JESSY J

What do you do after celebrating over a decade as one of contemporary jazz’s top saxophonists, known for your trademark blend of sensual Latin tinged powerful horn playing which garnered 12 top singles and 6 chart topping albums?  You tap into your longtime love for the vibrant soul and blues energies of the 60s and 70’s to release your first studio album in six years BLUE, an album of original songs totally stylistically different from your previous recordings as evidenced by the cover art reminiscent of some of the great albums of that era.

Driven by a fresh spark of creativity due to the isolation she felt during lockdown, Jessy set out to create an album full of James Brownesque drums and tasty/bluesy Ray Charles organ licks showcasing some of her most passionate and robust tenor playing ever. “The tone for BLUE was set when I wrote the track “Spinnin’,” whose high energy old school vibe was about me pouring out my frustration over cancelled gigs and sudden lifestyle adjustments due to lockdown,” states Jessy.  “Overall my playing on the album reflects fourteen years of growth as a musician and songwriter, which feels normal considering how young I was when my first album came out. I always want to be evolving as an artist and producer. BLUE is very different from my earlier albums because it’s a snapshot of where I am now in my life and how I was feeling during these difficult times.”  

The result is anything but sorrowful.  If anything, from the raw, sizzling horn-fired Crusaders-esque jam “Dig It” (a co-write with Jeff Lorber and BLUE’S first single) through her fast paced, discofied and thumping “Dance Beat,” it finds the artist letting loose, setting her musical spirit free and celebrating the start of a time of exciting new possibilities, while retaining some of her trademark Latin influences and traditional jazz and swing elements on later tracks. 

One of the unique aspects of recording during this time was the ability to record remotely via digital file transfer and sometimes FaceTiming with the other musicians in different locations – resulting in a truly international affair. In addition to “Dig It,” Jessy co-wrote and co-produced the wildly funky Cannonball Adderley influenced “Malt Shop” with Jeff Lorber, sending tracks back and forth from across L.A. County and having her friend Ludovic Louis create his improvisational trumpet blasts from Paris. Likewise, multi-instrumentalist Thiago Pinheiro contributed his keyboards, strings, drums and percussion programming on “Dance Beat” from Brazil.

Starting with “Spinnin’,” Jessy created the five other tracks on BLUE remotely in collaboration with veteran pianist and arranger Jay Rowe (who previously appeared on 2018’s Live at Yoshi’s 10^th anniversary celebration and 2016’s California Christmas) along with his Connecticut based crew of bassist Dave Anderson, drummer Trever Somerville, guitarist Andy Abel.