In addition to U.S. dates, highlights include KJ's fifth consecutive year
at Italy's renowned Umbria Jazz Festival
LOS ANGELES, April 30 -- Award-winning singer-songwriter
and guitarist KJ Denhert -- known for her lusty fusion of jazz, funk, R&B,
neo-soul and folk -- will tour this spring and summer, beginning with dates
in her hometown, New York City. The itinerary kicks off with a May 3 show
at storied prohibition-era Greenwich Village venue 55 Bar, where Denhert
has held a regular slot every other Saturday night (when she's not on the
road), for a decade. Also in NYC, she'll play the New Song Festival at
Bryant Park on May 14 and 55 Bar again on the 17th before heading to the
West Coast for two weeks of club and festival dates. Northern and Southern
California highlights include Yoshi's in San Francisco (5/27), Temple Bar
in Santa Monica (6/3) and the Sonoma County's Harmony Festival in Santa
Rosa (6/6-7).
In addition to U.S. dates -- which also include engagements in
Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York state -- the
Grenadian-American Denhert will be an artist-in-residence at the world
renowned Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy for an unprecedented fifth
consecutive year, July 11-20. She and her longtime band, the NY Unit --
also featuring ace saxophonist Aaron Heick -- will play two shows daily.
Denhert's live performances are always cause for celebration, because
her earthy and spirited personality, laced with her signature sense of
humor, are as much a part of the occasion as her genre-transcending music.
Famed radio personality and smoothjazz.com founder Sandy Shore recently
wrote, "You'll be hard pressed to find a talent as cool and unique as one
Miss KJ Denhert. We're rather reluctant to label this artist, however. Even
she is challenged when describing her music ... This vocalist offers up
robust, soulful, pop jazz that truly provides an enrapturing listening
experience. Warm, rich and vibrant are words that I'd feel comfortable
using rather than forcing a fit into a specific music genre."
Those qualities shine on her new album LUCKY 7, slated for release May
27. An enhanced CD featuring twelve songs plus videos of KJ and the NY
Unit, the disc is her Motema Music debut, in association with her own
Mother Cyclone Records imprint. KJ also produced the album --
appropriately, her seventh -- and enlisted keyboardist Bennett Paster to
co-produce several tracks (they first collaborated at Umbria Jazz 2006).
LUCKY 7 was recorded and mixed by engineer/producer Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn,
Diana Krall, Patty Larkin, etc.), and highlights include: the title track,
"Little Problems," the heartbreaker "He's Not Coming Home," the three-part
"What's My Name" and KJ's unaccompanied performance of "Sad Song." The
album's one cover, an intimate take on "Over The Rainbow," is a fan
favorite at shows.
Performing Songwriter has written that, "KJ Denhert is so full of a
love for life that you hear it in her voice, her lyrics and the exuberant
beats of her songs." Hear her in concert to fully experience it.
For more information, log on to http://www.kjdenhert.com or
http://www.motema.com
5-03-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
5-14-2008 The New Song Festival New York, NY
at Bryant Park (5PM slot)
5-17-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
5-24-2008 Sonoma Jazz Plus (2PM slot) Sonoma, CA
5-25-2008 Monterey Live Monterey, CA
5-27-2008 Virgin Mega Store Union Square San Francisco, CA
5-27-2008 Yoshi's San Francisco San Francisco, CA
5-31-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
6-02-2008 Kuumbwa Jazz Center Santa Cruz, CA
6-03-2008 Temple Bar Santa Monica, CA
6-04-2008 Anthology San Diego
6-06-2008 Harmony Festival Santa Rosa, CA
- Sonoma County Fairgrounds
6-07-2008 Harmony Festival Santa Rosa, CA
- Sonoma County Fairgrounds
6-08-2008 Menlo Park Sunset Celebration Menlo Park, CA
6-14-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
6-21-2008 JVC Jazz at Le Poisson Rouge New York, NY
(formerly Village Gate)
6-28-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
7-11-2008 Umbria Jazz 2008 Perugia, Italy
through 7-20-2008 (2 shows daily)
7-26-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
8-02-2008 Dazzle Jazz Denver, CO
8-04-2008 Belly Up Aspen, CO
8-08-2008 Belleayre Music Festival Highmount, NY
- Belleayre Mountain
Ski Resort
8-09-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
8-13-2008 Cape Cod Jazz Festival Chatham, MA
- Wequasset Inn
8-16-2008 Knowlton Riverfest Delaware, NJ
8-17-2008 River to River Festival New York, NY
- Pier 70
8-19-2008 Cornwall on Hudson Cornwall on Hudson, NY
Bandstand Concert
8-23-2008 The 55 Bar New York, NY
