(Integral) "If You Believed In Me" is the new ballad - and title track from the forthcoming album - from Grammy Award winner Jesse Harris, featuring him alone with his guitar and accompanied by a full orchestra, arranged and conducted by Brazilian composer, Maycon Ananias. The new album album is set for release on November 7 via Artwork Records.
In the tradition of Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson, the song blends old American harmony with singer-songwriter confessional intimacy. It's the third glimpse into Harris's forthcoming orchestral album out this fall: a sweeping, cinematic journey from one of today's most quietly iconic songwriters from NYC.
If You Believed In Me began with an unexpected offer: "If you ever need an orchestra..." Jesse Harris's friend and arranger Maycon Ananias had extra recording time with an Estonian orchestra and invited Harris to send a song. That first experiment, Dolores, sparked something new. Though Harris - a Grammy winner and longtime collaborator of Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, and Cat Power - had released over twenty albums, he had never recorded with an orchestra.
Inspired, Harris wrote eight more songs in five weeks, crafting intricate compositions designed for symphonic arrangement. Recorded between New York, Rio, and Tallinn, the album features guest appearances from Norah Jones, Brazilian guitarist Guilherme Monteiro, Jake Sherman, and Marine Quemere of Nouvelle Vague.
With lush, expressive arrangements, the album explores themes of memory, longing, and imagined possibilities - the "what ifs" at the heart of every dreamer. It's orchestral pop full of warmth, melancholy, and quiet surprises - all sparked by one simple invitation.
North American Tour Dates
January 11 - Joe's Pub / Winter Jazz Fest, New York, NY
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