Truth be told, depending on your point of view, jam bands may be the most progressive. Think about it, prog to me is about breaking boundaries, not setting rules. Most jam bands look acheive the same experimentalism and to go to the same emotional spaces that prog bands do, the avenue is just different. You don't have to plan an eighteen minute epic (CTTE) to get emotional reaction out of listeners or to yourselves. Contrarily, you could say that getting there through a jam allows for a sense of discovery you wouldnt otherwise have had once you reach that peak. For those who will now argue the aspects of the ability of players, i say that if thats important to you in what you like, you're a fool. Technicality is never more important than energy and emotion. Music is about emotion, period.

 

On a seperate topic, one thing thats sort of paradoxal in prog is "planned" emotional highs. Its like riding a roller coaster, all those twists and turns, its great the first time, but how original can it get and still be the hundredth time and so many after that. You start to see all those twists and turns and rolls and it loses its flavor, just ask anybody whos ever been in one of those competitions where they have to ride the same ride for a year and a half to win (what was then) a new car. With jam bands, its a new song every timne they play it; new twists and new turns. Does that mean it will always be great? Hell no it wont always be wonderful, but the experimentalism is there, and the intent is there, and no matter what, the discovery is there. And you know what, sometimes you have to trudge your way through ten minutes of crap to get a high greater than anything could have ever been otherwise, cause you got there naturally and you appreciate so much more otherwise; like traveling for forty years in a barren desert to finally find the promised land.

 

Then think about this, prog purists all the time claim how much better they are because of the link between the genre and classical music. Now, no prog fan in his right mind would deny how amazing was JS Bach, but you know what, almost verything he ever played was improvised, jammed out, the jam band of his time. So if you want to include classical leanings in your argument, youve got to say that jam bands take just as much. 

 

I dunno, i just read all the time on this site about how jam bands are a lesser form of music than prog, and it pisses me off, because its not true. Like i said, music is about emotion, and prog is about breaking boundaries, not setting rules, so why look so far down upon groups that set out to do the same thing with their music as prog sets out to do. Sorry about the rant, I just couldnt take it anymore.

 

You'd be surprised at how many can jam prog-ish. What surprises me, as a fan of jam bands, is how much many of them sound like...   bluegrass.

 

Modern days band like Gov't Mule are jam bands

 

 

I supoose you want them all in?

Phish, Umphrey'sMcGee, Medeski Matrin & Wood, The Disco Biscuits

 

Jam bands that should not be considered prog:

Widespread Panic, Gov't Mule, Allman Brothers Band, The String Cheese Incident.

 

The ones I don't consider prog are the bands more influenced by blues and country, that borrow a lot of standard blues and country riffs, and don't offer anything new or progressive.

but i dont really know what a jam band exactly is and i've never heard any if the ones you've listed.

 

Greatfull Dead is technicly a country band and Jerry Garcia was obssesd with the complexity of bluegrass and studied to be a Bluegrass artist so there is the sound. Another reason would be that most of the famous Jam bands took influnce from the american south.

 

As for Jam bands being prog: If Postrock and Jazz Fusion is prog on this site Jam bands definitly should be. Prog is not "breaking down borders" and exclusive to classical influnce, it is a sound and a formula that jam bands do not prescribe to. That is OK, and does not mean that it is less intellegent as the ego mongers try to attest.

 

It gets to the point on this site that anything technical/complex/or good is prog and the ego mongers get a hold of it, so the chance is good that Jam bands will be accepted someday.