The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey came into being in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the mid-1990s. The brains behind this experimental jazz group, pianist Brian Haas and bassist Reed Mathis, are classically trained musicians who branched off into jazz and improvisation. Initially, JFJO included rappers and a brass section. After becoming a trio in 1999, the group preserved its adventurous spirit, eagerly flouting musical conventions. Due to various personnel changes, Haas was the only original band member when Stay Gold was released in 2010. The same year, JFJO unveiled the Ludwig project, an ambitious adaptation of Beethoven's Third and Sixth Symphonies, which premiered at the OK Mozart Festival.