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Jessica Lurie

Seattle and Brooklyn-based Jessica Lurie is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser, performing on saxophones, flute, voice, accordion and electronics. She calls on a wide range of musical influences, including, funk, jazz, Americana, gospel, Klezmer, Balkan, Latin, and Afro-Cuban music, as well as a great love for free improvisation.

She has performed at festivals, universities, clubs, social centers and workshops in the US, Canada and Europe. Current projects include The Jessica Lurie Ensemble; Tiptons Saxophone Quartet & Drums; Living Daylights Trio; Bill Horist / Jessica Lurie Duo; Sephardic Sofie Salonika with Katie Down; Jewish Afro-beat band Zion80; experimental Far Cry Flutes and Seattle based improvising ensembles Slingshot Songs and Full Fathom Five +, featuring Skerik, Kate Olson, Naomi Seigel, Evan Flory-Barnes, and D’vonne Lewis.

As a leader, side-person, composer and collaborator, Jessica is featured on over 60 recordings. Collaborations with international artists include Fred Frith, Billy Martin, Skerik, John Zorn, Cyro Baptista, OU, Todd Sickafoose, David Krakauer, Bill Frisell, Jenny Scheinman, Chris Cochrane, Bill Horist, Robert Dick, Jamie Baum, Joe Dorias’s McTuff, Chuck D, The Indigo Girls, Mark Ribot, Eyvind Kang, Karl Denson, Frank London, Allison Miller, Vinicio Caposella, Nels Cline, Amy Denio, Jacob Fred Jazz Odessy, Kenny Wolleson, Sleater Kinney, Bernie Worrell and Ivan Neville among others.

Her work as a composer has been supported by national and international granting organizations, and she is featured in the 2009 jazz documentary Icons Among Us (2009). Jessica is currently teaching saxophone, flute and voice, as well as composition and technique in NYC.