High energy acoustic songsmith with a 4 octave vocal range incorporating folk traditions of America and the world with elements of jazz and rock. Jaik has toured nationally and performed for large festival audiences and major acts.
“Jaik is a hardcore troubador somewhere inbetween Steve Earle and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He has wandered around the USA like a modern minstrel, surfing sofas, car camping, and paying dues to sing the blues…. It is a high energy solo show featuring Jaik's horn-like voice darting around a blistering broken-string approach to his acoustic flying V guitar, with original songs that are accessible, and message driven”
- (Chicago Jams 2005)
“He has a most unique soaring falsetto and a wild eyes rolled in the back of his head fierce guitar style. He writes original songs, including a fantastic song about Freedom (the gas station). Jaik's sound is somewhere between Anti-Folk and The Band and it is unlike anything I've heard from anyone else. His energy is fierce, his vocal range is inhuman, his beard is long.
You've gotta check this guy out.”
- ( Independent Music Center 8/03 )
Jaik is a nationally touring performer based in the Chicago area. He has shared bills with artists such as the Drovers, Leftover Salmon, Merl Saunders, Drop Q (Kris Meyers of Umphrey’s Mcgee, Kalyan Pathak of Fareed Haque Group), Digital Underground, Tea Leaf Green, Split Lip Rayfield, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, and Victor Wooten; and performed on stage with acoustic blues dynamo, Corey Harris. He has toured through ILL, MI, WI, MO, IN, NJ, NY, CT, GA, OH, MN, AZ, TX, IA, NE, CO, MT, CA, OR, WA, and BC. He maintains a long mailing list from these regions and schedules at least 100 shows a year. He was featured this summer in prominent mainstage position at festivals like the Feel Good Fest in WI, Flarnardio Fest in PA and Euphio Campout in MO. He has performed at many other festivals around the country and major venues from coast to coast including the House of Blues Chicago main-stage, the Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Colorado, and Horning’s Hideout Amphitheatre in Oregon. He is featured on the Mo’Phunk Records 2005 compilation “Re-Fuel Your Soul” along with groups like Stroke 9 (top 10 hit “Little Black Backpack”) and Lucky Boys Confusion (Elektra records)
Jaik’s 4-octave voice stretches out in vocal solos and scatting over his high-energy acoustic guitar work on original songs that are accessible and lyrically intriguing. The focus is on keeping the show fun for the audience.
Jaik is an educated musician, having trained at Berklee College of music in Boston, Illinois and California State Universities' music departments, and in Hollywood's Musician's Institute as their youngest student when he was 16 years-old. He spent all of his teen-age years practicing over 10-12 hours per day. After studying jazz and Euro- classical music, Jaik received an ethno-musicology/ anthropology degree with a thesis on microtonal guitar music from Mauritania. He is always seeking performance opportunities and new avenues forward for his music.
CDM Profile URL: chicagodigital.stores.yahoo.net/jaikwillis.html
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