If you ever have a moment to sit with Jess Garland, one name will almost always escape her lips: Alice Coltrane. Call it obsession, or even humble admiration, but Garland can’t help but to give homage to one of the greatest harpists, jazz musicians and multi-instrumentalist of our time, and yet still carve a unique pathway of her own.

When we caught up with Garland to talk about her debut album, “GLOW,” she reflected quietly on the Coltrane inspirations and Sade influences that seamlessly forge together on the new seven-song record. Now, six years after releasing the title track, she has delivered the full album, backed by Dallas heavy-hitters who are taking “GLOW 2.0” (as she would coin it) to the next level.

“When I try to describe my sound, I always say if Alice Coltrane and Sade did something together, you would get me,” Garland said. “Those are my two biggest musical influences for sure that are probably maybe obvious to some, but maybe not to others.”

A painful ‘GLOW’ up

“GLOW” has other latent influences — Garland doesn’t shy away from the fact that her personal life informed the music. A painful divorce and the themes of separation, heartbreak and isolation are all spun together as tiny fabrics of the album, with Garland’s healing journey bursting at the seams to blanket the entire compilation.

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“All of these songs came out of a divorce to be quite honest, and a separation. I really was just trying to survive,” she said. “I was just trying to heal myself and find things to do for me, and these are songs that I just created that were completely out of that moment. Even though it’s been several years from that, there’s still been a lot of growth and transformation. But it’s still music that is transformative and still represents the person who I’ve grown to be today, which is even much further than [where] I was the first time I put a single out.” 

For anyone who has caught one of her live shows before, many of the songs may ring familiar, as she’s performed tracks like “GLOW” or “Brighter Side” on various stages across North Texas. But with a new co-producer (Jonathan “JayAnalog” Thomas of Cure for Paranoia) and an evolved look on life, the songs are never stagnant — they evolve alongside her artistry, verse by verse.

“I’m obsessed with how it’s the 2.0 version of ‘GLOW’… and it’s technically the third iteration of it. The first one I never put out,” Garland admitted. “It was really important for me to marry the sounds. ‘GLOW’ is the most transformative song on the album that gives a complete foundation to my message.”

Over the title track’s soft, mellow tune, the strings of the harp are lightly plucked as she sings, “Leave the past, trust the path/Nothing lasts, nothing lasts/First I go, then I grow/And then I glow.”

Entering the ambient-soul genre

The album is an artful fusion of endless genres and influences, from the quiet storm R&B, to psychedelic ambient sounds, bluesy jazz and even neo-soul. A classically trained musician, Garland fluidly moves between the harp to the guitar to vocals, and then back to the harp, even lightly knocking on it from time to time for a deep rhythmic effect. And while the Grammy Recording Academy may label it as “new age” or even “ambient soul,” Garland prefers to be unbridled.

“I would just say I’m strictly an ambient artist,” she said. “If you listen to a lot of ambient musicians, especially Black ones, you get a similar feeling and vibe to what you hear from me. I just try to be mindful that Black artists easily get put into the R&B category and my album is obviously not that. Do you hear influences? Yes. But also, genre is not real.”

Jess Garland’s debut record, “GLOW,” is inspired by divorce and the self-discovery that came after it.

Rather than be bound by genre limitations, Garland says allows her strums to take her wherever she’s feeling.

“These are terms that we use to market our music,” she adds. “When you take away all the production and how I perform most of these songs live, it’s just me and a harp, or me and a guitar, and me singing with either instrument, you know? So I can appreciate that people can hear the soul in my music as well.”

Welcoming new beginnings

“GLOW” may be the anthem, but edging the sultry, breathy melodies aside, the audience has spoken, and “New Beginnings” seems to be listeners’ standout. The streaming numbers never lie, and the album’s opening track, featuring vocals by Kierra Gray Thomas (We Them Grays), is a testament to the journey the album soon follows. A looped, ethereal dream of Garland’s harp-meets-guitar fusion, laced with the croons of Gray, is what makes “New Beginnings” a magnet for repetitive play.

“‘New Beginnings gives a strong foundation to who I am as a sound artist and who I am as a composer,” Garland said. “It’s a big part of my sound in terms of the ambient sounds from the harp and a little of the psychedelic guitar going on there as well. There are also some unexpected sounds like knocking — it’s me basically building a beat from actually knocking on the harp. And that’s something I think people just won’t expect.”

Throughout the album, from tracks like “I Tried (Live Again)” and “Better” to “Brighter Sides,” the listener rides the waves of transformation alongside Garland, bobbing up and through her lyrical realm of healing, all the while experiencing the true power of her multi-disciplinary artistry. At the end of the day, she leaves all matters within her music up to interpretation. Nothing less, and nothing more.

Defining Dallas’ Black sound

Garland has been on the scene for decades, often witnessed accompanying other bands in Dallas. This is the first time the multi-hyphenate artist is doing things solo, and if you let her tell it, it feels so good. What’s even more gratifying, is her contribution to what she dubs as a Black sound resonating deep from within the depths of Dallas.

“It’s always astonishing to me when you hear things like ‘Dallas has no culture’ or people questioning ‘what is the Dallas sound,’ when Texas is one of the most awarded states for Grammy Awards,” she said. “The Dallas sound is way more expansive than the box people want to put us in. We have ambient nights, we have experimental nights, and that is a big part of our sound. I think the funkiness, the jazziness of it all is a big part of how expansive Black sound can get in Dallas specifically.” 

Garland wants to be akin to it all, and ‘GLOW’ is but a mere love letter to the distinction of her Black sound, and the many artists who have paved the way to make space for it. While dream collaborations with Andre 3000 and Björk hang in the balance, the SMU alum is utterly proud of this long-awaited project that is a testament to the woman she is today.

The future is bright

So, what’s making Garland glow these days? Besides a gorgeous new album and running her local music education non-profit, Swan Strings? There may be embers of romance on the horizon, even though the artist remained tight-lipped on who is lighting her fire these days. However, the eyes never lie, and the break of her smile bore her secret right away.

While mum on the love front, Garland did fan the flames in hinting towards a future Grammy consideration.

“I did submit [‘GLOW’] for Best Ambient Album,” she told us. “I’m glad that I didn’t rush it because it wouldn’t be what it is today. I’m just happy that I have something to present to the Recording Academy as a recording artist. It’s really just about preserving music history at the end of the day, and showing that this is a part of what Dallas has to offer.”

GLOW is now available for download on all major platforms. The proceeds go to benefit Garland’s non-profit organization Swan Strings—a 501(c)(3) providing free music education, community concerts, and sound therapy services to North Texas individuals without access.