitarist who was willing to play heads but not keen on doing much in the way of soloing despite being capable. That was a long evening.
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