Late Nite

Jesse “JTJazz” Thompson, multi-talented composer, pianist, and keyboardist, born in “The Land of Funk” (Dayton, Ohio) attributes his humble beginnings in music to being captivated by a family of musicians: a father who was a professional jazz drummer, Thompson’s mother – a church organist/pianist and his brother Marvyn Wheatley (who recorded and played with Parliament and Slave). Industry influences were soul/funk legends the Ohio Players, Lakeside, and Zapp featuring Roger Troutman.
Driven to continue the legacy of great musicianship, Thompson became a member of the popular Columbus-based, R&B/Jazz group NexLevel for several years. The collectives released two albums, a string of singles, and shared stages with countless notable artists.
In 2021, the impact of the global pandemic deeply inspired Thompson to write and release the up-tempo, feel-good melody “Weekend Groove,” feat. Althea Rene which catapulted the musician into solo-artist status. The well-received track has garnered close to 200K Spotify streams to date.
Thompson would go on to release a 7-song Project in 2022, intriguingly titled, “The Inauguration of JTJazz (Jesse Thompson - the man behind the keys),” marking the commencement of a new pathway and birthing several singles from the project.
With 2024 being a ‘leap year’ which some say is the year of inspiration, Thompson has resolutely followed his passion by keeping his legacy in music alive by teaming with heavyweight Producer/Guitarist Adam Hawley and collaborating with highly sought after saxophonist Judah Sealy to create an alluring mid-tempo track entitled “Late Nite” which dropped on 04/01/2024.