Happy Birthday To Smooth Jazz Top 20 Star Jessy J
Happy birthday today (December 20) to saxophonist Jessy J, whose most recent song “Tropical Rain,” the title track to her sophomore release, was No. 1 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 for a phenomenal three months. Will Jessy’s song be No. for 2009? You can find out this weekend on the show as host Allen Kepler counts down the biggest songs of the year.
Born Jessica Arrelano in Portland, OR, Jessy is a USC graduate who was raised by her Mexican-American parents in Southern California, where she now lives. Jessy J, who is bilingual, tells us which language she learned first. “Actually, Spanish was my first language and I didn’t speak English until I started going to kindergarten. And even then I protested just a little bit because I was so used to speaking Spanish that I didn’t want to have to speak English. But I’m really glad that I did learn Spanish first because I feel like I’ll never forget it.”
In addition to her solo shows, Jessy also frequently tours with Michael Bolton and Mexican superstar Gloria Trevi. She’s also performed recently with Seal, the Temptations and the Four Tops.
It was veteran producer and guitarist Paul Brown who produced Jessy’s debut CD, “Tequila Moon,” which featured the No. 1 single of the same name.
Jessy will be performing on her birthday today as she’s in Bend, OR, as part of a special, star-studded holiday show called On a Clear Winter’s Smooth Jazz Christmas with Jeff Kashiwa, Gregg Karukas, Joyce Cooling, Richard Smith and Greg Adams.