Grammy Award-Winning Jesse Harris to release No Wrong No Right on February 10th 2015 Nov 26, 2014
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Jesse Harriswill release his upcoming album No Wrong No Right on February 10th 2015 on Los Angeles-based indie label Dangerbird Records.
Harris had his breakthrough in 2003, having written Norah Jones’ first and biggest hit “Don’t Know Why.” He subsequently has had a vibrant solo career of his own, along the way writing for and collaborating with renowned artists such as Bright Eyes, Cat Power, Feist, M. Ward, Mike Patton, John Zorn, Solomon Burke, Willie Nelson, Melody Gardot, and Emmylou Harris.
Visit Paste Magazine for the exclusive premiere of the title track “No Wrong No Right.”
On No Wrong No Right – Harris’ 13th album—he drew inspiration from Neil Young’s approach to After the Goldrush. “Some of that record was done with Crazy Horse, and it’s a rock record,” Harris explains, “but then you also have these hushed acoustic folk songs, and it keeps shifting back and forth between these two distinct moods. I always loved the way that worked, so I started there, but with No Wrong No Right, I also added a third element.”
The three elements Harris speaks of here are a set of full-band tunes recorded with guitarist Will Graefe and drummer Jeremy Gustin of experimental duo Star Rover; a more subdued, acoustic-anchored series of duets with guitar virtuoso Julian Lage; and a trio of evocative instrumental tracks.
The album initially grew out of Harris’ discovery of Star Rover and the friendship and musical chemistry that developed between them last winter. “I fell in love with their band,” Harris says. “I was sort of a groupie, checking out their gigs all the time. One day they invited me over to their loft to play, and it felt great from the first song. Which inspired me to write a bunch more songs.
“Will and Jeremy, musically, are adventurous and free, and at the same time completely supportive of the song. They love to work out arrangements, but they play with a lot of looseness and expression. It’s so hard to find that perfect combination—either people don’t want to rehearse, and just play all over the songs, or they’re too rehearsed and there’s no spontaneity. As a singer and songwriter, I feel like they support the music, but at the same time completely challenge it.”
The duos with Lage – “I Probably Won’t See You For A While,” “Don’t Let Me Pass By” and John Zorn co-write “Kafiristan” – are sparse and disarmingly intimate, offering a refreshing contrast to the record’s more fleshed-out tracks. Harris raves about the musical abilities of Lage, who also plays in duos with Wilco’s Nels Cline and Chris Eldridge of The Punch Brothers. “Julian is a remarkable young musician,” Harris says. He’s a jazz guitarist, but he’s equally interested in songcraft and experimental music. Playing with him is always exciting – he’s extremely sensitive, and has such a beautiful tone. I really wanted to capture our duo on this record.”
The album’s three instrumentals—also backed by Star Rover – continue Harris’ tradition of including a few sans-vocals tracks on every release. The aptly named “Staring Contest” features a loping, repetitive and extremely hummable guitar figure. “Pandora’s Box” is a dreamy meditation on the modern rabbit hole of social media, and “Miyazaki” is a tribute to the legendary Japanese anime director.
No Wrong No Right also features a mysterious and gorgeously wintery rendition of Rodgers & Hart standard “Where or When” bolstered by the organ playing of Larry Goldings (James Taylor). Other notable guests on the record include CJ Camerieri (Bon Iver, Paul Simon, yMusic) on horns and horn arrangements, frequent Harris collaborator Margaret Glaspy on vocals, Mauro Refosco (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Atoms for Peace) on percussion, marimba and electronics, and Sofia Rei – who also performs with Harris in the John Zorn-led Song Project—on vocals.