KJ Denhert

Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Secondary Genre: Jazz New York, New York USA Contact

"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." Performing Songwriter Magazine KJ is self-taught guitarist, who plays Urban Folk and Jazz, with a long-standing great band that is as tight as a bright red drum!

Artist Information

Biography

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. She is heard at her best on her most recent recording, Destiny and is known to be especially good live. She performs the unusual feat of being both highly individual and quite accessible.

KJ remembers, “I picked up a guitar when I was ten and immediately I started writing music. I was completely self-taught, by listening to records and playing them over and over, teaching myself tablature from a great James Taylor book. In the 1980s, KJ Denhert toured for six years as the lead guitarist and occasional vocalist with an all-female band called Fire, playing rock and top-40 music throughout the US, Canada and Europe. After the group ran its course, she worked at a day job while continuing to write and play music. While working in Cleveland as a financial analyst, she started the Mother Cyclone label and made her first recording. Moving home to New York in 1997, she formed the NY Unit, a group that she still performs with.

Destiny, set to be released in 2012, is KJ Denhert’s tenth recording to date. “I left my day job eight years ago and began to make the records that I’ve been wanting to record ever since I started to dream of such a thing. I combine all of the styles that I grew up with and enjoyed, going all the way back to Sergio Mendes. My music has a bit of acoustic guitar, some R&B and it grooves in what I hope after ten recordings is a signature of my style. I took the opportunity to tip my hat to icons for me like Steely Dan and James Taylor and since Album No. 9 I have been experimenting with the intimacy of piano trio. I brought that back on Destiny, which is out as an EP now at shows and dug in with the songs about life as I see it today. “Destiny is the place you’ll find yourself on the road you took to avoid it”-Jean De La Fontaine, 15th century French philosopher.



Among KJ Denhert’s many accomplishments, in addition to running her own band over fifteen years and label, are eight highly successful appearances at Umbria Jazz (“the audience response was very gratifying”), an ongoing residency at the 55 Bar in NYC since 1998, 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 with her quartet, Another Year Gone By, Live won the 2006 Independent Music Award for Best Live Performance. And Album No. 9’s reggae anthem “Choose Your Weapon” has already won an Independent Music Award in 2011 and in 2012 was just name a grand prizewinner in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

In March 2012 a fifteen year celebration was held at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center and KJ has been stretching out with a weekly Saturday afternoon brunch series in trio format at Smoke Jazz, extended through May while her full band still convenes at the 55 every other Saturday, except for when they will appear at Umbria Jazz in July 2012!

A crowd pleaser whose music is impossible to classify but very easy to enjoy, KJ Denhert is in her own special category.

Instrumentation

KJ Denhert & The NY Unit
KJ Denhert, is a both a singer songwriter and guitarist, including playing lead guitar in her band w/ with band members who have been touring with her for the last eight to ten years.
Full Band; 4-6 Piece;Guitar & Vocals, plus bass, drums, keys, electric guitar, percussion.Booking up to two 90- minute shows/day. [Festivals, Theatres, Clubs ]

Trio:KJ plus Bass, and Percussion [ Festivals, Smaller Halls, GLBT Events] Booking up to 90+ minutes.

Duo: KJ Denhert & Adam Falcon
Two Acoustic Guitars, Two Vocals
[supporting their joint CD The Songwriters Notebook]

Solo: KJ- Acoustic Guitar, Vocals [Songwriter Events, House Concerts, Benefits, GLBT ] Booking 45 minutes or less.

Roster(NY Unit member since):
KJ Denhert- Acoustic guitars, vocals, songwriter(founder)/Ray Levier(1998)- Drums/Aaron Heick (2007) -sax/- Guitar/John Caban (1999)- Guitar /Mamadou Ba (1996)- Bass/Whynot Jansveld (1998)- Bass/Phil Gaita (2001)- Bass/Peter Vitalone (1998), Keys, piano/ ATN Stadwijk (2004), Keys, Piano/Bennett Paster 2006 Keys, Piano/Sue Hadjopoulos(2003)- Percussion/ Kevin Jones (2008) Percussion Andy Galore (2004) Bass

Discography

Destiny/ EP
March 2012
Limited edition prerelease

Album No. 9
Nov 9 2010

2009 Choose Your Weapon/ Chanson Baz Bar
Limited edition CD single Mother Cyclone Records

2008 Dal Vivo a Umbria Jazz (Motema)

2007 Lucky 7
(digital release scheduled 10-18-07 w/Motema)

2005 Another Year Gone By, Live NEW RELEASE
(*Indie Music Award Winner, Live Performance CD)

2004 KJ Denhert & Adam Falcon The Song Writers
Notebook (*Indie Music Award Finalist)

2003 KJ Denhert, Girl Like Me (*Indie Music Award Finalist) (2005Winner Mountain Stage New song Festival -Little Mary)

2001 KJ Denhert, Live (with R. Levier, J. Caban, P. Gaita) Just Plain Folks Music Award Nomination

1999 KJ Denhert & the NY Unit Looking Forward Looking Back (EP)

1996- Cyclone Sisters Songs From the Casa Del Wacko


Official Website

http://www.kjdenhert.com

Audio

Lyrics

Video

Little Mary

Photo Gallery

Press

  • Nightlife Highlights -Wavy Davy [+ Show ]

    Chronogram 3/05 Nightlife Highlights By DJ Wavy Davy KJ Denhert FEBRUARY 19 Radio program...

