The Daniel James Band is a five-piece jam band comprised of a group of long-term friends and members of notable Chicago groups Swimmer, The Underwater People, and Generations. The member’s music school roots are immediately evident thanks to the band’s jazz influenced solo style and lush arrangements.

Every music school class seems to spawn a group like this. Several close friends, well versed in jazz improvisation, classical composition, and world music rhythmic construction, come together to play music that is a fusion of jazz, jam, and arena rock. Frank Zappa, Rush, Dave Matthews and Tower of Power are among usual list of influences from whom these groups draw their interest in melding funky grooves with complex forms. While the level of skill and theoretical knowledge of these groups is refreshing, often these artists tend to lean too heavily on their formal training, resulting in exhaustingly long guitar solos, epic-length songs, and repeated use of mixed meters. The end product sometimes feels disjointed and leaves the listener suspect that the songs are more fun for the band to play than for the audience to listen to. The Daniel James Band transcends this mold for several reasons. Guitarist Mike Frost plays his share of notey solos, and the band dabbles in mixed meters from time to time, but the Daniel James Band do not forget that they are playing rock and roll. They still write catchy tunes and use their musical training to supplement the simple form of rock instead of replacing it. The rhythm section plays together very tightly but they thankfully avoid the clinical feel of musicians that play by math rather than mood.