Biography
At 6 years old, when Jess first realized "Uncle Mitch" was, in fact, Mitch Ryder, she began to look forward to the holidays even more. Year after year, when he was home from the road, his colorful stories always inspired Jess to be authentic & surround herself with music. As a teen, Jess joined Dance Detroit as a classical ballerina with The Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It was during one of her performances at The Fox Theater that Aretha Franklin discovered her & requested an audition for her upcoming national tour. She was on the road with the Queen of Soul for the next 3 years. During her time as a background artist Jess began to write her own music. She produced a soulful debut cd of original material at Tempermill Studios in Detroit.
A Fox News entertainment writer based in New York City discovered that first cd, "Stay", & contacted Jess to meet her in person the next time she was in Manhattan. As timing would have it, Jess was already booked the following week to sing background vocals on another artist's record at KMA Studios in Times Square. She met with the writer to discuss her career & was convinced to move to New York to follow her dreams.
Jess returned to Detroit, packed up everything she owned, drove east & became a New Yorker. She began performing at well known Manhattan music venues, with residencies at Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos, The Living Room & Cutting Room. Demo singer by day & solo artist by night, her Detroit soul resonated with many of New York's seasoned songwriters & producers. Working in different genres, she created new material for herself, as well as other artists in the US & Europe.
With her library of diverse material, Jess started synching her original music to tv & placed them in over 30 shows. In 2013, Fieldhouse/BMG signed Jess to a licensing deal, where she was chosen to write & sing "We're Coming Home" for the closing credits of "Pokémon The Movie Genesect & The Legend Awakened".
In 2014, The Miami Herald, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit Magazine & The Oakland Press have featured Jess in articles highlighting her performances at concerts & festivals around the US. In May, Jess opened for the headliner at the 15th Annual Aqua Girl Festival in Miami Beach. In July she was invited by super producer Don Was to be his featured vocalist at Detroit's International Music Festival, The Concert of Colors.
Throughout her artistic journey, Jess' mission has been to create music that brightens the road on our personal paths towards love & to remind us how special our time is here together.
