Motema

2009-01-14
Boomer-Living.com by Steve Woytowicz - Feature
Her voice is powerful, her lyrics full of intelligent insight, and her musicianship is impeccable. Her eclectic yet unified performances reach out to many different types of audiences...

Boomer-Living.com
Written by Steve Woytowicz
1/14/08

KJ Denhert is a unique artist, singer, guitarist and songwriter who calls her music Urban Folk and Jazz. Her voice is powerful, her lyrics full of intelligent insight, and her musicianship is impeccable. Her eclectic yet unified performances reach out to many different types of audiences without compromising her music and beliefs.

KJ remembers, “I picked up a guitar when I was ten and immediately I started writing music. I loved Sergio Mendes’ songs, liked John Hartford on the Glenn Campbell Show and really got into James Taylor and Joni Mitchell who I still consider my two main influences. I also loved the singer-songwriters of the time including Carole King and Laura Nyro and later fell in love with Steely Dan’s music, and just wore out my copy of Hubert Laws’ Rite Of Spring. I was completely self-taught, by listening to records and playing them over and over, teaching myself tablature from a great James Taylor book and modal tunings from Joni Mitchell’s For The Roses song book. I didn’t really do anything but play guitar through my teenage years.”

Among KJ Denhert’s many accomplishments, in addition to running her own band and label, are three highly successful appearances at Umbria Jazz (“the audience response was very gratifying”), an ongoing residency since 1999 at The 55 Bar in NYC, winning many songwriting contests (including being named among the six winners of the Kerrville New Folk Song contest in June 2006 for Private Angel and the Mountain Stage Newsong contest in August 05 for Little Mary), and successful appearances at other festivals and clubs around the world. Her previous recording, Another Year Gone By, Live won the 2006 Independent Music Award for Best Live Performance.

KJ DenhertWhen asked about her band, KJ said, “My bassist, Mamadou Ba who is originally from Senegal, has been with me the longest since 1997 when I started the NY Unit. My drummer Ray Levier and keyboardist Peter Vitalone, have both been with me since ‘98 and ‘99.”

KJ says, “I am always interested in stretching myself and performing my music in different ways. The Lucky 7 recordings feature some wonderful pairings of great players that I don’t always get to tour with but who have appeared in with me at The 55 and are wonderful friends too.

KJ manages between 120-140 performances a year. New music, places to play and new festivals are what she’s about these days “… so we can keep on performing for new audiences. I can’t stop, this is what I do.”

Let’s hope she KJ Denhert continues her music for many many years to come.

http://www.boomer-living.com/artsentertainment/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=53

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