Boundaries is the debut offering from the trio of trumpeter Jake Baldwin, guitarist Zacc Harris and drummer Pete Hennig. The album features eight spontaneously improvised pieces that range from ambient to raucous, dark to joyous, and meditative to free jazz. Founded when the trio showed up to a recording session without a bassist, they decided to forge ahead with a more open approach, Harris leaning into heavy effects and loops with Hennig’s expansive and textural drumming providing a lush sonic landscape over which Baldwin’s virtuosic trumpet sings and soars.
All three musicians are among the most sought after improvisers in the Twin Cities jazz scene. Both Baldwin and Harris are leaders of their own groups, each having received glowing 4-star reviews from DownBeat Magazine for their latest respective albums (Misc. Items from Baldwin in 2023 and Small Wonders from Harris in 2021) making the magazine’s Best Albums of the Year lists. Hennig is a co-founder, along with Harris, of acclaimed Twin Cities group Atlantis Quartet, which has been at the forefront of the modern jazz scene there for nearly two decades and received the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists in 2015. Baldwin also won a Grammy in 2023 for his contributions to the music on Assassin’s Creed: Ragnarok.
On Boundaries, listeners on invited on an exhilarating musical journey shaped by the spontaneous interplay between these three musicians whose synergy creates a captivating sonic landscape. With each track, the trio fearlessly pushes the boundaries of traditional jazz, demonstrating their commitment to exploration. Boundaries is more than just an album; it’s a testament to the group’s collective artistry and adventurous spirit in the moment.
