Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam

Updated: January 28, 2026

Jeff Ament is a Montana-born musician, songwriter, visual artist, and skatepark advocate best known as the bassist and a founding member of Pearl Jam.

Early bands and Pearl Jam

Jeffrey Allen Ament was born March 10, 1963, in Havre, Montana, and grew up in Big Sandy. After moving to Seattle, he played bass in influential bands Deranged Diction, Green River, and Mother Love Bone, helping to shape the emerging Seattle 'grunge' sound. Following Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood's death, Ament joined Stone Gossard, Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, and Eddie Vedder in the tribute project Temple of the Dog, which directly led to the formation of Pearl Jam in 1990 with Ament, Gossard, Mike McCready, Vedder, and drummer Dave Krusen.

Work in Pearl Jam

Since 1990 Ament has recorded and toured worldwide with Pearl Jam, co'writing or writing songs such as Jeremy, Oceans, Dissident, Nothingman, and Nothing as It Seems. As of the mid'2020s, he has appeared on all of Pearl Jam's studio albums and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band on April 7, 2017. Ament is also a key visual contributor, credited with art direction or photography for albums including Ten, Vs., Yield, and Lightning Bolt, and he has won Grammy Awards for Best Recording Package for Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt and the Chris Cornell compilation Chris Cornell.

Solo and side projects

Beyond Pearl Jam, Ament has pursued several side projects and solo work. He played in Three Fish in the 1990s and later co'founded the bands Tres Mts. and RNDM. Ament's solo discography now includes multiple releases: Tone (2008), While My Heart Beats (2012), Heaven/Hell (2018), I Should Be Outside, and the American Death Squad EP, showcasing his songwriting on bass, guitar, and keyboards.

Montana roots and philanthropy

Ament maintains homes in both Seattle, Washington, and the Missoula, Montana, area and remains closely connected to his home state. He helped finance Missoula's Mobash Skatepark, later formalizing his efforts through the Montana Pool Service Foundation, which since 2014 has helped build more than 30 skateparks across Montana, with a focus on rural communities and Native American reservations. His philanthropy has also included support for local youth programs, arts initiatives, and organic farming causes, and he has publicly supported fellow Montanan Jon Tester in U.S. Senate campaigns.

Current focus

In the 2020s Ament continues to tour and record with Pearl Jam while releasing solo material and collaborating with other artists. He remains active as a skateboarder and designer, using Montana Pool Service and related projects to build world'class skateparks and creative spaces for young people across Montana.

Updated: January 28, 2026