Jessie Turner "All the Sweet Things" Raised more on Joplin than Jewel, local chanteuse Jessie Turner proves to be an exciting new female voice. "All the Sweet Things," a collection of 10 original songs, is sexy and light-hearted - a far cry from the Woe-is-me female wailers who light up the Alice airwaves. Turner's bluesy alto resembles Bonnie Raitt's, although it's more supple, and her guitar playing is more than proficient. My favorite is the title tune - a theme song for every riotgrrrl who's ever been dangerously in lust.

San Francisco Bay Guardian, October, 1999
by Summer Burkes
All The Sweet Things

FOLK GETS A funky, trip-hoppy edge in Jessie Turner's full-length CD, All the Sweet Things. The sexy, dreamy title song showcases Turner's excellent, versatile vocal cords; she soars on the high notes and drops to a sultry alto as she lasciviously, noncheesily recalls last night's love session: "I can't stop thinkin' bout your breath in my ear / The look in your eyes / Tight grasp on my wrist / Bruise on my thigh / The burn in my mouth" and so on. S.F.-based Turner also pulls at the loins during the whispered, a cappella Italian intro to "Evolution." On "Hear Me" a boy plays mellow Melle Mel to her easygoing Chaka Khan, then she takes the helm for the expansive, VH1-ready chorus Ð in fact, the entire CD has elements of a subtler Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, or Fiona Apple. And not in a bad way. Info: (415) 431-6630.

Earpollution, April 2000
by Mark Teppo
All The Sweet Things

Smoothly gliding back and forth between comparisons to Tori Amos and Bonnie Raitt, Jessie Turner shapes a niche of her own, blending tight four-piece grooves, trip-hop sensibilities, delicious harmonies, and sharp songwriting. She opens with her title track and you immediately know that this isn't the Jewel-style coffee hours songstress. Ms. Turner has some melancholy and some pain to float past us. "All the Sweet Things" reminds us of the good and bad elements of a relationship and how sometimes the bad can be forsaken in an effort to maintain the good. This sets the tone for the rest of the album as she mixes both the bleak and the beautiful into her music, weaving stories of confusion and elation, hope and hopelessness, despair and euphoria. Surrounding herself with crisp instrumentation, she gives lift to her lyrics, using her crisp voice to excellent effect. This was a lovely surprise, someone you might hear upon wandering into a smoky bar some night for just one drink. Well, that is what you tell yourself, but by the closing round you're still there, seduced by the voice and moved by the music of Jessie Turner.

East Bay Express, April 2000
by Larry Kelp
All The Sweet Things

Jessie Turner's "All The Sweet Things" CD was one of last year's best rock recordings. Her voice and words on the title song evoke red-hot sexuality in ways that more lyrically explicit songs only hint at, and her exploration of other elements of life and love are driven by perfectly honed arrangements.

San Francisco Examiner, April 2000
by Philip Elwood
All The Sweet Things

Down closer to the Bay in West Berkeley's Freight and Salvage Coffee House, singer-guitarists Jessie Turner, Shelley Doty, and Deborah Pardes gave an enthusiastic crowd a cross section of what folk music has come to by 2000. Of the performers at the Freight, Jessie Turner, the best known of the trio, is also the most definitively a "contemporary folk" artist. Her beautiful, liquid soprano holds pitch well and flows through a couple of octaves like a clear mountain stream. Her dynamics, even during a single number, may range from a wiser to a rousing, full-throated proclamatory line. Like her colleagues at the Freight, she uses an electric bass and guitar, plus drums as a backup unit to her own acoustic box and nice voice.

Bostonia, Spring 2000
by Taylor MacNeil
All The Sweet Things

Moving beyond her folksy roots, Turner rocks with a cool, contemporary sound, even mixing it up with a bit of trip-hop on this, her second CD. Some of her songs lean towards love's losses, but they aren't tales of woe. In fact, Turner's often sultry vocals underscore what they really are: tales of desire, unrequited and otherwise. She's also got an inimitable way with pure pop hooks that grab you, leaving refrains to repeat in your head long after the CD player is turned off. In fact, All The Sweet Things is essentially radio-ready, if only mainstream radio would play music as catchy and literate as this.

