Formed in Georgia but based in Northern California since the turn of the century, STS9 (short for Sound Tribe Sector 9) is one of the most innovative acts to ever be associated — accurately or not — with the jam band genre. As befits any band with that tag, the quintet thrives on live performance and puts a heavy emphasis on collective improvisation, but STS9’s mélange of acoustic and electronic instrumentation — with elements of dub, drum ’n’ bass, hip-hop, funk and avant-garde jazz — separates the group from the solo-heavy, overblown jam bands of old. STS9 released their latest studio album, Peaceblaster, last year.