Jesse Dee

Jesse Dee is a soul singer-songwriter and guitarist from the United States, born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in nearby Arlington. His work draws on classic soul, doo wop, Motown and R&B, and he is known for writing and performing original songs with a warm, direct style and strong melodic emphasis.

Early life and influences

Dee first connects with soul music through Boston oldies station WODS when he is eight years old. As a child, he listens to The Drifters, The Shirelles, Smokey Robinson and Sam Cooke, along with other major doo wop, Motown and R&B artists. He sings from an early age, records made-up songs on a tape recorder, performs in school theatre productions and church choir, and starts writing songs in his mid-teens.

He begins fronting a band soon afterwards, but does not take up guitar until he is 18. With help from his father and The Bob Dylan Six-Chord Songbook, he teaches himself enough to start performing as a solo artist a year later. He also studies illustration, performance, production, mixed-media and composition at Massachusetts College Of Art And Design.

Career

Before leading his own group, Dee sings with the ten-piece soul ensemble Decifunk and tours the East Coast with them. In the early 2000s he also contributes vocals to the rock ’n’ roll band The Dirty Whites. He later forms his own band and develops a live reputation in New England, with performances in packed clubs and touring that takes him across Europe.

His debut album, Bittersweet Batch, is released in 2008 on 7Not Records and Munich Records. The record receives a rare four-star review from the New York Daily News and helps expand his audience beyond Boston, drawing listeners in Washington, DC, New York, Philadelphia, Nashville and Chicago. Dee wins the 2010 Boston Phoenix Music Poll Award for Best R&B Act, recognised for his live show and the impact of the album.

He tours the Netherlands, the UK and Italy in 2009, then returns over the next two years, adding Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. He also opens for Al Green, Solomon Burke, Etta James, Bettye LaVette, Los Lobos and the J. Geils Band, and shares stages frequently with James Hunter.

Style and recordings

Dee writes, sings and plays guitar, and he is described as combining an old-school soul sensibility with contemporary songwriting. His songs feature memorable melodies, slice-of-life lyrics and horn-driven arrangements, with his band providing driving grooves behind his vocals. He is also an artist who paints, and he describes his songwriting as layered, beginning with melody and lyrics and then adding musical details such as guitar riffs, horn parts and vocal inflections.

His second album, On My Mind / In My Heart, is his first for Alligator Records and is produced by Dee and Jack Younger. It contains eleven original songs and continues his focus on soul music built around shared experience, emotional writing and uplifting themes.