FAO Casa Gazette, Internal Magazine of the United Nations, April 2000
by Stavros Moschopoulos
All The Sweet Things

Jessie Turner - all the sweet things. In spite of the political correctness that has [almost, unfortunately,] permeated our post-modern life and speech, I will introduce this delicious record by saying that it is a lusty, sexy recording by a jazzy, bluesy, silky-voiced singer who has an impeccable means of creative energy and feminine sensitivity to harmonize the erotic fantasies of life. Jessie Turner is extremely talented and her second release, all the sweet things, is a testimony to her artistic spirit and her wonderful voice. An acoustic jewel from a great artist. (www.jessieturner.com)

San Francisco singer-songwriter casts herself in a mainstream rock-pop setting, where her song arrangements (by Turner and bassist David Motto) and the album's production are so impressive that they overshadow the lyrics and singing. What stands out here is how good the music sounds. One could easily imagine anyone from the late Laura Niro and Joni Mitchell to Linda Ronstadt and Sheryl crow appropriating these versions intact. There's the R&B-flavored "Rhythm of the Rain, the Rocking "Wicked Under Fire", and "Woke up this Morning" where the complex vocal harmonies (all sung by Turner) take the place of most of the instruments.

Dirty Linen, February/March, 1999
by Anil Prasad
Here and There

The road to notoriety is long, bumpy, and steep. Artists need an all-terrain temperament and a lot of drive if they are to arrive intact. It's a lesson Bay Area Singer-songwriter Jessie Turner knows well. For several years she has slowly but surely been winning over audiences on the U.S. folk circuit with her warm crystalline voice, deft guitar work, and powerful stage presence. Recently she even sang to millions of television viewers who saw her perform the American National Anthem at a St. Louis Cardinals game. On her debut CD Here and There, Turner grabs the lens and points it outward. Affection, reflection and dedication are a few of life's themes this elegant collection's ten original pieces explore. Quietly jazz-tinged one moment and folk-rockin' the next, Here and There is a passionate effort from an artist with a most promising future.

Bostonia, Summer1997
by Taylor MacNeil
Here and There

Singer-songwriters can usually be placed in one of two categories: engaging and open to life's paradoxes or closed in shallow self-absorption. Turner is firmly entrenched in the former camp and is blessed besides with a beguiling voice and a keen ear for good melody and strong rhythm. "Life's insane, so strange, these things/You've got to make fun of them/You've got to see the humor in your pain," she sings on "Rhythm of the Rain", setting the tone for Here and There. That's not to say bad things don't happen. In another song she advises a former lover to give a birthday present "two months a thousand heartbreaks too late" to "your new girlfriend", all the while a knock-out pop hook sinks its claws into our consciousness. Turner mixes it up musically providing plenty of variety- acoustic and electric, minor and major keys- and ends up not so much folk, as folk-rock, if labels mean anything. What's surprising is that such a professional debut was self-released, and thus not as widely available as it should be. One hopes this will change soon.

FAO Casa Gazette, Internal Magazine of the United Nations, September 1997
by Stavros Moschopoulos
Here and There

Why is it that some people get a huge dose of nature's vocal gifts, a remarkable sense of great composition and great looks and I end up in the bleachers in search of lost golf balls? I always wonder about this, especially as I listen to Jessie's awesome release. Here is a CD that is truly a jewel to be enjoyed, in your quiet introspective moods when one tries to make sense out of the senseless tangle called "LIFE". A golden voice and the elegant folk-rock arrangement have garnered her well-merited praise from her peers and audiences alike. A shining star.

Music Connection Magazine, 1997

Clever lyrical ideas and inviting melodies... A nice range... A strong live performer...

American Visons Magazine, 1997
By Bill Hasson

Completely original. Must be something deep there, down inside her soul... Want a prescription to prevent a heartache? Go hear Jessie Turner. The procedure is painless, and the results are everlasting.

Paul Winter, 1997

Jessie Turner's songs and singing have a unique power and originality. She is blazing a promising path toward becoming one of the notable singer-songwriters of her generation. Jay O'Callahan, Master NPR Story-teller, 1997

Jessie Turner shimmers with light and beauty. Her singing is clear and haunting, alive and gathering. Jessie Turner is magical.

Pat Summers, Founder and Producer Sonoma's Salute to the Arts

Jessie Turner, an ultra premium talent, has graced the stage at Sonoma's annual Salute to the Arts with professionalism and style...

Yusef Lateef

A beautiful voice quality.