Jaimoe's Jassz Band
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, OR.
July 2, 2015

I'm not going to be able to record as much this year. I'll try to get all the major acts and some favorites I've had over the years. Again, KBOO FM is broadcasting the show live. KBOO is an all volunteer station. All proceeds from the festival go to the Oregon Food Bank so please donate if you can. They also have a live stream on the internet. It's an MP3 stream. My set up is an old Technics Quartz Tuner> H2 Zoom> SD card> computer> TLH.

Legendary drummer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Jaimoe (Jai Johnny Johnson) will be performing at the 2015 Waterfront Blues Festival with his own Jaimoe's Jasssz Band. They play American music, combining elements of Jazz, Blues, Rock-n-Roll, and R&B into a unique blend that captures the spirit and stirs the soul. Their repertoire ranges from new interpretations of classic tunes, as well as original songs that are classics in the making. Jaimoe�s Jasssz Band features Jaimoe - drums, Junior Mack - guitar and vocals, Dave Stoltz - bass, Bruce Katz - keyboards, and some of the finest horn players of our time, including Paul Lieberman - sax, flute, and piccalo, Kris Jensen - sax and Reggie Pittman - trumpet.

Jaimoe had this to say about his career, before he joined the Allman Brothers:

I played with Otis Redding 4/18/66 through 9/5/66 in the band that did "Otis - Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go". I joined that band a week after that record was recorded. On 4/18/66 Otis had a 9-piece band. I joined that band in Dallas, TX. In less than two weeks it was 13 pieces. Edward "Woody" Woodson was the other drummer in that band. Woody was the drummer on "Live at the Whiskey." I really learned about playing live rhythm & blues and rock & roll from Woody Woodson & Butch Trucks. Woody could take a bass drum, snare, floor tom, hi-hat, and crash & ride cymbal and swing your ass from Washington, D.C. to L.A. In three weeks we were in the Apollo Theatre in New York. Now we've got 18 pieces. I played in my first big band. I backed Percy Sledge, Patti Labelle & the Blue Bells, the 5 Stairsteps, Brenda & the Tabulations, and the Manhattans. The Howard Theatre in D.C. was another 18-piece band. Added to that show was Smokey Robinson & the Miracles & band, also Martha & the Vandellas, and the Kin Folks, a bad ass 4-piece band out of L.A. The next stop was the Regal Theatre in Chicago. By now we had 22-pieces and the co-star was the Queen of Soul. That's right. The Lady Aretha - She had her own rhythm section.

I did a 42-date tour with Otis - 41 days back-to-back with a day off. We did a TV show, "The Big Beat," hosted by a disc jockey from the famous WLAC in Nashville who on the day of taping of the show got drunk couldn't go on. So Otis not only starred the show, but mced and hosted the show. I played behind James Carr, Mitty Collier, the Ovations, Garnette Mims, Patti Labelle & the Bluebells, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave & band co-stars. Woody played behind Otis. Great tour. I learned a lot from Otis.

Jaimoe (Jai Johnny Johnson) was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Allman Brother's Band in 1995.

Jaimoe - drums,
Junior Mack - guitar and vocals
Dave Stoltz - bass
Bruce Katz - keyboards
Paul Lieberman - sax, flute, and piccalo
Kris Jensen - sax
Reggie Pittman - trumpet.

Set List:
01 Leaving Trunk
02 Rainy Night In Georgia
03 Hippology?
04 I Believe I'll Make a Change
05 Dilemma > Drum Solo > Unknown
06 Black Cat Bone