KURATED NO. 254
RECENT RELEASE
There’s This by Kevin Breit
with Rebecca Jenkins
CONTENTS
- PLAYLIST: There’s This: 9 songs on Bandcamp
- VIDEOS: Three songs from a recent Toronto show:
Howard Hughes Dreams of Houston
Big Top Charlie
Someone Like You - UPCOMING CONCERT:
There’s This Quartet at Buckerfields,
Sept. 15, 8:00 pm, $35
240 Northern St, 2nd Floor
feat. Kevin Breit, Rebecca Jenkins
Paul Pigat, Jeremy Holmes
Tickets: [email protected] to RSVP
Rebecca Jenkins, Tyler Emond and Kevin Breit play a May 15 gig at Toronto’s Sellers and Newell bookstore which has become a Toronto hotspot for evening concerts in their cosy quarters.
THERE’S THIS
Toronto’s Kevin Breit crafts a minor masterpiece with Vancouver’s Rebecca Jenkins and Paul Pigat
There’s This was born from the ever fertile mind that propels Kevin Breit’s eclectic, genre-hopping 25-year musical residency as a singer-songwriter, in-demand session player, band leader and beyond.
His many bona fides include working with a young Norah Jones on her massively successful first album, jazzing around with k.d. lang, Cassandra Wilson, Harry Manx and others, exploring his alter ego – the loveable eccentric Johnny Goldtooth, leading the now defunct Euclid Sisters and quite a bit more.
Two years ago he mentioned to longtime collaborator Rebecca Jenkins he was writing new songs for her. She signed on right away. (The duo had previously recorded the album Ernesto and Delilah in 2015 among several other projects). They recruited renowned guitarist Paul Pigat and the trio spent three days in close studio quarters in Vancouver early in 2024 shaping the nine small gems that comprise this album.
“Kevin has such a gorgeous imagination,” Jenkins told Kurated. The best part of the project she says “… was standing in that room with those two extraordinary guitarists as they wove a kind of living, breathing sonic tapestry of beauty and I got to dance in that. It was magic.”
In his Bandcamp notes for the collection Breit comments, “I wanted to work with my old friend … I am a massive fan of hers and was so delighted to have that beautiful voice and breathtaking interpretations on this new recording.”
“Because I knew Rebecca would be singing this material, I had a picture of what the emotional curve could be. She invested her time in knowing as much about the characters in the tunes as possible,” he says.
Breit’s lyrically rich compositions foreground Jenkins’ clear, moving vocals bringing life to the songs and people in them. In turn, her singing is subtly supported by the gorgeous orchestral arrangements Breit scored for a group of seven trusted Toronto players who contribute everything from trumpet and bass clarinet to vibraphone, violin, trombone, pedal steel and percussion.
The result is an intimate, passionate and relaxed set of classically-hued ballads exploring human vulnerabilities while sharing a few inventive stories. Says Jenkins: “What comes through in listening to Kevin’s songs, be they of historical, larger-than-life figures or the neighbouring couple struggling in a marriage, is his deep love of humanity … messy, complicated humans in all of our big and small ways.”
There’s This is a generous and lovingly made masterpiece that continues to surprise the more you listen. I recommend you do.
Jenkins performed at July’s Vancouver Folk Music Festival accompanying Jane Siberry
Rebecca Jenkins
Rebecca Jenkins has been performing as an actor and singer since the 1980s. Early in her career she sang and toured with various artists including two of Toronto’s top acts The Parachute Club and Jane Siberry.
What’s different between then and now? “On my gosh, we’ve just gotten more practiced and more experienced,” she told Kurated. “And just life … life is what does it. It’s a deepening, a maturing, dropping things that really aren’t useful. Just appreciating how you want to express and what you want to do.” She continues to play with colleagues from the 80’s, “… fantastic musicians, still really enjoying my relationships with them.”
Her acting breakthrough came in 1989 when she starred and sang in Ann Wheeler’s WWII film Bye, Bye Blues which earned her a Best Actress Genie Award. Over the years she has appeared in numerous TV shows and has continued her singing career.
Jenkins has been based in Vancouver since 2003. Read more about her at rebeccajenkins.ca.
22 August 2025
