The Time Jumpers

What happens when some of Nashville’s most stellar musicians and vocalists get together on stage and perform whatever it is they are in the mood for? Show up at 3rd and Lindsley on any given Monday night and you’ll find out! The Time Jumpers’ music is spontaneous and in-the-moment. No two shows are the same, and no audience member leaves without being treated to a weekly event that’s like nothing else in America.

The Time Jumpers distill the essence of Music City into a single band. The ten-piece, Grammy Award-winning western swing ensemble continues Nashville’s tradition of world class musicians gathering to entertain and challenge themselves when the day-to-day work of commercial recording is done. While discerning music fans once had to chase those players to after-hours jazz bars or roadhouses on the edge of town, today’s best pickers have been easy to find - at The Time Jumpers’ two-decade Monday night residency. Because western swing is a form of big band jazz, The Time Jumpers’ music is spontaneous and in-the-moment, even as its sound and songs conjure a rose-tinted past. No two shows are the same, and no audience member leaves without knowing something about all ten members.

The Time Jumpers lineup reflects centuries of cumulative experience on stages and in studios with the legends. Each of its members have participated in countless hit records, award-winning productions and international tours with artists such as Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Mel Tillis, Mark Knopfler, Julio Iglesias, Robert Plant, Barbra Streisand, Alan Jackson, the Eagles, the Chieftains and dozens of other iconic performers. The twin fiddle section is comprised of National Fiddler Hall of Famer Joe Spivey and Grand Master Fiddle Champion Justin Branum. The vital pedal steel guitar seat is held by Eddy Dunlap, an in-demand session musician and substitute steel guitarist in the Grand Ole Opry house band. Lead guitar is handled by the versatile Andy Reiss, while  Chris Walters wows the audience playing the piano and a solid, driving rhythm section comprised of Brad Albin on bass, Billy Thomas on drums, and “Ranger Doug” Green, co-founder of Riders In The Sky, on classic big-band rhythm guitar lays a swinging foundation. And lastly, our Queen, the thrilling soulful singer who recently made quite a splash on NBC’s The Voice, Wendy Moten.

This historic collective began in the late 1990s at the Grand Ole Opry. When they weren’t on stage supporting the stars, some side musicians jammed in Dressing Room 6, stretching out on classic tunes by Bob Wills, Spade Cooley and the Sons of the Pioneers. So much fun was had that the gathering decided to become a band and look for a home base. That became Monday nights at the famous acoustic music club The Station Inn. Crowded together on a tiny stage, The Time Jumpers held court, had fun and attracted a devoted, musically astute audience, not to mention star guests who hung out and sat in, including Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Reba McEntire, Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffet, Delbert McClinton, Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones.

Visitors and pilgrims from around the nation and the world began building their Nashville itineraries around The Time Jumpers Mondays, and eventually, the venue became too small. So the band found a new home at the more spacious 3rd & Lindsley, where they’ve been a fixture since June 11, 2012. Along the way, the Jumpers have earned 6 Grammy nominations and one win, recorded a live album/DVD, released two studio albums for Rounder Records, performed at Carnegie Hall, and were featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Jazz Night In America. While the personnel evolved, the changes were organic and patient, protecting the soul of the group. Among its former members, The Time Jumpers count world-renowned bass player Dennis Crouch, the late great pedal steel man John Hughey, country superstar Vince Gill, fiddlers Hoot Hester, Aubrey Haynie; stellar vocalists, the late Dawn Sears, Carolyn Martin; the late drummers Kenny Malone, Rick Vanaugh, and others. What’s held constant is the focus on excellence and on the infinitely creative genre of western swing music.

It’s “a band full of historians,” as one of its members puts it. Everyone in The Time Jumpers knows the pioneers of their instrument and the traditions behind the songs. Yet that lore and legacy becomes inspiration to be their own unique selves, working as a collection of individuals in a democratic whole. It’s high-level, but very much down home as well, all we could ever want in an American band