I think the word "jam" is too open to interpretation, and that is where much of the difference of opinion in this discussion is coming from. I don't think there can be any reasonable expectation of privacy if you are on a stage and there is a sound system in place. Stage=audience. Similarly, if you and your friends find a public bar and the owner will tolerate your making music while you sit at one or more of his tables, you should have no expectations of a free round from said owner and neither can you expect to have the place to yourselves. Only in the case of making music in a private home at the invitation of the home owner can you expect to have little or no audience. I've enjoyed many an evening with musicians in private that I'd be ashamed to play in public with because I feel I owe an audience a minimal level of rhythmic and melodic stability.
Wandering a bit: the term "jam" is no doubt a contraction of "jam session," which was an improvisational jazz get-together, often after hours in a club, where musicians would show up and play with each other. I wonder, though, if there's some relation to the older word "jamboree," which Webster says is "a large festive gathering" or "a long mixed program of entertainment." There are fairly frequent jamborees around my area, usually a bunch of country bands taking over a club for a day, to raise money for a particular cause -- assistance for a musician's medical bills, e.g. A jamboree is explicitly designed to draw a listening audience, and the performers are usually organized groups, who take turns onstage performing for the audience.
Seems to me that the dichotomy being defined by this discussion, is between (a) musician-organized sessions, usually "all pickers welcome," where the jammers share music without being overly concerned or conscious whether others have shown up to listen, and (b) more "performance-y" jams, often publicly advertised, sometimes organized by the venue owner, where the emphasis is on providing music for an audience, admission is charged, and musicians and groups take turns performing onstage, generally with sound, advanced sign-ups, and somewhat more formality (though musicians still "sit in" and ad hoc "bands" may form).
Am I making sense? Not trying to state a preference for one type of jam over another, just to say that they're "different animals," though there's a fair amount of overlap, at least at some of the ones I've attended.
Last edited by allenhopkins; Apr-04-2011 at 9:29pm.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Well, this clears it up nicely.
Why didn't you come across with this from the outset...rather than tease us!
Seriously, though...seems like "jamboree" is really what folks have in mind much of the time--knowingly or not. Many older folks remember those "jamborees" and keep that tradition alive. And a city mouse like me--would never have thunk it so...
I have always thought of a jam in the first sense. I get together with other musicians and play music together.
I remember a public radio news reporter visited our Tuesday night jam once, many years ago, and then on air called it a "jamboree". We were not happy about that.
As usual Allen ... you've nailed it. Thanks!
Ryk
mandolin ~ guitar ~ banjo
"I'm convinced that playing well is not so much a technique as it is a decision. It's a commitment to do the work, strive for concentration, get strategic about advancing by steps, and push patiently forward toward the goal." Dan Crary
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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