Jug Band

American ensemble music of the early twentieth century built around the jug, blown across the mouth to supply a buzzing bass line in place of a tuba or string bass. Jug bands combined that foundation with banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, harmonica, kazoo, washboard and stovepipe, drawing repertory from blues, ragtime, minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers and popular dance tunes. The leading groups formed in Louisville and Memphis in the 1920s, recorded extensively for the race-record market and played for both Black and white audiences. Informal instrumentation, ensemble improvisation and comic delivery distinguish the jug band from the string bands and blues combos it overlapped.