Andrew Jacob Hiebert (1 March 1963 – 16 June 2022), known professionally as Big Rude Jake, was a Canadian songwriter, singer, musician, and bandleader based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The original "Swing Punk", he was associated with the

neo-swing The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the ...

trend of the 1990s. Jake was drawn to the roots of American music, and incorporated elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, blues, gospel, jump, and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

, among others. His finger picking ragtime guitar style was inspired by the likes of Mose Scarlet and

Leon Redbone Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian; August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his hat (often a Panama hat), dark sunglasses, and black tie, Red ...

. Jake stepped away from recording and touring for several years, during which time he began practicing

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

. He returned in 2009 with a new album, Quicksand. He started touring Canada and Europe again in 2010, as well as playing in the United States.

Biography

''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

. With what the group described as a "ridiculous puny budget", the idea was to record "live off the floor, just like the old cats did". The album was produced by

Gordie Johnson Gordie Johnson (born 22 May 1964) is a Canadian musician, best known as the front man for the blues/reggae rock band Big Sugar, Austin-based blues/gospel band Sit Down Servant, and southern rock band Grady. Johnson is a Grammy nominated pr ...

of local rock act Big Sugar and Pete Prilesnick. The 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

, and engineered and mixed by Peter Prilesnik. Blue Pariah also featured

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...

on violin. This album was deliberately designed to set Big Rude Jake apart from all the other bands on the swing scene. It uses what some thought to be rather elaborate production techniques. Seeking to get this record distributed in the US, Big Rude Jake left Toronto, establishing himself in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he signed a record deal with

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

. A third album, ''Big Rude Jake'', was released in 1999. While one of the most well known at the time, it is the hardest album for fans to find, as Jake had control of distribution over all albums except this one. In 2002, he recorded a fourth album, ''Live Faust, Die Jung'', which is 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. The album ''Quicksand'' was released in Sept 2009. He got married the following week. On the side, Jake recorded albums with his other bands, Tennessee Voodoo Coupe and Blue Mercury Coupe. His European tours inspired him to make a new

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

influenced live album with his 7-piece band and special guests. Live & Out Loud was recorded in November 2011 in front of a live audience at The Drake Hotel in Toronto, funded in large part by fans through the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

platform RocketHub. Hiebert also played music for seniors in long term care for many years. In 2014, Jake became a father and a few months later, launched his ongoing charity event, Blues For the Red Door. In 2020, he launched Fanfare Music Enrichment Services, serving intellectually challenged clients. He was working on another album, “The Jackhammer Sessions” at the time of his death. Hiebert died on 16 June 2022, at the age of 59, from metastatic small cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Discography

; Big Rude Jake * ''Butane Fumes & Bad Cologne'' (1993) * ''Blue Pariah'' (Big Rude, 1996) * ''Big Rude Jake'' (Roadrunner, 1999) * ''Live Faust, Die Jung'' (Big Rude, 2002) * ''Brooklyn Blue'' (Pivotal, 2004) * ''Quicksand'' (Big Rude, 2009) * ''Live and Out Loud'' (2012) ; Tennessee Voodoo Coupe * ''Live in Person Radio Transcripts'' (2011) * ''Over the Moon'' (2013)

References

External links

Big Rude Jake's official web siteBig Rude Jake's bio on maplemusic.comBig Rude Jake's bio on VH1

* * * {{Authority control 1963 births 2022 deaths Canadian jazz singers Musicians from St. Catharines Musicians from Toronto Swing revival musicians