Now here's something completely different! Inspired by a 7th century collection of Japanese poems, these eleven banjo instrumentals by a virtuoso Colorado banjoist will touch your heart and get those toes a-tappin'. Really.

Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association.

From Joe Ross, Talent on Display:

Banjo pioneer Jake Schepps finds inspiration in a multitude of places. This album comes a couple years after the notable "Expedition," and continues his erudite exploration of tonal discovery and textural artistic expression. Schepps has an interesting Zen-like approach to original new acoustic music. In fact, this project was named for the 7th Century Japanese poetry collection of the same name. Thus, I sense that Jake views music, not as something that builds to a grand and ultimate climaxing crescendo, but as an adventurous journey that presents evocative thrills in the moment of each musical measure.

Jake has assembled a stellar group of musicians to convey his rich and varied vision. His playing is warm, expressive and technically uplifting. Great tunes, original and otherwise (Astor Piazzola never knew argentina bordered north carolina) and snazzy arrangements grace this cd. Any fan of modern banjo or new acoustic music needs to check this out.

From Tony Trischka

This CD, which one may readily consider as both within and apart from the extraordinarily satisfying newgrass/prog-grass wave, is eyebrow-raisingly—indeed shockingly—good. Jake Schepps plays the 5-string banjo, turning in a marvelous performance both in the rhythm section and as a lead player, but the guy's taste in collaborators may well surpass even his heavily finessed compositional and executory skills.

From October, 2007 Colorado Bluegrass Music Society's "Pow'r Pickin'."

Eager to show off his banjo playing, composing, and arranging skills, Jake Schepps’ new instrumental album Ten Thousand Leaves paints a landscape of the American West. The album also highlights many Colorado-based musicians and their unique compositional and improvisational skills. This album isn’t your traditional stringband music; it’s a wonderful hybrid of styles ranging from bluegrass to cool jazz to funk to classical music.

The first track on Ten Thousand Leaves is a stringband-arranged version of Astor Piazzolla’s “Todo Buenos Aires.” Starting with a funky bass line by Eric Thorin, the familiar melody of Piazzolla’s tune is clearly present.