Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess will debut jam_bot, an AI model trained on his own playing, across two concerts at MIT on October 3, 2026.
The performances take place at MIT’s Thomas Tull Concert Hall as part of the inaugural MIT Future Fest, with Rudess joined by musical guests and the system itself. The framing is deliberate: the technology is not positioned as a replacement for musicians but as a way to widen what they can reach for onstage.
The concerts include the world premiere of Rudess and jam_bot improvising with the MIT Chamber Chorus, with the system generating music for the singers in real time.
jam_bot has been in development for three years at the MIT Media Lab, built by Lancelot Blanchard, Perry Naseck and Professor Joseph A. Paradiso during Rudess’s Center for Art, Science & Technology Distinguished Visiting Artist residency at MIT. The program spans Baroque counterpoint through progressive rock and beyond, all of it built around live improvisation. The system listens and responds to Rudess in real time while also producing material other musicians on stage can play.
“I’ve spent my entire life studying, exploring, and creating music. What excites me about jam_bot isn’t the technology by itself, it’s where it can take me musically. I can improvise, follow an idea in the moment, and suddenly have a choir or an ensemble responding to what I’m playing. That opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities,” Rudess explains.
Event Details
- What: Jordan Rudess + jam_bot: A Human-AI Musical Dialogue
- When: Saturday, October 3, 2026. Two performances, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
- Where: Thomas Tull Concert Hall, Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, MIT, 201 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Tickets: $5 MIT community, $10 general admission, on sale at Eventbrite. A portion of the 5:00 p.m. performance is reserved for MIT Future Fest pass holders.
- Capacity: 300 per performance
- Performers: Jordan Rudess, MIT Chamber Chorus, and guest student performers
Both shows follow the same program, but since the music is shaped through live improvisation, no two performances will be identical.
About Jordan Rudess
Rudess is a Grammy-winning keyboardist, composer and technologist, best known as a member of the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum progressive metal band Dream Theater. Alongside his work with the band and as a solo artist, he has spent decades working with researchers, designers and technologists on new approaches to musical expression and human-computer interaction. His collaboration with MIT began in 2023.
More on the MIT Media Lab’s Responsive Environments group at mitmedialab.info/mlresponsive.
Featured photo: Jordan Rudess performs with jam_bot at an in-progress performance in 2024. Credit: Caroline Alden
