Jesse Dee ~ January 30, 2009 ~ Dinosaur Bar B Que ~ Rochester, N.Y.

Words and Photos by Joe Koch

Jesse Dee was electrifying in his debut at the Dinosaur Bar B Que ­— a small juke-joint kind of place with a make-shift dance floor. The soulster from Boston had no problem keeping the bar packed as young and old moved and grooved to the vintage soul sounds from his current album Bitter Sweet Batch.

In the past year Jesse has become a regular at High Fidelity — a venue in Rochester, N.Y. that has now changed its format. They will no longer be hosting live music. Prior to that, his initial performance opening for The Ryan Montbleau Band in October 2007 was enough to spark the club into booking him regularly. They even strategically scheduled him around the Rochester International Jazz Fest. Hopefully this was enough to land him a spot in this year’s line-up. We'll see.

Bitter Sweet Batch glistens with songs that bring a room to life. The moment he wails out a tune, he garners a captive audience. His soul-rootsy-rhythm and blues songs have that throw-back sound but bleed with such uniqueness that they are relevant. So this twenty-something soul revivalist's goal to introduce the classic sound to a new generation might just come true.

For more info go to: www.myspace.com/jessedee