Jesse Harris Interview              Coffee East February 29th , 2008

Grammy Award winning musicians don’t come to Easton very often. When they do, they have usually won in a fringe category that isn’t shown during the actual broadcast. Jesse Harris plays the exception to the rule Friday night when he comes to Coffee East.

MM: The Basics. Where are you from, where do you live now?

JH: NEW YORK CITY AND NEW YORK CITY.

MM: I really like the songs on your latest album, Feel. It came out in 2007, and, now that there is some time between the album's release, how do you feel about the record? What is different about this album from previous ones?

JH: I STILL LIKE THE ALBUM A LOT AND HAVE TAKEN THE CONCEPT OF PERCUSSION
EVEN FURTHER, BECAUSE MY LIVE PERFORMANCES ARE NOW DUO WITH A
PERCUSSIONIST AND I PLAY ONLY THE 6 STRING BANJO.

MM: You have a unique perspective on the success Norah Jones found a couple of years back, having (presumably) been around at the very beginning of her success. Can you provide us with how your relationship came about, and what it was like as "Don't Know Why" took off and won the Grammmy award? How has winning a Grammy Award changed things for you?

JH: I MET NORAH WHEN SHE WAS A MUSIC STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH
TEXAS, IN DENTON, IN 1998. WE BECAME FRIENDS AND STAYED IN TOUCH.
SOON SHE MOVED TO NY AND WE FORMED A BAND TOGETHER; THIS WAS THE GERM
OF WHAT BECAME HER ALBUM "COME AWAY WITH ME." I ALWAYS EXPECTED HER
TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL, BUT NOT ON THE LEVEL THAT IT HAPPENED. WINNING
THE GRAMMY WAS AN HONOR, BUT MAKING MUSIC HAS NOT CHANGED, THOUGH MORE PEOPLE APPROACH ME TO WORK WITH THEM.

MM: Your songs have been recorded by so many iconic figures. How do they find your songs? Do you write songs specifically for them?

JH: SOMETIMES I WRITE SPECIFICALLY FOR AN ARTIST, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF
THE UPCOMING SOLOMON BURKE ALBUM, BUT OTHER TIMES IT'S A MATTER OF
SUGGESTING THE PROPER SONG FOR THAT ARTIST. SOMETIMES, I CO-WRITE
WITH ARTISTS FOR THEIR PROJECTS, AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN I'M ASKED TO DO
IT. RARELY DO I SUBMIT A SONG TO SOMEONE COLD AND THEY RECORD IT.

MM: I hope this question makes sense. What is the relationship like between you and your songs once someone else has recorded it, and in some cases, popularized it? Do you play them live?

JH: FUNNY, IF SOMEONE DOES A REALLY GOOD VERSION OF A SONG OF MINE,
SOMETIMES THE SONG BECOMES THAT SINGER'S SONG AND I NO LONGER WANT TO
SING IT OR EVEN THINK OF IT AS MINE. ONLY RECENTLY HAVE I BEGUN TO PERFORM "DON'T KNOW WHY" AGAIN.

MM: A lot of artists that come through talk about something we have kind of coined as a "creative community." You guys seem to have a strong one in New York, with Norah and Richard and the group of you that work together a lot. How has it helped you grow creatively being amongst so many people who, like yourself, are so talented?

JH: I'VE OFTEN FOUND INSPIRATION NOT JUST FROM THE SONGWRITERS I KNOW BUT
FROM THE GREAT MUSICIANS, OF WHOM THERE ARE MANY IN NEW YORK. MY
INTERACTIONS WITH THEM HAVE EXPANDED ME MUSICALLY IN WAYS THAT HAVE
OPENED MANY DOORS, RHYTHMICALLY AND HARMONICALLY.

MM: What is the nicest compliment you have gotten?

JH: HAVING A GREAT ARTISTS PERFORM A SONG OF MINE - AND THEN HAVING SOMEONE TELL ME THEY PREFER MY VERSION!

MM: What songwriters that we may not have heard of do you think we should have? What songwriters do you think get taken for granted?

JH: JORGE BEN IS A GREAT SONGWRITER FROM BRAZIL WHO IS AS FAMOUS THERE AS
NEIL YOUNG IS HERE, BUT MANY IN THE U.S. DON'T KNOW HIS MUSIC. HIS EARLY ALBUMS FROM THE 60S AND 70S, SUCH AS "A TABUA DE ESMERALDA" OR "FORCA BRUTA" OR "BEN"ARE CLASSICS. HE WROTE "MAS QUE NADA," WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW. IN ANSWER TO YOUR SECOND QUESTION, I THINK THAT THESE DAYS THE WRITERS OF THE STANDARDS GET TAKEN FOR GRANTED, AS IF IT'S ASSUMED THAT THOSE OLD SONGS WERE JUST 'ALWAYS THERE.'

MM: What do you like most about performing live?

JH: THE SPONTANEITY OF IT, TRAVELING, MEETING NEW PEOPLE.

FILL IN THE BLANK

My lucky number is.... DON'T HAVE ONE.

The most underused instrument is...THE KAZOO.

When I go to the beach....I READ, PLAY GUITAR AND SWIM. TURNS OUT I LIKE PADDLE BALL TOO.

Sometimes on stage I.....GET NERVOUS.

When I think of Maryland, I think of....THE COAST.