Jesse Harris with very special guest Jillian Lebeck Quartet

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 8 PM / Glenn Gould Studio
Tickets on sale to FriendsFirst members Thursday, October 1 at noon;
to the Public on Friday, October 2 at 10 AM
$34.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or online at www.roythomson.com
or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

Toronto, ON. Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - Jesse Harris rose to fame when millions of music lovers discovered his Grammy Award winning song "Don't Know Why" on Norah Jones's debut album Come Away With Me. Since then he has been leading many different projects and has been collaborating with a wide range of artists. Recently, he wrote and recorded the score for the Ethan Hawke movie "The Hottest State" which soundtrack features versions of Harris songs by artists such as Willie Nelson, Norah Jones and Brad Mehldau.

After over a year of touring as a duo, playing the 6-string banjo (tuned like a guitar) with a Brazilian-based percussionist, Jesse Harris decided to make that surprisingly full and efficient instrumentation the foundation of his new album Watching The Sky. Expanding upon the rhythmic direction of his previous release, Feel, this new recording is centered around the backbone percussion of Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto) who also plays vibes, marimba, and keyboards; and augmented by the versatile bass and guitar playing of his old pal from Jesse's earlier band The Ferdinandos, Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Willie Nelson).

For this exceptional concert, Jesse is joined by the Jillian Lebeck Quartet. Jillian is a Vancouver-based vocalist, pianist and songwriter known as one of the freshest and most dynamic new voices in Canada. Jillian has performed across the world and opened for the legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano, among others. Her vocal and songwriting influences range from Keren Ann to Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainright, while her piano influences draw from instrumentalists such as Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett. Lebeck favours simple, subtle melodies which lead to inventive and smart improvisation.

In the true spirit of collaboration, Jillian and Jesse will be joining each other on their respective sets to perform together! For information about these dynamic artists please visit their websites at www.jesseharrismusic.com and www.jillianlebeck.com.

JESSE HARRIS
With Very Special Guest Jillian Lebeck Quartet
Thursday, October 29 2009 at 8 pm / Glenn Gould Studio
250 Front Street West, Toronto
Tickets $34.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office
www.roythomson.com