Singer/songwriter, mixing varous traditional styes, with a heavy emphasis on tradtional jazz, swing, and blues. Add a powerful lyric in the tradtion of Bertold Brecht and Noel Coward, and you got Jake.

12 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Jazzy Blues, JAZZ: Traditional Jazz Combo



Details:
Big Rude Jake

A short Bio of a man with an ironic name

Singer/song-writer Jake Rude is a remarkable and distinguished figure on the Canadian music scene with a notable presence around the world. A true innovator, a deft craftsman of song and a powerful and compelling lyricist, he has been knocking audiences dead with his impassioned performances for some 15 years, in venues across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

While most jazz devotees of his generation appreciated jazz from an academic point of view, Jake found that he was drawn to the Jazz tradition for itsâ passion and sensuality. He lamented the rise of the stuffy âjazz intellectual,â and longed for a return to a time when jazz was, instead, rich in emotion, sensuality and desire. Thus was born his vision to bring Jazz back to itâs street-wise and rough-hewn roots. Part of the process was developing a stage persona that was evocative of strident passion and longing. In the first few years of his career, he actually avoided playing in jazz venues altogether. Instead, he performed his own jazz and swing compositions in rock venues and blues bars across Canada, where he hoped to find the kindred spirits who could appreciate his dream of a âBawdy House Jazzâ revival.

Originally billed as âalternative music,â Jakeâs vision caught the attention of media across the country. He made a splash in magazines and newspapers in every major city in the land, on TV and on radio, and performed live for thousands of people. His independent records were sold in the ârock,â âpunkâ and âalternativeâ sections in record stores, and he proved that Jazz and Swing, with the right attitude, could have as much street credibility as any rock, soul or hip-hop act in the country.

Then came the rise of such U.S. bands as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and suddenly, Jake was swept up into the Neo-Swing movement that was all the rage across North America. Understanding that he needed to develop a more international profile, Jake moved to New York, where he marketed himself to American records companies.

There, he signed with RoadRunner Records and began touring Europe and the United States. More importantly, while living in New York, Jake had a chance to work with some of the finest jazz musicians in the world, further developing his craft as a singer and as a song-writer, and acquiring an deep affection for the Jazz community. Eventually, he would grow beyond the âBawdy Houseâ Jazz that was his beginnings, and begin to pen tunes reminiscent of the smooth and sophisticated styles of New York Jazz artists from the 1950âs

Back in Toronto, Jake was still mixing it up musically, and released a new album in 2002, when tragedy struck. Jake was hit by a taxicab while riding his bike home from a gig in the middle of the night. Unable to sing, much less tour his new album, Jake went into a semi-retirement, Still selling copies of his new record, but largely unable to promote it as it deserved.

But the years away from the music industry seem to have done him good. His body is fully healed, and he is actually in better physical shape then he has been since high-school. Heâs also not so big any more, having lost 60 lbs since his days in New York. Heâs also more relaxed, having pursued his interest Zen and Eastern thought in order to find some personal strength after the accident.

Jake also studied business over the last few years, and started a new company, called PIVOTAL Productions, with the intention of getting back into music on a more skillful level.

Perhaps most importantly, Jake has returned to his roots, and in the process of recording a new album of all âoriginal music with strong basis on Traditional Jazz and the root of Jazz, including Gospel and Ragtime.

check out bigrudejake.com
and
therealbigrudejake on myspace