Jesse Harris

Jesse Harris, the songwriter responsible for the Norah Jones (5th IMA Judge) mega-hit “Don’t Know Why”, is always in high demand. His jazzy/folk style and often wistful romantic lyrics have earned him a Grammy and prompted comparisons to Jimmy Webb, Freedy Johnston, David Gray and John Meyer. In addition to Jesse’s notable contributions on Jones’ 2002 debut album Come Away With Me (including “Shoot the Moon”, “One Flight Down” and “I’ve Got To See You Again”) and on Feels Like Home, he frequently plays guitar with Jones on tour and in the studio while pursuing his solo projects.

A New Yorker born & bred, Harris began his career in the 90’s with the group “Once Blue” co-led by Rebecca Martin (8th IMA Winner), has released 10 albums of his own. As co-producer and songwriter for “The Hottest State” soundtrack, a film by pal Ethan Hawke, Jesse assembled a hi-wattage group of artists to cover his original tunes, including Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Bright Eyes, Feist, Solomon Burke, The Black Keys (9th IMA Judges), Smokey Robinson and M. Ward (9th IMA Judge).

In 2007 his song “Secret Sun” was featured in the film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Harris now releases work on his own label, Secret Sun Recordings including Sasha Dobson’s debut album Modern Romance, which Jesse co-produced with IMA Album winner, Richard Julian.