Breakthrough
Erik Jekabson's Breakthrough on Wide Hive Records is exceptional. On thirteen new original orchestral compositions, Erik seamlessly weaves together jazz and minimalism into a mesmerizing sound all his own.
Erik Jekabson is a well-known Bay Area musician who has played trumpet with Galactic, John Mayer, and Kamasi Washington for Wide Hive’s Throttle Elevator Music. Here with his orchestra, Erik continues to establish his own sound with a steady transcendent feel.
Joining Erik for this recording are Mads Tolling on violin, Dan Feiszli on bass, Jason Lewis on drums, Johnathan Ring on French horn, Jeff Cressman on trombone, and many others.
Track Listing:
1. JANE WANTS TO TELL YOU SOMETHING PART 1 6:16
2. JANE WANTS TO TELL YOU SOMETHING PART 2 2:45
3. THE WHISPERER 7:20
4. A CENTERED VIBE 6:26
5. SPEEDWAY MEADOW 7:10
6. SUN ON THE KEYS 5:03
7. ABOVE THE CLOUDS 6:55
8. EL DON 7:44
9. WASHINGTON AS A SURVEYOR 7:11
10. INTO THE JUNGLE PART 1 3:13
11. INTO THE JUNGLE PART 2 5:15
12. INTO THE JUNGLE PART 3 1:28
13. SUNSET ON THE KEYS 2:31
I really like the post-minimalist classical composers, like John Adams and people coming out of that direction utilizing jazz and rock language, contemporary composers who are pushing the boundaries in all different directions.
—Erik Jekabson
Trumpeter, composer, and arranger, Jekabson crafts a universe as fascinating in its orchestral, vocal, and rhythmic dimensions as it is in its daring conception. His latest offering unfolds as a kind of jazz symphony, one that borrows freely from jazz, musical theater, and classical music to form a work as charming as it is whimsical, layered upon a foundation of remarkable complexity...It feels almost like the soundtrack to an imaginary Hollywood film, as if the composer had drawn inspiration from the finest traditions of jazz and classical music, with echoes of Prokofiev... One cannot help but revel not only in the orchestral sections but also in the brilliance of Jekabson and his magical trumpet.
Paris MoveThis highly textural album is at times positively breathtaking as he’s assembled the combination of a chamber orchestra and a jazz combo, comprising 15 musicians. Strings, brasses, and woodwinds commingle with a jazz rhythm section as Jekabson embraces the Third Stream.
Making A SceneNeither a classical chamber orchestra, despite its strings, bassoon and oboe reeds, and french horn and tuba brass, nor a standard jazz big band with guitar, acoustic and electric bass, vibes, and vocalise singers, but more accurately an ensemble of 22 Bay Area musicians who created a brilliant, powerful amalgamation of classical and jazz, including free and fusion, in a contemporary, adventurous version of Third Stream.
AmazonErik Jekabson’s “Breakthrough” marks a significant expansion of his artistic vision, merging orchestral elements with jazz to create a lush, intricate soundscape.
The Jazz PageIs Breakthrough (Wide Hive Records), by Erik Jekabson, classical or jazz? Both are correct. One thing’s for sure. It’s luminescent with ideas, put into action by a plethora of brass, reeds, strings and Erik’s trumpet on 13 originals.
Goldmine
Erik Jekabson
Erik Jekabson is a freelance trumpet player, composer, arranger and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has toured with Illinois Jacquet, John Mayer, Galactic, and has performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman.
