Jay Clifford

Singer/songwriter Jay Clifford makes his nest in Charleston, but his hauntingly ethereal voice and pitch-perfect compositions have flown around the world - as he once sang, "in the cathedrals of New York and Rome" - since his band, Jump, Little Children went on hiatus in 2006.

For over a decade, Jump continually built up a huge grassroots fanbase through nonstop touring and three LPs, including 1998's Magazine (Atlantic/Breaking Records), which contained the adult-alternative hit "Cathedrals" (Elton John personally contacted the band to express his admiration of the song), 2001's Vertigo (independently released), and their last studio album, 2004's Between the Dim and the Dark (Brash Records).

Even while Jump was most active, Clifford's prolific output spilled over into another, more subdued, group: Rosebud. The "torchlight" ensemble included Jump bassist Jonathan Gray, percussionist John Wilson, pianist Michael Bellar (founder of New York City's As-Is Ensemble), and violinist Amanda Kapousouz (a.k.a. Athens, Ga.'s Tin Cup Prophette). Over the course of two independently-released albums, Rosebud soundtracked many romantic evenings and helped Clifford to exercise his composing muscles along with his vocal chords.

But it wasn't just Jump fans who noticed Clifford's extraordinary talents. Just as the fast-paced road life of Jump was beginning to slow, Clifford was invited to hop onto a number of other trains. Over the past four years, he's cowritten songs with Howie Day, Sean Lennon, Australian sensation Missy Higgins, Robert Randolph, and Mandi Perkins - all experiences that have helped him in creating his soon-to-be-released debut solo album, Driving Blind.

In February 2007, Clifford set out for Los Angeles to record Driving Blind at Swing House Studios with producer Warren Huart, whom he'd met while working on Howie Day's upcoming Epic Records release. The impressive crew of musicians on Driving Blind include drummer Travis McNabb (Better Than Ezra, Sugarland), bassist Dan Rothchild (Beck, Fiona Apple), and guitarists Dave Levita (Alanis Morissette, Daniel Powter) and Greg Suran (Sunny Day Real Estate, Jewel). After three weeks in Huart's studio, plus a few additions in Clifford's own home studio, the record was mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, Chris Isaak).