Jess Klein (born 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. A native of

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, Klein learned to play acoustic guitar and started writing songs as a college student in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, while working on a thesis "documenting dub poets and studying the musical landscape of that country." Klein moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

upon her return home, and began performing locally. After independently releasing her first two albums, winning the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest, and garnering several Boston Music Award nominations, she was signed to

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

in 2000 by then-president George Howard. Klein's first release for Ryko, '' Draw Them Near'', launched Klein on a worldwide tour where she performed before 70,000 attendees at the

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual music festival, rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash (Music promoters), Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it th ...

in Japan. Returning to the U.S., Klein joined the songwriter collective Voices on the Verge, along with

Erin McKeown Erin McKeown (pronounced ) is an American multi-instrumentalist and folk-rock singer-songwriter. McKeown's music encompasses pop, swing, rock, folk, and electronic music, as well as several other genres. Music career They grew up in Frede ...

, Rose Polenzani, and Beth Amsel. The foursome performed Klein's song "Little White Dove" on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. Klein's second solo effort for Ryko, ''Strawberry Lover'', was produced by RCA recording artist Marc Copely. It debuted as the number-one most-added album at triple A radio a week before its release, was given four stars by ''MOJO'', and received a plug from the nearly 80 million readership ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

''. In 2005, Nerdcore Rapper

MC Frontalot Damian Alexander Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer. He is widely credited as a pioneer of the nerdcore hip hop genre, blending elements of hip hop with themes from ne ...

posted on his website a rap breakdown using the beat from the Jess Klein song "Soda Water". Klein's sixth album, ''City Garden'' (five stars, ''MOJO'' Magazine) caused the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' to describe her as "Quite simply one of the most gifted performers this area has produced."

Discography

*''Wishes Well Disguised'' (1998) *'' Draw Them Near'' (2000) *''Flattery'' (re-released in 2003) *''Strawberry Lover'' (2005) *''City Garden'' (2006) *''House of Satisfaction'' (2007) *''Bound to Love'' (2009) *''Behind a Veil'' (2012) *''Learning Faith'' (2014) *''Bootleg'' (2015) *''Back to My Green'' (2019) *''When We Rise'' (2023)

References

External links

Official WebsiteInterview on the ATX Architects Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Jess 1974 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) American folk musicians Hamilton College (New York) alumni Musicians from Rochester, New York 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers