Jesse Maclaine

Solo or with her band, Jesse Maclaine performs beautiful, exciting, highly creative music that is both accessible and defies categorization.

Mezzo soprano-pianist-composer Jesse Maclaine began working as a professional performer and recording artist at age 20, just five years later she collaborated with friends in New Orleans and RCA Studios Nashville to produce her premiere LP as Aural Elixir. Now based in Denver and seasoned by over two decades as a performer and composer, she is held in high regard by peers, critics, and music lovers worldwide. Her shows are thoughtfully curated to include a sturdy framework of popular covers, obscure treasures, and finely crafted originals - enhanced by an irrepressible wave of inspiration and passion which ensures each performance is a unique experience! 

Many people note Jesse's music is similar to Tori Amos, Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple, Jewel, or Carole King, though Jesse has always noted her three main influences are Joni Mitchell, Thelonious Monk and Frank Zappa. Her original music and cover song selections traverse the genres of pop, rock, indie, folk, jazz, world, and avant-garde music; she also performs solo piano music as well as secular and nonsecular music for private events as requested. In 2013 Jesse recorded a full length album with legendary New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Three years later, in 2016 she released the self produced live EP "Better" featuring five original songs performed as a jazz-pop-rock duo with Denver drummer Ryan Elwood. Then during the spring of 2018 she opened for Melissa Etheridge

Over the course of her career in music, Jesse has written over 150 songs, performed over 2000 shows, toured extensively across the US, self produced 4 LPs & 1 EP, composed/arranged a commissioned musical theater score for a NoCO production company, collaborated with a Denver theater group to compose and perform the incidental and background music for an original play, contributed songs to numerous playlists and compilation CDs, and recorded / produced dozens of live music videos. She is currently composing new music, including her first full orchestral piece, "St. Gertrude's Symphony for Cats."

Jesse's past performances include numerous music halls, listening rooms, private events, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and festivals such as VegFest Colorado at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield & Jeffco Fairgrounds locations, Venus de Miles Festival, Aurora Arts Festival, All Folks Fest, Crestone Summer Music Festival, New Orleans' Cafe Istanbul, Tipitina's, The Howlin' Wolf, House of Blues, Blue Nile, 711 Bourbon Street, The St. Regis Aspen Resort, Fort Collins' Lincoln Center, Holiday Concert at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Macky Auditorium & Grusin Hall at CU Boulder, Denver's Herman's Hideaway, Mercury Cafe, La Cour Art Bar, Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Spark Theater, International Church of Cannabis, Little Bear Saloon, Boulder's Historic Chautauqua, St. Julien Hotel and Spa, Wildflower Pavilion at Lyons' Planet Bluegrass, Oklahoma City's Classic Rock Cafe, Santa Fe's Cowgirl Hall Of Fame, and many more. She has performed for such luminaries as Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, the 2001 Ambassador of Turkey, Jena Griswold - CO Sec. of State, Melissa Etheridge, John Legend, and iconic pop artist Ron English, and Aural Elixir's premier TV performance from Louisiana Jukebox (2000) is preserved in Tulane University's Jazz archives.

Last year Jesse founded the Musical Women Show and Social Hour to help increase visibility of women in music by collaborating and connecting with the local community of professional and amateur female and female identified musicians. She hosts a Musical Women Facebook Page and organizes a MWSHS concert every few months. 

Visit Jesse on YouTube to check out over a decade of live videos or Soundcloud to hear her compositions and preview new musical works. The future holds all sorts of new sonic adventures including the debut of her new project Jesse Maclaine & the Scotch! Listen to their dynamic and irresistible playlist of select live cuts from their debut concert, look for #jmscotch and follow them on social media.   

 

Aural Elixir

 Aural Elixir was featured on the Best Radio You've Never Heard Podcast, Women Of Substance Radio, KRFC 88.9 Colorado, 93.3 Denver KTCL, WHIV 102.3, & WWOZ 90.7 New Orleans!

Aural Elixir is an innovative rock/jazz/folk/pop band (and solo artist) created by singer-pianist-composer Jesse Maclaine in the late 90's in New Orleans, now based in Denver, Colorado. "Music makes everything better!" is the central theme and motivation for Aural Elixir's art rock, chamber pop, folk jazz melange of sonic magic. Critics, colleagues, and audiences of all ages rave about Aural Elixir's creativity, compelling songs, refined musicality, dynamic range, and stellar talent!

Aural Elixir is popular on radio stations from Florida to Alaska, including WVFS Tallahassee 89.7FM, New Orleans' WWOZ 90.7 FM, Tulane University's WTUL 91.5 FM, WHIV New Orleans, Fort Collins' KRFC 88.9 FM, Denver's 99.5 The Mountain, Fairbanks' KUAC, as well as on internet radio like Spotify, Jango, iHeart Radio, and Apple Music. 

Jesse Maclaine's Aural Elixir celebrates diversity in music with an array of originals and songs from the 60's to the present including covers by popular artists like Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Otis Redding, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac, The Pixies, Sarah Bareilles, the White Stripes, Fiona Apple, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, The Beatles, Randy Newman, Fiona Apple, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Perri, Meghan Trainor, Duran Duran and many more. Jesse is currently composing new music, playing limited engagements across the United States & Europe, producing new songs, curating and managing a new series: Musical Women Show & Social Hour, connecting with friends and fans in person and online, making new videos for the YouTube channel, promoting veganism, and working as an activist for animal rights, the environment, gender equality, racial equality, and other issues which are dear to her heart. (If you are a non profit looking for music then please reach out, we would love to help!)  

Find us on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, YouTube, Bandcamp, Instagram and all over the interwebs.

Peace, Love & Music!