Expedition by Jake Schepps

Acclaimed songwriter Benny Galloway lends his voice on his two compositions, “Master of the Ages” and “Beyond the Blues,” both excellent choices to add even more punch to the already pumped project. Galloway, who is perhaps best known for his collaboration with the Yonder Mountain String Band, has a gravelly, rough-hewed quality that gives an invitingly edgy sound to the CD. Multi-instrumentalist Greg Schochet learned his chops amid folk, bluegrass, honky-tonk and Western swing sounds. Here his mandolin picking stands out, particularly on “The Narrows,” another track written by Schepps. Expanding the already broad musical horizons of this album is the complex, orchestral-like “Samba de Orpheus,” by Brazilian composer Luís Bonfa. Reaching into the way-back archives, Schepps revives turn-of-the-twentieth century banjo composer Emile Grimshaw’s “A Footlight Favorite,” with its Sousa-style marching strut. This cut is the icing on this multi-layered cake repertoire. David Byrne’s brilliant piece “Civilization,” is a final fabulous choice, put over in a Broadway-esque voice by Jefferson Hamer, previously of the Wayfarers.

A remarkable freshman release. Highly recommended. — Sing Out Magazine

BIO:

Jake Schepps is known for his intelligent touch on the banjo and his imaginative variation on stringband music. He has studied traditional and progressive bluegrass with banjoists Mark Vann and Tony Trischka, as well as composition, counterpoint, and jazz from trumpeter Dave Douglas and pianists Bill Douglas and Art Lande. Jake is a frequent contributor to Banjo Newsletter, the banjo community’s premier print journal, and also plays in the ‘chamber-grass’ ensemble Strings of Tao. In addition to music, Jake teaches emergency wilderness medicine around the world.

Jake is at work on an advanced instruction manual called The Modern Banjo Toolbox. It will feature contributions from some of today’s top progressive banjo players. See www.jakeschepps.com/modern_banjo_toolbox for more information.

Jakes current musical projects include Jake Schepps and Expedition. With engaging, dynamic material that reflects the Colorado aesthetic of roots music, we try to offer something for everybody, (especially if you dig the banjo…). We play originals and standards in the swing, honky-tonk, and bluegrass/old time genres, but with intricate composition, counterpoint, and improvisation more characteristic of jazz and classical styles. The Expedition Quartet is a versatile stringband that also features Greg Schochet on archtop guitar and mandolin, violinist Ryan Drickey and Eric Thorin on bass.

Jake plays with a chamber-grass ensemble called the Strings of Tao, featuring two violins, banjo, cello and bass (with Kailin Yong, Ryan Drickey, David Short, and Aaron Keim), playing an eclectic mix of original compositions, jazz, Brazilian choro and traditional fiddle tunes.

This record features:

Jake Schepps on banjo

Greg Schochet on mandolin and guitar (hibeams.com)

Ivan Rosenberg on Dobro (ivanrosenberg.com)

Eric Thorin on bass (ericthorin.com)

Ross Martin on guitar (rossmartinguitar.com)

Gabe Witcher (gabewitcher.com) and

Kailin Yong (boulderacousticsociety.net) on fiddles

Benny Galloway (Burle) singing two original songs (waywordsons.com)

Jeff Hamer (jeffersonhamer.com) singing a David Byrne song

James Hoskins on cello (cellohoskins.com)

The musical fare on Expedition has more in common with David Grisman's explorations of acoustic jazz than a conventional bluegrass album. Joined by a crew of like-minded Colorado players, Jake Schepps' music proves that that acoustic jazz's boundaries are as limitless as the Rocky Mountain skies.

Steven Stone, Vintage Guitar Magazine

It is always refreshing, and pretty rare, to hear great new music written for the 5-string banjo. On "Expedition," Jake Schepps gives us some great new tunes, and establishes himself as a creative, original new voice in the Colorado music scene and the banjo world in general.

Matt Flinner, Compass Recording Artist

"Jake's touch on the banjo, original material and arrangements deliver beautiful motion and texture from beginning to end... an inspiring album." Abigail Washburn, Nettwerk Recording Artist

"This is a wonderfully musical and creative first album by Jake! I love that rather than being a BANJO album, this is more about the music and musicality of Jake and the fine group of musicians he's surrounded himself with. I was also impressed with Jake's great sense of playing to the tune rather than forcing the song around his banjo playing. While he obviously has the chops to render these tunes senseless, he instead supports the songs with ample quantities of creativity, taste, and precision... qualities most banjo players would give their left thumb for before embarking on such an expedition as recording this album."

Tony Furtado, Funzalo and Rounder Recording Artist

Average Customer Review: 5