Jacob Wick crafts an intimate Jazz journey on "I'll Make You Coffee While You Still Sleep"
Creating real beauty in music that’s built around the quiet, everyday moments of love rather than the dramatic ones is no easy feat! However, that’s exactly the space Jacob Wick occupies on "I'll Make You Coffee While You Still Sleep." This new album from the American born, Mexico City based trumpeter, composer, and improviser is a genuinely unique listen, one that finds meaning in connection rather than certainty.
Rather than telling a single, linear story, this record unfolds through a series of life snapshots. As you listen in he takes you on a lyrical journey through making breakfast for a partner, driving home after visiting a lover late at night, walking hand in hand through Mexico City, and slowly learning what it means to stay open to love. Written while moving in and out of a relationship that clearly shaped every note here, the album embraces what Wick calls queer time, a nonlinear, sentimental way of composing where memory and longing sit comfortably alongside the present moment. To say it gives the record adistinct emotional shape would still be an understatement in the best way possible.
Musically, this is rooted in jazz, but Wick pushes well beyond any single tradition or genre. The instrumentation throughout is quite unique, experimental, and off kilter with its rhythm in places, yet the record stays remarkably lyric and story forward despite all the exploration. It finds its groove naturally after the opener, pulling you into the album experience rather than demanding you work to understand it. The horn work is genuinely wonderful throughout, and the bass playing deserves real credit too. Honestly, we’d recommend listening a few times through because the instrumentation can be dense at times. But, a follow up listen just to listen to the stories would be great as well.
We particularly loved Wick's use of his own voice alongside the trumpet. Having come to singing relatively later in his career, he brings a super distinctive delivery to these songs, one that matches the record's overall experimental spirit while adding a ton of intimacy and rawness. It’s just so vulnerable hearing him sing these stories directly. We think it’s about as personal of an album as you could possibly get.
Across 9 songs and 50 glorious minutes, "I'll Make You Coffee While You Still Sleep" never loses its emotional throughline, even as it wanders through unconventional rhythms and structures. The production and sound design throughout are fantastic too. This is 100% one of those records you’re going to want a nice pair of headphones to sit with and take it all in.
Truly, this is a story led record in every sense, one that finds beauty in the small, quiet moments that define a relationship rather than chasing anything grand. Jacob Wick has crafted something genuinely singular here, blending that beautiful jazziness with plenty of experimentation and heartfelt storytelling. Without a doubt, it’s one of the more out of the box records we’ve experienced this year and that says a lot!
So please, go ahead and give it a spin for yourselves by clicking those links below and don’t forget to follow along for more either.
Listen to “I’ll make you coffee while you still sleep”
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