Pressing On by Jerk

Jerk is the brainchild of composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Kinney. Based in Brooklyn, NY, the project is an exploration of the connection between jazz and hip hop with compositions blurring the lines between hip hop beats and instrumental jazz compositions. As a band, Jerk is Joshua Kinney on Saxophone, Carey Ozmun on Trumpet, Jean Matthieu Carvin on Keyboards, Mikey Migliore on Bass, and Martine Wade on Drums.

From 2017 to 2018, Jerk independently released a trio of EPs (Pink, Yellow, and Green) and performed extensively both as a solo act and with a full band. In 2019, Jerk joined the roster of London, UK independent label DeepMatter.

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A press is a simple mechanism. You place an object on its platform, pull the lever, the lever moves a gear, the gear moves a ram, and the ram strikes the object on the platform. Variations of it have been used to manufacture everything from newspapers to bearings.

“In August of 2018, I found myself sitting at a workbench with a press. I recently graduated from a music conservatory. Having confirmed my hesitations about the traditional working musician’s path, I got a job assembling electronic components for guitars. I needed to pay the bills, and I needed routine. The first two weeks were spent sitting at the same workbench doing the same task with the same tools. I had never done anything like that. It gave me time to think - I listened to albums all day, drank coffee, and genuinely enjoyed working with my hands. When I left work I was able to do what I wanted to. I started playing the guitar again, I composed incessantly, and I started producing again. I was reminded of why I loved making music. This beat tape is the product of that experience. By surrendering the preconceived notion of what I thought my career should be and simply focusing on taking care of myself, I rediscovered why I create, and I like to think it made my art genuine.”

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Jerk is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer known for exploring the liminality between jazz, hip hop, and r&b, citing influences ranging from traditional jazz artists Charlie Parker and Gene Ammons to 70s fusion figures Don Blackman and Patrice Rushen to hip hop producers J Dilla and Madlib.

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