Big Rude Jake
Encyclopedia
Big Rude Jake is a singer, songwriter
and jazz
musician
based in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. He recorded several albums with different jazz ensembles and musicians, mixing rock, jump blues
, blues
, ragtime
, swing, rhythm and blues
and punk rock
together. Some attention was brought to Jake in the late 1990s, during the swing revival
.
of local rock act Big Sugar
and Pete Prilesnick. Executive Producer was Michael L. Johnson.
Blue Pariah, the second album, followed in 1996, and "Swing Baby!" was aired in college radios across Canada and United States
. It was produced by Gordie Johnson, and engineered and mixed by Peter Prilesnik. Blue Pariah also featured Ashley MacIsaac on violin. This album was deliberately designed to set Big Rude Jake apart from all the other bands on the swing scene. It uses was some thought to be rather elaborate production techniques.
Seeking to get this record distributed in the US, Big Rude Jake left his band and Toronto, establishing himself in Brooklyn
, New York, where he signed a record deal with indie label
Roadrunner Records
. A third album, Big Rude Jake was released in 1999, still mixing jazz, rock and punk, and introducing one of Big Rude Jake's ferocious songs, "Let's Kill all the Rock Stars".
In 2002, he recorded a fourth album, Live Faust, Die Jung, totally different from the first three. It was produced by Jake Langley and Big Rude Jake, but was never officially released, as he was badly injured one night after being struck by a taxi. He 'disappeared' from the public eye for a while, going into semi-retirement. When he began playing publicly again, he used the moniker Chet Valiant, stepping back from the 'big suit party animal persona' of Big Rude Jake. Maintaining a lower profile, he focused on honing his ragtime guitar skills and kept composing. He began to play a few shows as Big Rude Jake again in 2006.
Jake Rude teamed up with Toronto writer/arranger/engineer Gary Justice, drawing from an even wider set of musical influences. From this, the Album Quicksand was released in Sept 2009.
Big Rude Jake started touring again in 2010. A European tour in Spring 2011 inspired him to make a new jump blues
influenced live album with his big 7-piece band and special guests. It will be recorded in October 2011 in front of a live audience at The Drake Hotel in Toronto.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He recorded several albums with different jazz ensembles and musicians, mixing rock, jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
, swing, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
together. Some attention was brought to Jake in the late 1990s, during the swing revival
Swing Revival
The Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as exemplified by Louis Prima, often mixed with a more contemporary rock, rockabilly or ska sound, known also as neo-swing or retro...
.
Bio
Butane Fumes & Bad Cologne, the first record by Big Rude Jake and his Gentlemen Players, was recorded in 2 days, on 26 and 27 July 1993 in Toronto. With what the group described as a "ridiculous puny budget" the idea was to record "off the floor" twelve songs mixing different jazz styles that were popular six or seven decades before, along with modern lyrics. It was produced by Gordie JohnsonGordie Johnson
Gordie Johnson is a Canadian musician, best known as the front man for the reggae-rock band Big Sugar, and later southern rock band Grady.-Biography:...
of local rock act Big Sugar
Big Sugar
Big Sugar is a Canadian blues-rock band, they were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010. The band has sold more than half a million albums in Canada.-History:...
and Pete Prilesnick. Executive Producer was Michael L. Johnson.
Blue Pariah, the second album, followed in 1996, and "Swing Baby!" was aired in college radios across Canada and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was produced by Gordie Johnson, and engineered and mixed by Peter Prilesnik. Blue Pariah also featured Ashley MacIsaac on violin. This album was deliberately designed to set Big Rude Jake apart from all the other bands on the swing scene. It uses was some thought to be rather elaborate production techniques.
Seeking to get this record distributed in the US, Big Rude Jake left his band and Toronto, establishing himself in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, where he signed a record deal with indie label
Label
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. A third album, Big Rude Jake was released in 1999, still mixing jazz, rock and punk, and introducing one of Big Rude Jake's ferocious songs, "Let's Kill all the Rock Stars".
In 2002, he recorded a fourth album, Live Faust, Die Jung, totally different from the first three. It was produced by Jake Langley and Big Rude Jake, but was never officially released, as he was badly injured one night after being struck by a taxi. He 'disappeared' from the public eye for a while, going into semi-retirement. When he began playing publicly again, he used the moniker Chet Valiant, stepping back from the 'big suit party animal persona' of Big Rude Jake. Maintaining a lower profile, he focused on honing his ragtime guitar skills and kept composing. He began to play a few shows as Big Rude Jake again in 2006.
Jake Rude teamed up with Toronto writer/arranger/engineer Gary Justice, drawing from an even wider set of musical influences. From this, the Album Quicksand was released in Sept 2009.
Big Rude Jake started touring again in 2010. A European tour in Spring 2011 inspired him to make a new jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
influenced live album with his big 7-piece band and special guests. It will be recorded in October 2011 in front of a live audience at The Drake Hotel in Toronto.
Discography
- Butane Fumes & Bad Cologne (1993, Spanky Productions)
- Blue Pariah (1996, Spanky Productions)
- Big Rude Jake (1999, Roadrunner Records)
- Live Faust, Die Jung (2002)
- Quicksand (2009)