Ramon & Jessica (multi-instrumentalist composers Dina Maccabee and Jesse Olsen Bay) has been creating offbeat, charming, and musically ambitious songs for over 20 years. With four original albums and two decades of memorable performances across the U.S., our explorations of a cappella vocal arrangements, unique instrumentation, and minimalist incorporation of experimental, folk, and pop influences have long been loved by listeners of all ages for its heart, whimsy, and creative spark. We've also scored films, dance pieces, and have written and recorded a piece for vocal ensemble based on a Gertrude Stein book!
Our work is driven by experimentation, challenging conventional forms, structures and aesthetics; expression, using lyrics and music to honestly and critically address our own experiences and observations; and minimalism, using the simplest possible tools to achieve our musical ends. We strive to elicit enjoyment, reflection, and surprise as we challenge listener’s expectations of what can be addressed within the scope of a single song, lyric, or melody. Our deeply collaborative creative process results in a sound that differs greatly from either of our individual work. Often subverting gendered vocal roles, our voices blend in intricate harmonies that draw on traditional American music, outsider pop, and experimentalist composers.
We were mainstays of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for 15 years, before relocating (Jesse to the East Coast, Dina to Berlin) in 2021. We have performed throughout the U.S., including appearances at Switchboard Music Festival, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, Climate Theater’s Music Box series, and the U.C. Berkeley Redwood Grove, among many others, and garnering attention from media including JazzTimes, East Bay Express, SF Weekly, KALX Berkeley, KZSU Stanford, KALW, and The Bay Bridged.
Our most recent creation is Roses are Blue. Building on our irreverent mixing of folk, experimental, and children's music, this a cappella piece for 6 singers and narrator uses Getrude Stein’s 1939 children’s book The World is Round as a springboard to create an intimate, all-ages production. The recording was released on Infrequent Seams Records in 2025.
