While we all come from varied backgrounds ranging from playing with a variety of national and international acts, we all share a passion for playing blues music and creating that improvisational feel that is inspiring and exciting.

The idea for Ultimate Blues Jams actually came from working with blues guitar players at Griff Hamlin's Blues Guitar Unleashed Live events in 2011, and 2012.

It quickly became clear that what those students needed as much as anything were some excellent jam tracks that would really give them the feel of playing with a real band.

The results spoke for themselves when those same students showed up to play in 2013. They were more confident, played better, and had even bigger smiles than we had ever seen.

All of us immediately noticed the changes in their note choice, timing, and feel, and they all attributed those changes to the Ultimate Blues Jams.

Chris Atchley has been playing the drums for well over 20 years and has played all over the world with a variety of different bands.

In addition to playing regularly with The Griff Hamlin Band since 2007, Chris also teaches drums privately and through his PlayDrumsByEar.net website.

Griff Hamlin has been touring as a blues guitarist since 1993, and teaching guitar since 1986!

In addition to his own Griff Hamlin Band, he teaches privately and through his BluesGuitarUnleashed.com website.

Mark Smith has been with The Griff Hamlin Band since it's inception in 1992 and has continued to perform with Griff and other groups ever since.

Known for his command of his 6 string bass and the fact that he rarely wears shoes, Mark has been laying down solid grooves for as long as anyone can remember so we don't officially know when he started playing.

And finally, Quinton Hufferd started playing keyboards in church, but quickly grew to love the sounds of blues and jazz.

In college he started performing regularly around Redlands, California, and has played the last several years with The Griff Hamlin Band, Gino Matteo, and Randy Scott.

"Q" also teaches blues piano through his BluesPianoRevealed.com website.