Jams · Funk and soul

Funk and soul jams on the Front Range

Funk and soul jams run on a groove more than on chord changes. Most tunes sit on one or two chords, and the rhythm section locks together underneath them.

Schedules change. Confirm with the venue or host before you go.

How funk and soul jams work

What gets played

Expect vamps on one or two chords, James Brown and Meters tunes, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin songs, and neo-soul grooves. At the jams that lean hip-hop, rappers freestyle over a groove the band keeps going.

How signup works

Signup is often looser than at a blues jam. Some keep a list, and at others the host waves players up, often calling singers and horn players in batches.

How a set goes

The leader sets a groove and the band locks into it. Tunes run long, players solo over the vamp, and the leader cues breakdowns, hits and the ending with hand signals or a shout.

Habits worth knowing

  • Play less than you want to, because the groove needs space.
  • Watch the leader the whole time, since breakdowns and endings come from hand signals.
  • Ask what the cues mean before you go up. A raised fist, a raised hand and a spin each mean something different.
  • If you lose the downbeat, drop out for a bar and come back in. Playing against the groove sounds worse than a bar of silence.

Tuesday

A band with upright bass playing under purple light at Western Sky Bar and Taproom
Photo: @westernskybarco
Leather chairs and a TV in the lounge at Western Sky Bar and Taproom
Photo: @westernskybarco

Western Sky - Last Tuesday Open Jam with Ellie D & Soul Mix

Western Sky Bar & TaproomEnglewood

Monthly (last Tuesday)

  • Jam
  • blues
  • soul
  • R&B
  • House band Yes
  • Cover Free
Signup
sign up in person with Ellie D for a slot (RSVP does not guarantee a slot)
Host
Ellie D
Gear provided
Amps, keyboard and drum kit provided; bring your own guitar/bass/horn

4361 S Broadway, Englewood, CO 80113

Wednesday

A group of adult players with guitars in a Musical Life Denver rehearsal room
Photo: Musical Life Denver
A bass player coaching a band in a Musical Life Denver rehearsal room
Photo: @musicallifedenver
A singer, acoustic guitarist and bassist from a Musical Life Denver band on stage
Photo: Musical Life Denver

Wednesday Jam Sessions (coached) at Musical Life Denver

Musical Life DenverEnglewood

Wednesdays, weekly

8:00 PM to 9:00 PM

  • Jam
  • rock
  • blues
  • R&B
  • soul
  • country
  • funk
  • Cover $20 per session
  • Age All ages
Signup
RSVP on Meetup (paid)
Host
Robby Schechter
Gear provided
School backline (lesson studio)

2842 S Broadway, Englewood, CO 80113

A full crowd at an Off the Cuff Wednesday night at The Meadowlark
Photo: @very.good.mondays
A packed crowd at the patio bar of The Meadowlark under a stained glass lamp
Photo: The Meadowlark

Off The Cuff

The MeadowlarkDenver

Wednesdays, weekly

from 9:00 PM

  • Jam
  • jazz
  • funk
  • soul
  • hip-hop
  • R&B
  • House band Yes
  • Cover Free
  • Age 21+
Signup
Open to come and listen. Sitting in is by the host's invitation only; there is no signup list.
Host
Enmanuel "EMAN" Alexander
Good to know
You don't sign up. The host invites players he knows or notices. Come, listen, meet people.
Good to know
Singers and poets get called up by the host.

2701 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205

Thursday

A singer with an acoustic guitar playing to a full taproom at TooSteppin
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing
The TooSteppin building at dusk with an old pickup truck out front
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing
People gathered at the bar inside the TooSteppin saloon
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing

Thursday Open Mic Night at TooSteppin

Toosteppin Saloon (TooSteppin Brewing)Boulder

Thursdays, weekly

6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • singer-songwriter
  • acoustic
  • hip-hop
  • poetry
  • comedy
  • Signup 6:00 PM
  • Cover Free
  • Age Family-friendly
How to sign up
In person
Gear provided
House mixer, 2 DIs, 2 microphones

4843 Pearl St, Suite A1, Boulder, CO

Friday

A trombonist plays on the Youth on Record stage as the audience watches at open mic
Photo: Youth on Record
A performer with an acoustic guitar talks to the crowd at the Youth on Record open mic
Photo: Youth on Record
A guitarist in a beanie sings at the Youth on Record open mic
Photo: Youth on Record

Youth on Record Open Mic

Youth on RecordDenver

1st Friday of the month

5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • Any genre
  • hip-hop
  • singer-songwriter
  • Signup 4:00 PM
  • Cover Free
How to sign up
First come first served sheet at 4 PM; pre-registration via Calendly
Gear provided
Backline provided
Age
All ages; family-friendly, no explicit content

