Meet Jessie Nelson

 

We were lucky to catch up with Jessie Nelson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Being told no and proving people wrong over and over again. I’ve done everything I’ve been told I wasn’t good enough to do / gotten myself almost every place I’ve ever wanted to go on my own back.
I was told mid music school during my undergrad at ASU that I wasn’t good enough to be in the music department for drums / jazz / percussion. I said I wasn’t leaving and pushed through and became a professional working drummer at the age of 25 in the Phoenix jazz scene. I was told by well known jazz drum educator John Riley I wasn’t good enough to go to graduate school for music and I went to Brooklyn College for my masters and studied with Frank Cassara, Salim Washington and David Grubbs and have been continuously working in musical theater and other genres professionally since 2009. I’ve been jerked around in the Broadway scene for 15 years and have gotten 5 books to learn and despite getting jerked around at the end every time, I’m not done fighting because I’m now doing the best playing of my career due to all of this experience.
I’m not a dj by trade but I learned and hustled my way into djing for five years at Ace Hotel New York, one of the major boutique hotel chains for the creative class in the country.
Everyone who underestimates me continues to be wrong and they will continue to be if they choose not to take me seriously. One of my favorite sayings about myself: “Don’t screw with me, you will not win”.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a creative professional with serious multi-hyphenate chops. I’ve been a music journalist from 2002 to 2009 starting with my internship at the Village Voice at the age of 20, I’ve been a professional drummer for almost 20 years, I’ve been an educator in various capacities (teaching artist, arts high school substitute teacher, drum instructor) and a dj despite not being one by trade but getting myself into the Ace Hotel New York for 5 years. During the pandemic I taught myself ui / ux / web design and now have a small resume and portfolio with projects in it, with my intent by the end of 2025 to turn that into cash and make that and gigging professionally my income source. Off and on since my 20’s I’ve been a spoken word artist and a hip hop / lyrical mover in the dance medium. I love what I do because I work with the best every time I leave my house and being stagnant isn’t an option. The question in front of my mind at every practice session / every gig regardless of the medium is: How well can I do this?

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My belief in myself and what I brought to the table was the guiding light my entire career because I have been jerked around, screwed over and thwarted at every turn but I just keep getting better and continue to get hired. I put high quality work out every single time I’m dealing with the public whether that’s on the gig / at the rehearsal / or the playing samples I send out with every email. I will not hear no, they can go tell someone else that. I also move in silence, I don’t tell anyone outside of my inner circle anything. Something that I also hold onto: “If you’re really about it, you don’t have to talk about it, you’re busy doing it.” The loudest one in the room is always the most insecure and so many people in this business need to feel important, be seen and hear the sound of their own voice. They can go do that, I’ll keep my head down and keep letting my work speak for itself.

My advice for those early on on your journey: Don’t listen to the word no, stay in the work and keep your circle tight with people you know will show up for you the way you deserve. Remember no one in this business actually wants you to do well. They’ll be nice to you when you’re earnest and sweet and loyal but give you absolutely nothing when you get your self worth together to help you get to the next level. You have to be willing to fight for yourself especially when you know you have the goods in your toolbox for the job.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel beaten up by the nonsense that goes on in this business, I keep to my strict daily inner practice and stop talking. Daily meditation / journaling and working out (yoga specifically) are my touch stones. Also I read self development books / listen to podcasts / etc in that vein constantly. I stay away from people who have shown me with their actions I’m not worth their time.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photos by Darrel Dillon.

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