Biography
American singer/songwriter Jess Klein first gained notice in Boston’s late-’90s club circuit, where her forceful blend of blues-tinged roots rock and deeply felt folk writing quickly stood out. An association with Rykodisc broadened her audience abroad, while successive albums—Draw Them Near in 2000 and the widely praised City Garden in 2006—cemented her reputation. After moving to Austin she continued releasing material through the German imprint Blue Rose, among them Without a Veil in 2012 and Back to My Green in 2018.
Born in Rochester, New York, Klein took up the guitar while attending college in Kingston, Jamaica, then settled in Boston, Massachusetts toward the end of the decade. There she honed her craft in the city’s singer/songwriter community. The spare acoustic collection Flattery surfaced in 1996; two years later Wishes Well Disguised arrived with a fuller Americana-rock band sound. After winning the Telluride Troubadour competition in Colorado she signed with Rykodisc, which released Draw Them Near in 2000. The major-label affiliation carried her overseas, including a slot before thousands at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. In 2001 she joined Erin McKeown, Rose Polenzani, and Beth Amsel in the collaborative Voices on the Verge. For her next Ryko album, Strawberry Lover, she teamed with Boston colleague Marc Copley; the 2005 set extended her blend of roots-driven rock and reflective folk. Both City Garden (2006) and Bound to Love (2009) appeared on the United for Opportunity label.
Now residing in Austin, Texas, Klein kept issuing recordings under her own name or with a band. Without a Veil came out in 2012 via Blue Rose Records for the European market; Learning Faith followed the same path in 2014. The 2015 live album Bootleg captured both her onstage command and the strength of her supporting players. She returned in 2018 with the stylistically broader Back to My Green.
Born in Rochester, New York, Klein took up the guitar while attending college in Kingston, Jamaica, then settled in Boston, Massachusetts toward the end of the decade. There she honed her craft in the city’s singer/songwriter community. The spare acoustic collection Flattery surfaced in 1996; two years later Wishes Well Disguised arrived with a fuller Americana-rock band sound. After winning the Telluride Troubadour competition in Colorado she signed with Rykodisc, which released Draw Them Near in 2000. The major-label affiliation carried her overseas, including a slot before thousands at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. In 2001 she joined Erin McKeown, Rose Polenzani, and Beth Amsel in the collaborative Voices on the Verge. For her next Ryko album, Strawberry Lover, she teamed with Boston colleague Marc Copley; the 2005 set extended her blend of roots-driven rock and reflective folk. Both City Garden (2006) and Bound to Love (2009) appeared on the United for Opportunity label.
Now residing in Austin, Texas, Klein kept issuing recordings under her own name or with a band. Without a Veil came out in 2012 via Blue Rose Records for the European market; Learning Faith followed the same path in 2014. The 2015 live album Bootleg captured both her onstage command and the strength of her supporting players. She returned in 2018 with the stylistically broader Back to My Green.
Albums
