The Adjusters

The Adjusters

The Adjusters are a Chicago-based American ska, soul and reggae band active from 1995 to 2003. They form out of a group of college acquaintances from the University of Chicago and work with a large, fluid line-up that includes Jason Packer, Daraka Kenric Larimore-Hall, Jessica Basta, Matt Parker, Rench and many other friends and guests. The band’s membership also includes Joan K. Axethelm, Nick Dempsey, Clayton Harper, Julien Headley, Raphael B. Leib and Matthew Rudd.

Style and repertoire

The band’s music combines ska, funk, reggae, soul and some jazz. Their songs range from upbeat material such as Armstrong, a street-level story about a neighbourhood hero, to slower, more reflective pieces including Loose Roots and None but Heaven.

Recordings

The Adjusters release three full-length albums: The Politics of Style, Before the Revolution and Otis Redding Will Save America. They issue The Politics of Style on Jump Up! Records in 1997, Before the Revolution on Moon Ska Records in 1998, and Otis Redding Will Save America on Jump Up! Records in 2003. They also release the anthology Stormwarning, which brings together popular tracks and B-sides.

Related line-up notes

The group’s credits also mention a contributor called Rench alongside the core members, and describe the act as drawing on several dozen friends and guests in performance and recording.