1301 W 10th Ave

Sunday

A guitarist and band playing on the wood-paneled Goosetown Tavern stage
Photo: @sethbeamermusic
A bassist and drummer playing under red stage lights at Goosetown Tavern
Photo: @concretetheoryproductions

Jazz, Funk & Friends Open Jam

Goosetown TavernDenver

Sundays, weekly

6:00 PM to 9:30 PM

  • Jam
  • blues
  • funk
  • jazz
  • House band Yes
  • Cover Free
  • Age 16+
Signup
List closes at 9:00 PM, Signup list by the mixing board. Three-song sets. Full bands coordinate with the host ahead of time.
Host
Jordan Lovinger
Gear provided
Full backline. Drums and keys provided, bring your own instrument.
Good to know
Open to all instruments and levels. The opening set is the host's band, 6:00 to 6:30, then sit-ins.

3242 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206

Photos belong to the people credited on them. If one is yours and you want it down, tell me and it comes down.

See all events

What each instrumentalist needs

  • 1 to 2, first-timer friendly Your first time on any stage is fine, and so is playing basic chords or a groove and following along.
  • 3, middle You hold your part, take a solo or a verse, and know the common tunes.
  • 4 to 5, experienced People expect you to know the tunes by name and keep up, and working pros sit in.

All five levels, defined

Guitarists

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play a clean ninth-chord vamp with a sixteenth-note scratch strum at one volume, and stay off the low strings.
3, middle
You can play single-note riffs that lock with the bass, keep dotted rhythms from rushing, and comp through a two-chord soul tune.
4 to 5, experienced
You can switch between rhythm parts and lead fills, play Motown and Stax voicings, and keep a sixteenth-note part steady for ten minutes without drifting.

We build the right-hand feel and the two or three voicings that cover most of the songbook. Guitar lessons

Bassists

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can keep a one-bar groove going for as long as the tune lasts, mostly on the root and locked to the kick drum.
3, middle
You can play syncopated sixteenth-note lines with ghost notes, stay with the kick drum through a breakdown, and play a slap groove or two at real tempos.
4 to 5, experienced
You can sit in the pocket at any tempo, play fills that come back to the downbeat, catch cued hits in the middle of a groove, and anchor a ten-minute vamp without missing the ending.

We lock in sixteenth-note feel against real tracks and practice reading cues in the middle of a groove. Bass lessons

Drummers

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play a solid backbeat at a medium tempo, save fills until the leader asks for them, and count in without rushing.
3, middle
You can play sixteenth-note hi-hat grooves with ghosted snare notes, play James Brown and Meters feels, and catch cued breaks.
4 to 5, experienced
You can play displaced grooves and half-time shuffles, bring the volume from a whisper up on cue, and drive a breakdown back to the full band cleanly.

We drill the funk feels and a steady backbeat, then practice reading cues. Drum lessons

Keyboard players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play a two-chord vamp on an electric piano sound with short stabs in time, and leave the low end to the bass.
3, middle
You can play clavinet-style rhythm parts, use seventh and ninth voicings, swell an organ behind a singer, and take a solo that stays inside the groove.
4 to 5, experienced
You can split parts between organ and electric piano, cover the bass with your left hand when there's no bassist, and arrange pads, stabs and fills so the groove keeps its space.

We get the voicings and the rhythm-hand feel down, and practice playing inside a band without covering it up. Piano lessons

Singers

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You know one soul tune in your key with the form memorized, and you're comfortable repeating a chorus while the band vamps.
3, middle
You can ad-lib over the groove, bring the band down for a verse and up for a chorus, and sing backgrounds behind another singer.
4 to 5, experienced
You can front the band, call breakdowns, stack background parts on the spot, teach the crowd a hook, and end a vamp on cue.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Horn players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play single-note stabs in time, sit out when the part calls for it, and move one riff to any key.
3, middle
You can play in a section with another horn, play the common funk lines and backgrounds behind vocals, and take a short solo that builds.
4 to 5, experienced
You can write a line on the spot and teach it to the other horns between choruses, solo over one chord without running out of ideas, and follow the dynamics on cue.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Harmonica players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play riffs in second position over a one-chord vamp, play sparingly, and lower the mic when you're not playing.
3, middle
You can play chugging rhythms locked with the drums, play fills between vocal lines, and cup a tone that doesn't feed back.
4 to 5, experienced
You can play third-position minor vamps, play section-style lines with the horns, and build a solo on the groove more than on the chord changes.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Walk in ready.

In a lesson or two before your first jam, we cover the grooves and tunes those jams run on, how the signup works, and how a set goes. Once you're my student, I'll help you pick the right jam, and I'll be there.

Book a lesson How a first jam goes

$75 an hour, in your home or on Zoom. You pay after the lesson.