Jess Klein: “Behind A Veil”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
For a lot of folk singers, traveling is one of the key components to the art form. That’s certainly the case for Jess Klein, who has traced her life from New York to Jamaica to Boston and finally to Austin, where she currently resides. All that mileage has given her a lot of material–this year’s Behind A Veil is the singer’s eighth album since debuting in 1998.
Klein didn’t get her start until college, but as soon as she taught herself guitar, there was no looking back. She was a regular in Boston coffee shops and open-mic nights and self-released her first two albums before signing a record deal. Soon, national magazines began to take notice, and the Boston Globe even called her “one of the most gifted performers this area has produced.”
Yet Klein’s restless nature brought her down to Austin and she fell in with a number of like-minded local luminaries. She’s shared the stage with Alejandro Escovedo, Steve Earle, and Shawn Colvin, among others. Mark Addison–noted for his work with the Band of Heathens, Matt the Electrician, and Sara Hickman–produced both 2009′s Bound To Love and Behind A Veil. The latter record came about after a troubling personal time for Klein, but just like so many folk artists before her, she managed to exorcise some of those emotions in the songwriting. The title track is especially razor-sharp, marrying Klein’s fiery lyrics with a rock and roll attitude, and today it’s our song of the day.
You can catch Klein in person when she performs with her band tonight at the Sahara Lounge.
Podcast: Download (7.6MB)
