Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder.

Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, including "Jeremy", "Oceans", "Dissident", "Nothingman" and "Nothing as It Seems".

Prior to his work with Pearl Jam, Ament was part of the 1980s Seattle-based grunge rock bands Green River and Mother Love Bone.

[3][4] Ament's father George was mayor of Big Sandy for fifteen years, as well as a barber and a school bus driver.

[9][10] 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.

[11] Ament became acquainted with fellow Seattle musicians Mark Arm and Steve Turner, and he was asked to join their new band Green River in 1984.

By the time the band finished the recording of its debut EP, Come on Down, Turner decided to leave the group, citing his distaste with Ament and Gossard's heavy metal leanings.

[12] Regarding the accusation, Ament later said that during his time with the band he had to work at a restaurant in order to pay his rent, while the other members were supported by their parents.

After spending a few days in the hospital in a coma, Wood died, effectively bringing Mother Love Bone to an end.

The trio were attempting to form their own band when they were invited to be part of the Temple of the Dog project founded by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell as a musical tribute to Andrew Wood.

Ament described the collaboration as "a really good thing at the time" for him and Gossard that put them into a "band situation where we could play and make music.

[17] This project eventually featured vocalist Eddie Vedder, who had arrived in Seattle to audition to be the singer for Ament and Gossard's next band, which later became Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 by Ament, Gossard, and McCready,[18] who then recruited Vedder and drummer Dave Krusen.

After playing only a handful of shows, one of which was filmed for the "Alive" video, Chamberlain left to join the Saturday Night Live band.

[20] As his replacement, Chamberlain suggested Dave Abbruzzese, who joined the group and played the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the Ten album.

[27] Feeling the pressures of success, the band decided to decrease the level of promotion for its albums, including refusing to release music videos.

[32] He was replaced by Jack Irons, a close friend of Vedder and the former and original drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[34] In 1998, Pearl Jam recorded "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1960s ballad made famous by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers.

In 2000, the band released its sixth studio album, Binaural, and initiated a successful and ongoing series of official bootlegs.

Pearl Jam's contribution to the 2003 film, Big Fish, "Man of the Hour", was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2004.

He has won two Grammy Awards for Best Recording Package for his work on the album Lightning Bolt and on Chris Cornell's self-titled compilation.

3,000 copies of Tone were pressed and were distributed through independent record stores across the United States as well as through Pearl Jam's official website.

On January 24, 2011 Ament announced on Pearl Jam's official website his side project with dUg Pinnick of King's X and Richard Stuverud of the Fastbacks.

Ament had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie, Singles, along with Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

[45] With his brother Barry, Ament founded Ames Bros., an art production company that produces tour posters and album artwork for many bands, including Pearl Jam.

[46] In 2022 Ament scored, together with Josh Klinghoffer, the FX on Hulu television series Under the Banner of Heaven, adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s best-selling book.

[47] Ament has cited the Who, Ramones, the Clash, Led Zeppelin, and Neil Young as his biggest musical influences.

As well as bass contributions, Ament has often provided backing vocals and has played guitar on two of the Pearl Jam songs he had written musically: "Smile" (from No Code) and "Bee Girl" (from Lost Dogs).

According to Rolling Stone, Ament had just pulled up outside the Southern Tracks recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia, when his rented jeep was attacked by several men, who smashed the vehicle's windows and demanded money.