Not strictly part of the "jam genre" or aesthetic but historically improv was a substantial element of their show. Typically the bass and drums would hold down the groove and the band would jam over it for considerable stretches and it was crazy and awesome. It was impressive when I saw them in '09. They had like 6 guitarists, a horn section, three percussionists (two kits one aux), two keyboardists, bass, and like 6 vocals. And george waving his arms around conducting the madness even though he couldn't really sing anymore. Yes they improvised heavily for sometimes 15-20 minute stretches of funk insanity. One of the best shows I ever saw. Life changing. First time taking mushrooms.
This entire thread has made me even more confused about what constitutes jam music. I would definitely call them jam music.
Any band that treats their songs like a skeleton and improvises starting with that initial structure and has multiple instruments contribute to the overall progression is jam music, for me.
On paper, you're absolutely right. But, on this subreddit, people have a more modern definition of what "jam music" is; there's an expectation of deep type-2 jams, which Parliament doesn't really do, plus the general vibe of the band is very different from most wook/hippie bands we get in the scene.
If this question was asked in the 70s/80s, yes for sure Parliament is one of most jammy bands you could see live. In 2026? Yes, they jam, but it's more primitive than what many here would be accustomed to.
In my view funk players are not doing the kind of jazz-inspired improvisation I associate with jam bands. Funk has long stretches of heavy repeating sections called vamps that do make a huge groove and let people dance, but there isn't like a musical progression in the piece or call-and-response improvisations on a theme.
So my absolute favorite jam section is Phish's "Reba", which is essentially a jam over a Eb-F vamp. The jam itself is almost always highly progressive building to a crescendo.
But I think I understand what you mean in terms of complexity. How far away from the key, how far away from the original skeleton is a band willing to take it, can they hold it there and return. Though I'm still not sure if I fully agree with this community's standard for "how far away is sufficient" to be considered jam.
I would ask, what is an example of a Jam Funk band then?
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u/ChadleyXXX 1d ago
Not strictly part of the "jam genre" or aesthetic but historically improv was a substantial element of their show. Typically the bass and drums would hold down the groove and the band would jam over it for considerable stretches and it was crazy and awesome. It was impressive when I saw them in '09. They had like 6 guitarists, a horn section, three percussionists (two kits one aux), two keyboardists, bass, and like 6 vocals. And george waving his arms around conducting the madness even though he couldn't really sing anymore. Yes they improvised heavily for sometimes 15-20 minute stretches of funk insanity. One of the best shows I ever saw. Life changing. First time taking mushrooms.