Born: January 4, 1980 Primary Instrument: Keyboard
On his new album Retro Future, Brooklyn-based keyboardist, composer, and producer Jesse Fischer weaves together many different strands of futuristic sounds from the past to create a brand new sound that is ahead of its time yet incredibly cemented in the present. The ambitious project ties together jazz, electronic, soul, classical, psychedelia, and world music.
Following up 2011′s independent release, Homebrew (which featured turns from Gretchen Parlato, Stefon Harris, and Sean Jones), Retro Future marks Fischer’s label debut with ObliqSound, and features his tight-knit working group Soul Cycle. Emerging vocalists Rachel Eckroth and Chris Turner are also featured on one song each. The album includes seven originals along with compelling new takes on The 5th Dimension’s “Aquarius”, Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland”, and Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”.
A triple-threat as a self-taught musician, engineer, and producer, Fischer has performed, engineered, or produced for Stevie Wonder, Freddie Jackson, Black Moon, N'Dambi, Laura Izibor, Ryan Shaw, Lakecia Benjamin, and Koko Jones. He recently engineered and produced Grammy-award winning Laura Izibor's latest EP, “The Brooklyn Sessions, Vol. 1”, which is currently available on Atlantic Records.
Awards:
2012 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award nominee2012 ASCAP Plus Award winner
2011 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award finalist
2010 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award nominee
“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
Flipped (Soul Cycle Music, 2010)
Mosaic (Soul Cycle Music, 2009)
Urban Organics (Soul Cycle Music, 2007)
Soul Cycle (Soul Cycle Music, 2005)
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