Formed by breaks fanatic Miles Tackett, Breakestra is a constantly morphing hip-hop orchestra based in Los Angeles. The group came together in 1997 around Tackett’s DJ gigs at a coffeehouse. A multi-instrumentalist whose work on cello has appeared on recordings by B.B. King, Macy Gray, and the Black Eyed Peas, Tackett got into hip-hop in the late 80s. A wish to play instrumental hip-hop in a group context brought the band together, Tackett alongside drummer Josh “Wallet” Cohen, reed player Geoff “Double G” Gallegos, trumpeters Todd Simon and Paul Vargas, trombone player Dan Osterman, keyboard player Carlos Guaico, perussionist Davy Chegwidden, guitarist Dan Ubick, and vocalists Sol Sista DeMya and Mixmaster Wolf (aka Peanut Butter Wolf). Their club night, the Root Down, brought in crowds, along with the cream of the California underground (J5, Company Flow, DJ Shadow, Dilated Peoples, Freestyle Fellowship) for years and years. Breakestra have released three full-length studio albums with the most recent of which having been released in 2005.