About Jesse Christen

 Jesse Christen is taking the classic electric guitar sound into the 21st Century. Armed with only a guitar, amp and cord he brings the best sounds around to his blues-based repertoire. And he’s not afraid to apply his sound to other musical styles. 

His sound, “Bluesion”, a funny take on musical label Fusion, is featured on his latest album Don’t Forget to Tip the Band. 

“I wanted to sound like a classic blues band playing different styles of music,” he says. “There’s a zydeco song, some progressive songs, blues songs with jazz inspired chord changes and other fun stuff. It’s exactly the musical statement I wanted to make.”

Jesse has spent most of lifetime playing the guitar. Here is his story. 

For a guitar playing kid from Huron, SD who is primarily self-taught, I must remind myself that I’ve done pretty good. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve developed my skills enough and have had the dumb luck to play with some musical heavyweights. I’ve also left a recording discography that showcases my different musical interests and progression as a musical artist. 

My crowning achievement as a musician is the fact I played with legendary jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon at Sioux City, Iowa’s annual Tommy Bolin festival in 2015. I still have a hard time believing that it was real. Besides his solo albums, he played and recorded with many of the who’s who of the jazz world: McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius and many, many more. I’m proud of myself that I was one of the area musicians that was chosen to fit the bill and that I was good enough to hang musically. 

And since I referenced the Tommy Bolin Music Festival, I have been a featured performer since 2008, performing most every year since with the Tommy Bolin Tribute Band and several of my own musical endeavors. If you’re not familiar with Tommy Bolin, he was a groundbreaking musician who helped pioneer the jazz-rock fusion movement with jazz legend Billy Cobham; he replaced rock guitar giants Joe Walsh in the James Gang and Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. He also released several solo LPs that are regarded as legendary rock releases. 

I mention Tommy Bolin because he is a certified guitar hero and that I’ve been chosen to perform his guitar parts by his brother, Johnnie Bolin and his former drummer Bobby Berge. I’ve performed live with many name musicians including Stanley Sheldon (bassist from Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive), Ed Mundell (guitarist with hit-making heavy metal group Monster Magnet) and Kenny Passarelli (bassist with Joe Wash, Elton John and Hall and Oates). 

The Tommy Bolin connection doesn't end. From 2007 until present day, I play in a band called the Blues Bashers with former Tommy Bolin band drummer Bobby Berge. In 2008 and 2009 we performed on JazzFest’s Main Stage in Sioux Falls, SD along with numerous performances at area music venues and events. Several of our performances were featured on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s No Cover No Minimum and Best of JazzFest television and radio broadcasts.

Although my name is not featured in the group’s title, I did write most of original material for the 2016 release of the Brian Masek and Friends album Fourthcoming (a musical misspelling). Out group performed on Sioux Falls JazzFest’s Main Stage in 2015 and 2016 and earned feature performances on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s No Cover No Minimum and Best of JazzFest television and radio broadcasts. 

Starting in 2013, I recorded two Jesse Christen albums, Gate of Charity and Fixations. Both featured local Sioux Falls musicians and showcased my psychedelic rock (with some jazz and blues thrown in) artistic period. I was very pleased with results of both recordings and still play some the songs in my live set. 

The band that started my performances at the Sioux Falls JazzFest was Urban Blues Development, often shortened to Urban Blues. We released a self-titled ep in 2005. I still play on occasion with the band’s drummer Fred Epstein in Deadwood, SD’s premier blues act, the Brandon Sprague Blues Band.  

And much to my surprise, the 1990s punk rock band that I was a key member of, the Sneakies, has seen a renaissance lately. We recorded much original music, three-plus full albums of songs, and played throughout the region and a few far-flung locations during our brief three-year existence. And thanks to the two local films that document the Sioux Falls music scene, I Really Get Into It and The Pomp Room: A Rock N Roll Bar Story, our music lives on. Both films feature interviews with the band members, and our music is used as the closing credit soundtrack in both films. 

There is some musical stuff that I’m sure I missed in this. But the only accomplishment of great note I haven’t included so far is that I studied guitar with the late jazz legend Larry Coryell during the last several years of his life. He was a great and innovative musician, endless pool of knowledge and all around great human being.