KJ DENHERT Featured Releases: Album No. 9 KJ's 9th release features acoustic versions of classics like Alfie and the Beatles' Help.
PRESS [PRESS RELEASES] 2009-01-06 Pop Syndicate by George Thompson - Review With this new album, KJ—as she likes to be called—has reached a new level of performance.
Jazz of an original style.
KJ Denhert is a unique artist, singer, guitarist and songwriter who calls her music Urban Folk and Jazz. She is undoubtedly even more in her own game on new album dal Vivo a Umbria Jazz. Denhert’s voice is powerful and melodic on this album, which follows on the tail of her previous album Lucky 7. She is impeccably on mark with her rendition of “Over The Rainbow” which has become one of her trademark songs at performances. dal Vivo a Umbria Jazz was recorded live at the jazz festival held in Umbria, Italy, recently and the audience applauded before and during each song as she sang her heart out and poured a rich mixture of guitar playing into the performance. Denhert is a crowd pleaser wherever she appears with her band. One member has been with her for 17 years and seen the culmination of eight albums cut by this self-producing artist. She doesn’t fit into any particular niche, but etches out her performances as she goes. She is a main feature at The 55 Bar in New York City and has toured Europe over the years. She performs about 33 percent of the year and spends the rest of her time writing new music and managing the recording company she owns. With this new album, KJ—as she likes to be called—has reached a new level of performance. Unlike her previous album, this one is all over the scale as she sings and accompanies herself. There is improv on the guitar as well as on the piano and trumpet. I think they call it ad-libbing when the singing stops and the instruments take over with bridges of music before returning to the music on the sheet. She performs “Message In A Bottle” and a Beatles standard, “Ticket to Ride.” Believe me when I say you won’t recognize the latter because it’s jazz-infused beyond belief. KJ’s message is clear and you’ll understand it when you listen to the album: “I want to entertain, that’s what I was created to do.”
