Harris and his twin sister were born in New York City. He attendedRiverdale Country School in New York City. He graduated fromCornell University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.[2][3]
Jesse Harris's music has been described as a "blend [of] folk, rock, jazz, and world rhythms."[4]
Harris gave guitar lessons and performed in musical groups before he formed the duo Once Blue with singer-songwriterRebecca Martin. This was the first group he was in and his first experience writing for another singer.Once Blue released its self-titled debut onEMI Records in 1995 and nine additional songs were included in the album's re-release in 2003.
Harris signed as a songwriter withSony Publishing in 1998 and then made three self-released recordings with his new band, The Ferdinandos, consisting of Harris,Tony Scherr, Tim Luntzel, andKenny Wollesen.[5] The band released two more albums on sublabels ofVerve Records. Harris recorded three solo albumsMineral,Feel, andWatching the Sky on his own label, Secret Sun Recordings.[1]
In 2003, he was awarded aGrammy Award forSong of the Year for "Don't Know Why", performed byNorah Jones. Jones's album,Come Away with Me, includes five of Harris' compositions: "Don't Know Why," "Shoot the Moon," "One Flight Down," "I've Got to See You Again," and "The Long Day Is Over." Harris plays guitar throughout the whole album. Jones and Harris have collaborated numerous times since then. Jones has been a guest on many of his albums and he appears as guitarist on almost all of her albums. Harris appears as a guitarist onBright Eyes' 2005 album,I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, as well asMotion Sickness. He contributed songwriting to Jones' 2008 releaseThe Fall as well.
In August 2010, Harris released his albumThrough the Night and recorded a new version of his song "The Secret Sun" for aCorona beer commercial.[8][9]
Harris's 11th album,Sub Rosa, recorded inRio de Janeiro, was released in July 2012[10] and features guest vocals fromConor Oberst,Melody Gardot, and Norah Jones.[11] Harris's 12th album, the stripped downBorne Away, was released on June 25, 2013.
Harris and Jones appear together in the 2014David Wain/Michael Showalter film,They Came Together, performing his song, "It Was the Last Thing on Your Mind," which Harris produced. In 2016, he appeared in Showalter's filmHello, My Name Is Doris, performing his song, "Anything Was Possible."
In 2013, Harris joinedJohn Zorn'sSong Project along withMike Patton,Sofia Rei, andSean Lennon, writing lyrics for various Zorn compositions and singing them at festivals worldwide with a band featuringMarc Ribot on guitar,John Medeski on keyboards, and Zorn conducting. Two of the group's albums have been released byTzadik Records. Zorn and Harris also collaborated on a project which featured singer and violinistPetra Haden alongside theJulian Lage Trio (for whom Harris has produced two albums,Arclight andModern Lore), plus Harris on guitar. The resulting album,Music for Petra (Petra Haden Sings the Zorn/Harris Songbook), was released in 2020 on Tzadik.
In 2017, Jesse started Cosmo, a group for only his instrumental compositions, withCJ Camerieri (trumpet, flugelhorn, and French horn), Will Graefe (guitar), Jeremy Gustin (drums),Benjamin Lazar Davis (bass), Michael Boshcen (trombone), and Harris (guitar). They are currently working on an album with producerJason Lader.
