Since forming the band in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998, Jim James has explored innumerable musical directions as the leader of My Morning Jacket. Yet for all the flexibility he fostered as his band demonstrated their mastery of Americana, cosmic country and psych rock, he’s often stepped out to pursue projects that have been just as remarkable. An EP of George Harrison covers released in 2009, Tribute To introduced the more low-key but equally rewarding sensibility that distinguishes later solo efforts like 2016’s Eternally Even. At the same time, he demonstrated his love of collaboration by producing S.G. Goodman and Ray LaMontagne, and he teamed with M. Ward and Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis in Monsters of Folk. James also paid tribute to one of his heroes on 2014’s Lost On the River: The New Basement Tapes, a spirited set of songs based on lyrics that Bob Dylan left unfinished in 1967.