Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Jake Baldwin returns with Vanishing Point, a striking new album of jazz-rock fusion out August 15, 2025 via Shifting Paradigm Records. Following the critical acclaim of 2023’s Misc. Items, Baldwin reunites with guitarist Toivo Hannigan, bassist Cody McKinney, and drummer Adam Harder Nussbaum—a quartet that has quickly emerged as one of the most adventurous and dynamic ensembles in the Midwest creative music scene.
Vanishing Point builds on the momentum of its predecessor while expanding the group’s musical vocabulary. Featuring eight new original compositions and a reimagined take on the classic “You Are My Sunshine,” the album explores the tension between clarity and uncertainty, groove and abstraction, structure and spontaneity. Baldwin and Hannigan split the compositional duties, crafting pieces that balance harmonic richness with textural depth, often blending the openness of jazz improvisation with the visceral punch of rock.
The album’s title track sets the tone both sonically and thematically. “This record is about transition,” Baldwin says. “The vanishing point is that place on the horizon where things disappear from view—but you know more lies beyond. That’s where I feel I am in my musical life right now.” The tune nods to the ambient indie rock textures of Broken Social Scene while offering a searching, spacious introduction to the record’s atmosphere.
Hannigan’s “Space Heater” injects a touch of lo-fi charm into the mix, built around a hypnotic guitar riff and inspired by the quiet comfort of an electric heater during a cold Minnesota autumn. Baldwin’s “Orb,” on the other hand, draws from deep within his musical subconscious—a melodic pattern his fingers have defaulted to since childhood—ultimately emerging as a tightly wound piece in 11/8 that blends cerebral complexity with emotional warmth.
Other standout tracks include “Meditation,” a lyrical and introspective tune dedicated to longtime friend and fellow musician Francisco Garrido, and “Phantasm,” a bass guitar–driven piece built around major 10ths and a driving A pedal that opens into an anthemic rock chorus. “Fastlo,” one of the album’s most rhythmically adventurous tracks, came to Baldwin in a dream and dances between 7/4 and 4/4, merging dream logic with grounded intensity.
“Riverway” serves as a reflective centerpiece, written at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown in Hannigan’s apartment overlooking a rain-slicked Huntington Avenue when he was living in Boston. Baldwin’s “Low” offers a sonic tribute to the influential Duluth-based band, distilling their haunting minimalism into a moody, trumpet-led meditation.
The album closes with a bold reinterpretation of “You Are My Sunshine,” a piece Baldwin has been refining since college. “I wanted it to feel like I was searching for the answer among life’s ambiguity,” he explains. The arrangement uses dissonance, chromatic descent, and strategic tension to create a powerful emotional resolution—an elegant bookend to an album steeped in questions, transitions, and discoveries.
A fixture of the Minneapolis music scene, Baldwin has earned a reputation for stylistic versatility and creative fearlessness. His résumé includes performances with The Four Freshmen, the Minnesota Orchestra, and contributions to the animated show Archer. In 2023, he received a Grammy for his work on Assassin’s Creed: Ragnarok. His previous albums Where You’re Planted (2021) and Misc. Items (2023)—both released by Shifting Paradigm Records—have been praised for their originality and depth, with Misc. Items earning a 4-star review from DownBeat Magazine.
With Vanishing Point, Baldwin and his quartet continue to chart their own path in modern jazz, blending electric textures, intricate composition, and fearless improvisation into a vivid and compelling musical statement.
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