juicy, whimsical jazzpop for the sharp of mind and light of heart

11 MP3 Songs
POP: Piano, JAZZ: Jazz Vocals



Details:
Jessica Parsons-Taylor grew up in a little house fashioned from an 18-foot canvas yurt in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Situated on a hilltop overlooking Dorena Lake, Jessica spent her early years running wild on her family's 10-acres of forest and pretending she was every imaginable kind of woodland creature, from voles to gnomes. Rumored to have begun singing at the age of 6 months (a mostly-butchered, but thoroughly adorable version of Frere Jacques), Ms. P-T's musical tendencies began to itch violently when her family inherited a piano at the age of 3. From then on, she could be found perched upon a piano bench picking out showtunes, old jazz songs, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Bach, made-up ditties and everything in between, and trying in vain to reach the pedals.

Jessica's passion remained fiery and consistent, and she immersed herself in piano lessons, voice lessons, choirs, camps, operas and musicals over the next 15 years. Somewhere along the way, she decided it was silly not to write songs of her own; afterall, the worst that could happen is that she would write a terrible song, and many of those were wildly successful anyway. She abandoned all fear and reservation, and began writing songs as fast as the inspiration would come. After a brief, 2-and-a-half-year foray into music school, Parsons-Taylor was disappointed to find that there was no track for Superstardom 101, and decided to go and pursue her passion actively instead of sitting in a classroom talking about it. She has not regretted her decision for one millisecond.

Currently, Jessica can be found finishing her first completely original solo album, playing gigs around Eugene, and engaging in her other passions: reading, poetry (especially e.e. cummings and Mary Oliver), knitting (currently a cable-knit sweater), Lindy Hop and Blues dancing.