THE WHOLE STORY

Capt. Jess lives in Panama City Beach, Florida most of the year. He holds a US Coast Guard Master Boat Captain license and owns a small dolphin tour boat company: Emerald Coast Water Tours. His home performance location is The Bayou on The Beach, a Cajun style restaurant and oyster bar where he performs “tourist” music of all genres.

Capt. Jess grew up in Lanett, AL on the Chattahoochee River.  With a music scholarship, he graduated from Southern Union State Jr College. He performed for two summers at Yellowstone National Park. He joined the US Army and graduated as the Soldier of the Cycle in his Basic Training company at Ft. Knox. He was accepted into and graduated from the Armed Forces School of Music. Capt. Jess also holds degrees in Electronics Technology and Technical Management. He worked as a Field Service Engineer for Siemens Drives Division in Alpharetta, GA. He is the founder and CEO of Emerald Coast Audio Visual Solutions, an AV technology company in Panama City, FL. As a music producer, Capt. Jess has designed, built and operated recording studio’s in Virginia Beach, Atlanta and Columbus, GA.

“I love taking people out on the water and seeing them connect to the dolphins…I like to do the same with my music performance. I can play a song and connect people to a special time and place in their life. I am a music historian in that regard. There is power in connecting people and song, especially when you can do it at low volumes in an entertaining fashion. I have been extraordinarily blessed to be in a life of musical performance for so many years…and I can still do it and I still love it!”