Jeff Ament

Jeff Ament
Ament performing with Pearl Jam in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Allen Ament
Also known as	Al Nostreet
Born	(1963-03-10) March 10, 1963 (age 53) Havre, Montana, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, grunge, hardcore punk, hard rock, heavy metal, experimental rock, glam metal (early)
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass guitar, double bass, vocals, guitar, percussion, keyboards, chapman stick
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Monkeywrench, Homestead, Sub Pop, Stardog, Mercury, A&M, Epic, J
Associated acts	Pearl Jam, Green River, Mother Love Bone, War Babies, Temple of the Dog, Three Fish, Derranged Diction, RNDM
Notable instruments
Fender Precision Bass, Fender Jazz Bass

Jeffrey Allen "Jeff" Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam.

Along with Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the band's founding members, and is also known for his work prior to Pearl Jam with the 1980s Seattle-based grunge rock bands Green River and Mother Love Bone, and is particularly notable for his work with the fretless bass, upright bass, and twelve-string bass guitar. Ament is also a member of the bands, Tres Mts., Three Fish and RNDM.

In 2008, Ament released his first solo album, Tone. A second solo album, While My Heart Beats, followed in 2012.

Ament will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7, 2017.

The first of five children, Ament was born in Havre, Montana to George and Penny Ament and grew up in the town of Big Sandy, Montana, a town with a population of fewer than 700. Ament's father George was mayor of Big Sandy for fifteen years, as well as a barber and a school bus driver. Ament described his family growing up as "pretty poor" and "hard-core Catholic." Ament has one brother, Barry.

He began playing the bass guitar as a teenager, often playing along with Ramones, The Clash, and The Police records. Ament participated in basketball, football, and track at Big Sandy High School, from which he graduated in 1981. He then went on to college at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, where he studied art and played basketball. Ament quit college in the middle of his second year after the university told him they were no longer going to continue its graphic design program. Ament then relocated to Seattle, Washington in 1983 with his band Deranged Diction. While in Seattle, Ament got a job working at a coffee shop in Belltown.