Led by the pianist Brian Haas, it tours widely and often, recording some shows for official purposes and leaving others for the bootleg market. And like, say, Phish whose bassist, Mike Gordon, has enlisted Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey as an opener in the fall the group seeks a mix of precision and looseness, gravity and drollness. (Jacob Fred was a high school nickname of Mr. Haass; Jazz Odyssey refers to a moment in the movie This Is Spinal Tap.)
But the bands high-spirited show at Joes Pub late on Saturday night also attested to some earnest jazz aspirations. Mr. Haas made a point of playing tunes by Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Abdullah Ibrahim and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
One original was titled “Earl Hines", after the pianist whose style it strives to emulate. There were pockets of swing and sustained outbursts of improvisation, yet Mr. Haas and his crew sounded far better in a poplike mode, putting their stomping vitality to practical use.
The set featured a roughly equal helping of songs from Winterwood, an album available free at jfjo.com, and One Day in Brooklyn, an EP due in September. In one sense the set lists division reflected a recent band upheaval. Winterwood is the last Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey album to feature the bassist Reed Mathis, a founding member and a crucial catalyst in the groups old chemistry.