  • Pioneering Performers [+ Show ]

    Julie Gorham Jan16 2005 Pioneering Performers Arriving late I rounded the corner, following...

  • Acoustic Guitar Magazine April 2004 [+ Show ]

    Hit List K.J. Denhert, Girl Like Me . . . Even before Cassandra Wilson,...

  • E Jazz Review [+ Show ]

    CD Review K.J. Denhert ''Girl Like Me'' Mother Cyclone Records I wasn't sure I wa...

  • Indie Music . Com August 2004 [+ Show ]

    Reviews: K.J. Denhert ~ Girl Like Me Posted on Saturday, August 07, 2004 @ 11:41:36 EST Topic: Re...

  • All Music Guide [+ Show ]

    In the '70s, no one did more to bridge the gap between soul ...

  • Dusty Groove America [+ Show ]

    KJ Denhert -- Girl Like Me . . . CD . . . Mother Cyclone, 2003 F...

  • Another Year Gone By, Live [+ Show ]

    Another Year Gone By K.J.Denhert Mother Cyclone Records, 2005 www.kjdenhert.com ste...

  • The Urban Folk & Jazz of KJ Denhert [+ Show ]

    BY RICH CUCCARO Listening to K.J. Denhert sing for the first time, I thought to myself, “It’s ...

Setlist

Our set lists are never written out before a show!
Each set is a response to the venue, the audience.
The cover tunes are usually classics, eclectic and totally completely reworked.

Originals;
Silence was Deafening
Little Mary
How Many Ways
Oleander
Red July
Violet
Girl Like Me
There's No Mercy
Jellybean
Strange Crazy Love
Love On the Side
How Many Ways
I Found You
Rivera
My Love is Complete
Open Your Heart
Understanding

Cover/ Arrangements

Message In a Bottle- Sting
She Loves You- Lennon & MaCartney
Oh Susannah - S. Foster
Moon Dance - Van Morrison
My Cherie Amour- Stevie Wonder
It's Too Late - Carole King
Sunny- Bobby Hebb
Hit The Road Jack - Ray Charles
Ticket to Ride- Lennon & McCartney
Pennies From Heaven- Billie Holiday
God Bless The Child Billie Holiday
Somewhere Over The Rainbow Rogers & Hammerstein
Help- Beatles
Smoke on The Water- Deep Purple


Basic Requirements


Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
May 25, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Jun 5, 2013 Wednesday 7:00 PM 55 Bar Early Show (new monthly) New York, NY, US
Jun 6, 2013 Thursday 8:00 PM Fisher Auditorium - Indiana University of PA Indiana, PA, US
Jun 8, 2013 Saturday 7:30 PM Hemlock Farms Community PA, US
Jun 22, 2013 Saturday 1:00 PM Brotherhood Winery Washingtonville, NY, US
Jun 22, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Jun 23, 2013 Sunday 1:00 PM Brotherhood Winery Washingtonville, NY, US
Jul 3, 2013 Wednesday 7:00 PM 55 Bar Early Show (new monthly) New York, NY, US
Jul 5, 2013 Friday 7:00 PM Waterfront Concert Ossining Ossining, NY, US
Jul 6, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Jul 13, 2013 Saturday 8:00 PM Unison Art Center New Paltz, NY, US
Jul 18, 2013 Thursday 8:00 PM Iridium Jazz Club New York, NY, US
Jul 20, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Aug 3, 2013 Saturday 1:00 PM Brotherhood Winery Washingtonville, NY, US
Aug 3, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Aug 4, 2013 Sunday 1:00 PM Brotherhood Winery Washingtonville, NY, US
Aug 10, 2013 Saturday 9:00 PM 12 Grapes Music and Wine Bar Peekskill, NY, US
Aug 11, 2013 Sunday 12:00 PM The Boathouse Ossining, NY, US
Aug 17, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US
Aug 20, 2013 Tuesday 8:00 PM Cape Cod Jazz Chatham, MA, US
Aug 31, 2013 Saturday 10:00 PM 55 Bar Late Show New York, NY, US