Erik Jekabson

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Erik Jekabson

| image =

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|03|23}}

| birth_place = Berkeley, California

| genre = Jazz, post-bop, third stream

| instrument = Trumpet, flugelhorn

| associated_acts = Illinois Jacquet, Kermit Ruffins, Galactic, John Santos, Matt Finders

}}

Erik Jekabson (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player.{{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |title=Jazz Album: Anti-Mass by Erik Jekabson |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/anti-mass-erik-jekabson |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Erik Jekabson discography - RYM/Sonemic |url=https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/erik-jekabson |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=Rate Your Music |language=en}} A Bay Area-based musician, he is known for the jazz group The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, which he leads.{{Cite web |title=Erik Jekabson Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erik-jekabson-mn0000199538/biography |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=AllMusic |language=en}} He is also a composer and arranger.{{Cite web |title=Erik Jekabson: "Things Seem To Be Going Alright." |url=https://afm6.org/member-profile/erik-jekabson-things-seem-to-be-going-alright/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=Musicians Union Local Six |language=en-US}}

Biography

Jekabson graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2006,{{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |title=Erik Jekabson music @ All About Jazz |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/erik-jekabson |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}} having already studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and having toured in Japan in the 1990s. While in New Orleans from 1994 to 1998 he played with Kermit Ruffins, Eddy Louiss, and the jam band Galactic. While enrolled at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he toured with guitarist and singer John Mayer.

While in New York City, he performed with jazz saxophonist Illinois Jacquet; on TV he has played on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman.{{Cite web |title=The California Jazz Conservatory Presents Erik Jekabson Sextet at California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley - April 9, 2022 |url=https://www.sfstation.com/the-california-jazz-conservatory-presents-erik-jekabson-sextet-e2433374 |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=SF Station |language=en}}

In 2022, he co-released an album with pianist Art Lande, The Silver Fox, in the Arterik Quartet, which was recorded at a live concert in Berkeley in 2012. The album included two discs, each disc including the compositions of one of the co-leaders.{{Cite web |last=Andrew Gilbert |date=2021-11-11 |title=Berkeley-born trumpeter Erik Jekabson is suddenly ubiquitous |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/11/11/trumpeter-erik-jekabson |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US}} The same year he released Anti-Mass, recorded in 2011 with the String-tet chamber group, including Dayna Stephens. Jazz critic Matt Collar noted that, "while the nature of a string-based ensemble naturally encourages a ruminative, classically oriented sound, Anti-Mass is at its core a jazz album," comparing its style to the Gil Evans/Miles Davis collaborations of the early Third Stream era.{{Citation |title=Anti-Mass - Erik Jekabson, Erik Jekabson's String-tet {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/anti-mass-mw0002446967 |language=en |access-date=2022-05-13}} The album was inspired by the De Young Museum, who commissioned Jekabson to write music for a sculpture in its gallery.{{Cite web |last=Sumner |first=Dave |date=October 22, 2012 |title=Erik Jekabson – "Anti-Mass" |url=https://www.birdistheworm.com/erik-jekabson-anti-mass/ |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Bird is the Worm}} Another recording in 2011, a live performance at the Hillside Club with percussionist John Santos, was released in 2014 as the album Live at the Hillside Club.{{Citation |title=Live at the Hillside Club - Erik Jekabson, John Santos {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-hillside-club-mw0002644677 |language=en |access-date=2022-05-13}}

In 2020, he released One Note at a Time by the Erik Jekabson Sextet III, his eighth album as leader. Also on the album were saxophonist Dave Ellis, guitarist Dave MacNab, bassist John Wiitala, drummer David Flores, and John Santos. Roger Farbey of Jazz Journal described the album as achieving a "consistently high level of musicianship" throughout its contrasting themes.{{Cite web |last=Farbey |first=Roger |date=2020-05-14 |title=Erik Jekabson Sextet III: One Note At A Time |url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2020/05/14/erik-jekabson-sextet-iii-one-note-at-a-time/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=Jazz Journal |language=en-GB}} The Mercury News noted the album "The Last Days of Studio A" (2021) with Jekabson on trumpet as one of the "favorite 2021 releases by Bay Area artists," having been recorded shortly before the closure of Fantasy Studios.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-22 |title=Bay Area artists turned out great albums in 2021 — here are the best |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/12/21/bay-area-artists-turned-out-great-albums-in-2021-here-are-the-best |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}

Jekabson has performed tributes to former jazz trumpeters, including Chet Baker and Clifford Brown.{{Cite web |date=June 27, 2012 |title=Chet Baker Tribute with the Erik Jekabson Quintet |url=https://events.stanford.edu/events/330/33003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312222830/http://events.stanford.edu/events/330/33003/ |archive-date=March 12, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2022 |website=Stanford Events Calendar |publisher=Stanford University}}{{Cite web |title=Erik Jekabson: Tribute To Clifford Brown |url=https://www.independentnews.com/culture/erik-jekabson-tribute-to-clifford-brown/article_7f70e59e-d288-11e8-8524-d3aafa85194b.html |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

Discography

= As leader =

  • Intersection (2004, Fresh Sound, New Talent)
  • Crescent Boulevard (2010, Jekab's Music)
  • Anti-Mass (2012, Jekab's Music)
  • Live at the Hillside Club (2014, Jekab's Music)
  • Cheap Rent (2015, OA2 Records)
  • A Brand New Take (2016, OA2 Records)
  • Erik Jekabson Quintet (2017, Wide Hive Records)
  • The Falling Dream (2018, OA2 Records)
  • Erik Jekabson Sextet (2018, Wide Hive Records)
  • Matter Is (2019, doubleOone)
  • One Note at a Time (2020, Oklahoma Wind Music){{Cite web |title=Erik Jekabson Albums and Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/erik-jekabson-mn0000199538/discography |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}

References