In June, Umphrey’s McGee will release Jimmy Stewart 2007 – an ambitious double-live album comprised of some of the band’s most inspired improvisations, sequenced into two seamless 70-minute "mixtapes." Several times each performance Umphrey’s McGee delves into the "Jimmy Stewart" creation process. They aim to generate melody-rich, spontaneous compositions, utilizing a Zappa-inspired language of body gestures and hand-signals which allow the band to create structure on-the-fly.
As Umphrey’s McGee’s sound continues to evolve, each live performance is increasingly a showcase for their "Jimmy Stewart" approach to progressive improvisation, which they utilize as a breeding ground for new material. Fan favorites "In the Kitchen", "Intentions Clear", "Bridgeless", and many more have come from such sessions. In fact, the newest original to the Umphrey’s McGee live repertoire is "Waist Down", a song with firm roots in the Jimmy Stewart 2007 track "Eat – 2.17.07 – San Francisco".
