Jesse Fischer is a Brooklyn-based pianist, composer, and producer. Known for his warm, soulful touch and emphasis on melody, groove, storytelling and emotion, his unique voice combines elements of his own Jewish heritage with music of the African diaspora, jazz, hip-hop, indie, and singer-songwriter genres. A two-time ASCAP Plus Award winner, Fischer has performed with many notables in the jazz, pop, and world music scenes, including Mino Cinélu, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Becca Stevens, Grace Kelly, Lakecia Benjamin, Deva Mahal, and Takuya Kuroda. He has released several records as a leader, including Day Dreamer (Ropeadope, 2015) and his Herbie Hancock/Head Hunters tribute Vein Melter (Tru Thoughts, 2015), jointly created with producer/multi-instrumentalist Sly5thAve. He is also a core member of the groundbreaking Brooklyn Afro-pop/jazz fusion collective Ajoyo and producer & engineer of their sophomore release, War Chant. Fischer’s newest project Resilience, released in August 2020, is a full-length album of original compositions exploring deeper connections between modern jazz, Jewish and African traditional music, and European classical music, and features special guests including Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Becca Stevens, Grégoire Maret, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Mino Cinélu, and young lion Morgan Guerin, along with his working group of Obed Calvaire (drums), Godwin Louis (alto & soprano sax), Billy Buss (trumpet), David Cutler (bass), Jordan Peters (guitar), and Keita Ogawa (percussion). With seven instrumentals and two songs with lyrics penned by Fischer himself with co-writers Sarah Elizabeth Charles and May Cheung, the album is both deeply personal and necessarily political, responding to the wave of white nationalism, authoritarianism, and hate that has swept the globe in recent years. The compositions on Resilience emerged after a period of intense self-reflection, and range emotionally from despair to resistance to optimism to celebration.
Awards
2012 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award nominee
2012 ASCAP Plus Award winner
2011 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award finalist
2010 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award nominee
“These musicians bring it. Period. Take a listen through and you’ll experience a wide range of emotions and
sounds while being imparted with a sense of appreciation for how these artists manage to dig deep in
performances that will not fade away anytime soon.”
- The Revivalist
“Fischer has the unbelievable ability to fuse the more traditional jazz with electronic, soul, psychedelia and
world music to come up with a sound that no one else is doing.”
- Brent Black, CriticalJazz.com
“Whether whirling through a Bernie Worrell-style portamento solo, hitting a crashing series of piano chords
or rippling through the highs on Fender Rhodes, Marc Cary style, he has ferocious technique. But he doesn’t
overdo it: those simply serve as high points in the lush, psychedelic, atmospheric arrangements… If you can’t
smile at the sheer ridiculous fun of Fischer’s frenetically tone-bending synth solo, you have no soul.”
- New York Music Daily
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“These musicians bring it. Period. Take a listen through and you’ll experience a wide range of emotions and
sounds while being imparted with a sense of appreciation for how these artists manage to dig deep in
performances that will not fade away anytime soon.”
- The Revivalist
“Fischer has the unbelievable ability to fuse the more traditional jazz with electronic, soul, psychedelia and
world music to come up with a sound that no one else is doing.”
- Brent Black, CriticalJazz.com
“Whether whirling through a Bernie Worrell-style portamento solo, hitting a crashing series of piano chords
or rippling through the highs on Fender Rhodes, Marc Cary style, he has ferocious technique. But he doesn’t
overdo it: those simply serve as high points in the lush, psychedelic, atmospheric arrangements… If you can’t
smile at the sheer ridiculous fun of Fischer’s frenetically tone-bending synth solo, you have no soul.”
- New York Music Daily
“An artist who is willing to look forward while also reach back into the musical archives to develop a catalog
that is challenging, accessible and highly entertaining. Recommended.”
- Howard Dukes, SoulTracks.com
“Many musicians struggle with pushing boundaries and looking ahead while honoring the past. But for
electric pianist Jesse Fischer and his project Soul Cycle, that has never been an issue.”
- Shannon Effinger, DownBeat
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