Dan's Papers - August 8, 2008

Singer-songwriter Jesse Harris, perhaps best known for his work with Norah Jones and the Grammy he won for writing her 2003 hit "Don't Know Why," will be performing at The Stephen Talkhouse on Monday, August 11 at 8 p.m.

But Harris' work with Jones and others, including Madeleine Peyroux and, more recently, Solomon Burke, only defines a part of his career, which encompasses the six albums he's released as a solo artist and one with his old band, the Ferdinandos. Harris, who grew up in New York City and has spent the summer in Springs the past few years, recently finished recording his seventh solo album.

This latest effort has a different vibe from some of his older work. Playing a six-string banjo, he recorded the album with percussionist Mauro Refosco, also bringing in a bass player for the recording sessions and giving the songs a more orchestrated sound. However, when performing the songs live, he plans on playing them only with Refosco backing him up. For the singer-songwriter, percussion is the main focus on this record, deviating from his normal style. "It's more about the percussion," Harris said. "This is more percussive and rhythmically different from anything I've ever done." The album is so far untitled, but he's shopping for a label for it and hopes to release it sometime this year. His last album, Feel, was released in 2007.

Harris also found himself taking on the role of composer and soundtrack producer for Ethan Hawke's 2007 film The Hottest State, which is based on Hawke's novel of the same name. One of the characters in the film is a singer-songwriter and Hawke needed songs for him to play in the film. Harris' songs - some written specifically for the movie as well as others from his vast catalogue - were also covered by other artists for the soundtrack, including Jones, Feist, Bright Eyes, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. He also made his acting debut with a small role in the film. "It was frightening. It was so fast moving," he said, adding that he would act again if given the chance. "I take my hat off to actors. I think it's very challenging to do that for a living. It's not as easy as people think it is."

And, as though he didn't already wear a number of different hats, Harris has also started his own small label, Secret Sun, on which he's released only one of his own records, Mineral, as well as an album for Brooklyn-based folk-rock singer-songwriter Sasha Dobson, for whom he also acted as producer. Despite having his own label, because of financial hardships, he still hopes to release his latest effort elsewhere. "The music business is shrinking before everyone's eyes," he said. "It's difficult to start a label right now. It takes a lot of funding. I'm focusing more on making music than creating a label."

Harris, who was originally in a band called Once Blue that played at the Talkhouse years ago, first garnered attention working with Jones, whom he met in college, on her highly lauded album Come Away with Me. He's also performed on her subsequent records, though he hasn't collaborated on songwriting with her since the first album.

Tickets to see Harris at the Talkhouse are $15 and can be purchased ahead of time at stephentalkhouse.com. He'll be performing Monday, August 11 at 8 p.m. For more information about Harris, go to www.myspace.com/jesseharrismusic or www.jesseharrismusic.com.

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