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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Music Everywhere
Tuesday 19 June @ 13:46:45 |
 
Jessy Greene, Artist Of Consequence
by DWIGHT HOBBES
June 22 at The Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant | 11 pm. | $3 | 21+
Singer-songsmith-violinist Jessy Greene is a fascinating artist of undeniable consequence. A pair of albums, hotshot awards and the respect of front-line peers to prove it. An appearance at a prestigious venue this Friday for an admission price too affordable to pass up.
Let's take this point by point.
Jessy Greene’s 2003 debut, Blue Sky, heralded singular artistry. Arresting vocals, intriguing material, custom-tailored production (Greene with co-producer Tom Merkl) marked the arrival of a seductively wizened voice. From the lighthearted contemplation of “Laughing,” her bright melancholy on “Grand Conspiracy” to a matter-of-fact, bittersweet delivery on “Blue Sky,” Greene stepped out of the gate acquitting herself as a state-of-the-art original. Engaging lyrics set to ethereal music, the title cut tells you what we’re talking about here. “I’m taking this bus west/It’ll never do without trying/Get up, Get out/A nymph with no experience/Grew into a fairy before my eyes/She said, The truth will set me free/The truth will set me…’”
Last December’s A Demon & Her Lovers showed Blue Sky was no fluke, highlighted by the mesmerizing “You’re Breakin’ Up.” Laid-back sultry in the sardonic cut, Greene haunts, “It tricks my heart so hard/I take it all so hard and cut my self wide open/Making all my own wounds/Waiting here for you/To save me save me/Come and save me/ La da da da La da da da da/You’re breakin up I can not hear you.” At the chorus, Greene and co-producer Kii Arens devise a time-signature twist and emotional immediacy that, aided by guest vocalist Dessa, may as well forge a new aural dimension.
“The production of music is somewhat of a mystery to me,” Jessy Greene allows. “It is a often a transcendental experience. I have
spent a lot of time making music by myself but I much prefer to collaborate. Making both of my records was a huge learning experience. The computer itself became a member of my band. The potential of recording on computers is huge, the amount of options can be incapacitating for someone like me so I am learning how to break it down and go with it.”
As regards respect from fellow axe-wielders, let’s leave it at the fact that she has recorded with the likes of R.E.M, Soul Asylum and The Jayhawks.
Classically trained at UCLA on the violin, Jessy Greene became part of Peter Himmelman’s "Skin" tour, on violin and backup vocals. After that, there was violin and vocals with Geraldine Fibbers, recording Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home and Butch (Virgin Records). Greene hasn’t stopped making musical waves since she moved to the Twin Cities. In 2003 and 2006, Greene copped the Minnesota Music Award for her violin playing (she plays cello, too, by the way) and feels pretty good about her career to date. “I feel extremely blessed to have worked with so many amazing and talented people. And I am in a really great place with my life, which is so affected by music. It has taken time to work it out and I am still working. I will be forever, I am sure. [But, I’m] learning to enjoy the process. And at this moment I am having a blast.”
This Friday’s gig features all-star backup, including Dessa, members of Heiruspecs, vocalist-composer Corinne Couette and Big Trouble guitarist Steve McPherson. If you’re dumb enough to stay home (especially at this price), well, that’s probably just where you need to be.
Jessy Greene is at The Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet, downtown Minneapolis. 11 pm.| $3 | 21+ |
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