January 20, 2009 Fringe Arts

JBM’s captivated crowd

A first-person perspective on a Montrealer’s debut album launch

by Leila Amiri

Chilling out by the bar, eating and grabbing a beer. All very cliché, but the lights get low; my back is turned away from the stage as I eat a chorizo. I grab my beer and turn around. It barely touches my lips when I am stopped by the smooth, mellow and deep sounds of the lead singer.

Intense, eyes closed, fingers trickling down on the guitar, mouth pressed up to the mic, Montreal native Jesse Brian Marchant begins the show and has everyone mesmerized. People begin to get closer, some sit down on the floor by the stage as others are just stunned, fixed to their spots and simply listening and looking. The crowd is proud and damn happy that this local guy is one of our own.

The close and intimate atmosphere of La Sala Rosa was the place for the launch party for JBM’s debut CD, Not Even in July last Tuesday.

JBM started with an education at McGill University in Engineering, switched to Finance and dropped it all a semester before graduation to follow a new path in the Big Apple. Having moved to New York at the age of 19 to fulfil his acting dreams, this was not his first encounter with the arts. Trained since the age of 7 on the guitar, Jesse plays a smattering of instruments—guitar, piano, harmonica, and even the ukulele.

Marchant has maintained clear control over his music and professional appearance since his first days recording and producing music on his laptop in his bedroom. Nothing fancy just him and the music, which is still the same today. For Not Even in July, Marchant teamed up with producer Henry Hirsch, whose credits include Lenny Kravitz and Vanessa Paradis.

Setting up a production house in an old church in Hudson N.Y., the architecture of the church leads to an added level of acoustic sound; his recording studio is a sanctuary away from the city.

Hirsh’s personal statement on his website seems to compliment Marchant’s work ethic and values; where the music reigns in as a collaboration of interests, styles and acoustics. The production of this creative labour slips out confidently as the sounds, beat and rhythm of his songs comes out smoothly but strongly, taking centre stage.

Simple, casual, and unassuming, his clear eyes and intense gaze lock you in. This is translated through his work, focused and intense, and back out to the crowd. There is a deep connection with his music, a part of his soul printed on the very way that he moves with it, an honesty that the crowd appreciates.

Marchant says he doesn’t particularly get a rush nor does he bring out his alter ego like so many other artists when they hit the stage. It is the collaboration of playing with the others in the band that creates a nice energy on stage and as for the crowd, “I like playing for people who listen,” he says.

Writing from his own life, JBM writes what he knows, and it is his truth that comes through in his voice and in the intimacy he shares with his craft, his instruments, his sound.

Marchant’s sound has brought him to L.A., and New York, where there has been an audience at the foot of the stage. He hopes to go on tour in the U.K., leading the life of a musical nomad until he settles down again to put together another album.

For more information about Jesse Brian Marchant go to jbm-music.com.