The JuJu Exchange's 'Asking' Premieres on Adult Swim

Nico Segal's The JuJu Exchange's new track, "Asking," premieres on Adult Swim-stream on Spotify and Apple Music and purchase on iTunes. The band is set to make their New York live debut September 19 at Le Poisson Rougein addition to a September 17 show atSongbyrd in Washington, D.C.. Grace Weber will support on both dates. Visitwww.thejuju.life for more information.

The JuJu Exchange is the new boundary-breaking jazz band from Segal, the 24-year-old trumpeter f.k.a. Donnie Trumpet and collaborator of Chance The Rapper, Kanye West, J. Cole, Vic Mensa and many more. Their debut album, Exchange, is streaming now and set for a very special, limited edition physical release September 15.

In partnership with VinylMePlease, a deluxe, special edition of Exchange will be limited to 1,000 copies and available exclusively through VinylMePlease and direct from the The JuJu Exchange. A standard pressing will be available at a select number of record stores worldwide.

The JuJu Exchange enlisted Australian artist, Vas Ironstone, to create the cover art for "Asking." The artwork, titled "Quartet," is hand drawn with pen and ink. It is taken from one of Vas Ironstone's larger pieces titled "Aquarium."

The JuJu Exchange is Segal's new project in collaboration with fellow Chicagoans and childhood friends jazz pianist Julian Reid and his brother, drummer Everett Reid, as well as bassist and Segal's Kids These Days bandmate Lane Beckstrom.

Segal's storied and prolific career began in 2009 with the formation, alongside Beckstrom, ofKids These Days with Mensa and other Chicago musicians. The band's debut album,Traphouse Rock, was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and released in 2012 before the band ultimately split in 2013. Soon after, Segal released the solo Donnie Trumpet EP.

Segal is also a founding member of The Social Experiment along with friend and collaborator Chance The Rapper, Peter Cottontale, Greg "Stix" Landfair and Nate Fox. While writing and recording his project Surf, Segal decided to recruit the band and share top billing. Surf, the first-ever free download on iTunes, was released in 2015 to universal critical acclaim and features artists including Quavo, Big Sean, Erykah Badu, Kyle, Busta Rhymes and more. To date, the album has more than 15 million downloads and 180 million streams.

In 2016, Julian Reid and Segal, former Merit School of Music and Whitney M. Young High School classmates, started reminiscing about the music they made together at late night jams in high school and decided to start a project together. A few weeks later, they were back in the studio and instantly fell into a groove. The two reached out to Beckstrom and Julian's brother Everett, also Merit alumni, to bring additional layers of musicality and the skills needed to complete the band.

Drawing from hip-hop, jazz, classical and pop music-with inspirations including Kenny Garrett, Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet and Stevie Wonder-the four began to experiment with loose-limbed jam sessions, figuring out how they fit together musically after time apart. Working with Segal and Fox behind the boards, they quickly found magic, andExchange came together in less than two weeks.

Exchange reflects the experimental spirit of these sessions as well as the foursome's genre-blending approach. Each band member shines individually on the album, Reids' keys and drums, Beckstrom's bass and Segal's trumpet stepping in and out of the spotlight seamlessly. Similarly, elements of hip hop, R&B, pop and more are woven throughout the jazz framework the band lays down.

THE JUJU EXCHANGE LIVE

September 17 Washington, D.C. Songbyrd

September 19 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge

Album cover credit: Vas Ironstone

To post a comment, you must register and login.