Jessie Demaree is a Phoenix-based clarinetist, bass clarinetist, recording artist, composer, and organizer. She has built a reputation as the self-proclaimed “overdub queen,” known for piling unexpected sounds into a recording until it becomes something bigger than where it started. Clarinet is only part of the picture. Her recordings often include vocals, percussion, trumpet, and whatever else the music seems to ask for. Following one idea too far has never been a problem.

She is often called in for the unusual. Klezmer, free improvisation, experimental music, dense textures, strange little interjections. Yet the same player who is happiest making odd sounds can step into the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Olivier Messiaen, or Philip Glass without missing a beat. Her work moves easily between the tightly written and the completely unplanned, and she is most at home somewhere in between.

As a performer and collaborator, Jessie has played nationally and internationally with projects that rarely stay in one lane for long. She is a founding member of Jerusafunk and the creator of Desert Breath. She has worked with artists including Jolie Holland and Tatsuya Nakatani. Whether she is recording a guest part on someone else’s album, building a nest of overdubs in the studio, or improvising in front of an audience, there is a sense that anything might happen next.

Outside of performing, Jessie is deeply involved in the Phoenix music community. She organizes the Music Merch Market and Open Drom Sessions, both of which bring together musicians who might not otherwise end up in the same room. She also serves as Assistant Production Manager for Oh My Ears, where she helps produce concerts and events that celebrate adventurous music in all its forms.

What ties all of this together is a love of risk. Jessie is drawn to music that feels alive while it is happening, music with rough edges and surprises still left in it.