Looking forward to dates in Netherlands and Italy supporting her latest album, Spitfire
While Jessie Galante might have earned the title of Buffalo’s First Lady of Rock, more than half the dates she has played over the last decade helped set Europe on fire, particularly the Netherlands and Hungary. In support of her latest release, the rocking, ultra-soulful Spitfire, she’s heading back over the pond from New York to revisit some of her favorite stages and spread the love to some new ones.
Made from the same mold as Janis Jopin, Tina Turner, and Nancy Wilson (of Heart), Jessie tears up a stage and takes no prisoners live. And scores of those prisoners over the past ten years were taken in the Netherlands and Budapest.
As befits Buffalo’s First Lady of Rock, Jessie was raised in Buffalo, NY. In her late teens she joined the band Actor. They had a hit with the song “Checkin’ Out.” Actor remains a Buffalo legend, and you can still hear “Checkin’ Out” on some that City's radio stations.
After a short stint in Los Angeles, which included Michael Wagener's production of her band Fire and a recording that found its way all over the world including reviews and radio airplay, like on Piccadilly Radio, England,and Radio Flash 97.6, Italy. Jessie came back to Buffalo, and there she hooked up with producer/engineer Larry Swist. Swist's incredible career has seen him helming the studio with artists ranging from Ike and Tina Turner to Sly and the Family Stone, Spryo Gyra to Foreigner’s Lou Gramm. He saw that, “Her extraordinary stage presence and ability to explode with excitement in performance makes ‘The Jessie Experience” the real deal.”
Jessie’s next move was to conquer Europe. She moved to the Netherlands, and played festivals and clubs and opening for National bands like Golden Earring. Jessie's band in the Netherlands is comprised of musicians previously with the Dutch national band Volumia. She built a huge fan base and earned tons of media attention, throughout the Netherlands and Hungary. Radio host Hubert Van Hoof of Netherland’s L1 Radio compared her to rockin’ soul greats Chaka Kahn and Mother’s Finest lead vocalist Joyce Kennedy. Even when she moved back to the United States, Jessie spends a good portion of each year in Europe.
“My audiences in Europe are incredibly enthusiastic,” Jessie says. “We’ve made a heart to heart connection.”
The musicians on “Spitfire” epitomize this cosmopolitan attitude, as well. She recorded with American musicians, who previously played with artists ranging from Lenny Kravitz to Anastacia, Everlast to Joss Stone and Billy Joel, and the European artists who comprise her band during her annual trips there. Swist co-produced the album with eight-time Grammy-award winner Mick Guzauski (mixed Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Anastacia, KISS, Celine Dion, Earth Wind & Fire).
The result is an album made to cross borders. Musical borders like soul and rock disappear on songs like the title track and merge on her cover of Gladys Knights “(I’ve Got To Use) My Imagination." International borders crumble like the Berlin Wall on “Get Away,” co-written with her Hungarian guitarist Peter Raso.
What brings all these people, energy, sounds and other musical elements together? Simply Jessie Galante’s incredible voice and amazing stage presence. Anyone who’s heard her gets hooked on the passion, power, and puissance of her voice, just as she’s hooked on singing. “Some people crave chocolate, I need to sing,” she explains. “The physical energy of singing is an extreme act for me. In fact, it’s a fix.”
Give her a listen and get the addiction.
