The Core Four (Jenai Huff)
New York City, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
"You should enjoy this music as a good wine, and discover all the small, but subtle nuances that make the overall result so lovable....."
- Wolfgang Giese, Rocktimes (Germany) (Jan 29, 2012) - Rocktimes (Germany)
“Completely out of the blue, Californian singer Jenai Huff is popping up with an excellent debut album, ‘Transitions’. Eleven relaxed and laid back sung tracks that demonstrate her great vocal qualities, as well as her good nose for great songs that have been written or performed by fellow musicians in the past. Please note down that we will for sure hear more from this rising star in the American folkscene.”"
- Valere Sampermanx, Rootstime (Belgium) (Feb 03, 2012) - Rootstime (Belgium)
“Completely out of the blue, Californian singer Jenai Huff is popping up with an excellent debut album, ‘Transitions’. Eleven relaxed and laid back sung tracks that demonstrate her great vocal qualities, as well as her good nose for great songs that have been written or performed by fellow musicians in the past. Please note down that we will for sure hear more from this rising star in the American folkscene.”"
- Valere Sampermanx, Rootstime (Belgium) (Feb 03, 2012) - Rootstime (Belgium)
"Very fine debut filled with stylized country folk stories sung with a clear voice, Jeff Pevar adds a touch of bluegrass."
- Cis Van Looy, Keys and Chords (Belgium) (Feb 05, 2012) - Keys and Chords (Belgium)
"A very fine, subtle, folk CD with a little pop, country and rock influences from a fine newcomer. And especially with the Wolf covers, Jenai shows her ability to chose and perform fine songs with respect to its repertoire."
- Fred Schmale, Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch) (May 26, 2012) - Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch)
"A very fine, subtle, folk CD with a little pop, country and rock influences from a fine newcomer. And especially with the Wolf covers, Jenai shows her ability to chose and perform fine songs with respect to its repertoire."
- Fred Schmale, Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch) (May 26, 2012) - Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch)
"A very fine, subtle, folk CD with a little pop, country and rock influences from a fine newcomer. And especially with the Wolf covers, Jenai shows her ability to chose and perform fine songs with respect to its repertoire."
- Fred Schmale, Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch) (May 26, 2012) - Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch)
"A very fine, subtle, folk CD with a little pop, country and rock influences from a fine newcomer. And especially with the Wolf covers, Jenai shows her ability to chose and perform fine songs with respect to its repertoire."
- Fred Schmale, Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch) (May 26, 2012) - Waardering Muziekwereld (Dutch)
"This is an interesting little record. Jenai Huff was a singer many years back, but took off a couple of decades to manage bands. She has now decided to step back behind a microphone and present us these eleven songs. I really like her relaxed, moderately deep voice. The clarity is crystalline, as the instrumentation balances things nicely in the background. The maturity would be evident even without knowing the back-story. And all the time spent on and off stage in the music business certainly is a great foundation for her lyrics. The style is folk with Americana/country/bluegrass touches here and there. The musicians are as smart as the lyricist as everything stays together throughout the album. "
- Frank Hintz, Folk World, German Magazine (Jul 31, 0012)
- Folk World, German Magazine
"This is an interesting little record. Jenai Huff was a singer many years back, but took off a couple of decades to manage bands. She has now decided to step back behind a microphone and present us these eleven songs. I really like her relaxed, moderately deep voice. The clarity is crystalline, as the instrumentation balances things nicely in the background. The maturity would be evident even without knowing the back-story. And all the time spent on and off stage in the music business certainly is a great foundation for her lyrics. The style is folk with Americana/country/bluegrass touches here and there. The musicians are as smart as the lyricist as everything stays together throughout the album. "
- Frank Hintz, Folk World, German Magazine (Jul 31, 0012)
- Folk World, German Magazine
"Expressive and very convincing Jenai Huff has managed the vocals. With her soft timbre convince them may at any time. The very withdrawn musical accompaniment underscores this. Transitions is a fine debut of a very good singer with a superb accompanying musicians. It will be interesting to see how Jenai Huff will develop in the future. A successful debut!"
- Ingo Andrusechkewitsch, Musik an Sich (May 07, 2012) - Musik an Sich
"Expressive and very convincing Jenai Huff has managed the vocals. With her soft timbre convince them may at any time. The very withdrawn musical accompaniment underscores this. Transitions is a fine debut of a very good singer with a superb accompanying musicians. It will be interesting to see how Jenai Huff will develop in the future. A successful debut!"
- Ingo Andrusechkewitsch, Musik an Sich (May 07, 2012) - Musik an Sich
"The included music is a nice mix of Americana, Folk and a little Country, with good clean melodic vocals of Jenai. A lot of songs are quite calm actually, yet with some beautiful harmony vocals that give it a nice finishing touch. It sounds a bit like a combination of JONI MITCHELL and CSN&Y." - Shutter Magazine, Germany
"The included music is a nice mix of Americana, Folk and a little Country, with good clean melodic vocals of Jenai. A lot of songs are quite calm actually, yet with some beautiful harmony vocals that give it a nice finishing touch. It sounds a bit like a combination of JONI MITCHELL and CSN&Y." - Shutter Magazine, Germany
"The included music is a nice mix of Americana, Folk and a little Country, with good clean melodic vocals of Jenai. A lot of songs are quite calm actually, yet with some beautiful harmony vocals that give it a nice finishing touch. It sounds a bit like a combination of JONI MITCHELL and CSN&Y." - Shutter Magazine, Germany
"The included music is a nice mix of Americana, Folk and a little Country, with good clean melodic vocals of Jenai. A lot of songs are quite calm actually, yet with some beautiful harmony vocals that give it a nice finishing touch. It sounds a bit like a combination of JONI MITCHELL and CSN&Y." - Shutter Magazine, Germany
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
The Core Four… who are we? First our names: Ben Wisch, Eugene Ruffolo, George Naha and myself, Jenai Huff.
The first 3 bring with them decades of musical experience at a very, very high level. Ben Wisch is best known for his producing and engineering; having won 2 Grammys for that expertise (Marc Cohn and Ricardo Arjona) but is also a very accomplished pianist and Yoga teacher.
Then there is Eugene Ruffolo who is arguably one of the best singer/songwriters in New York City (although often one its best kept secrets). He has many acclaimed recordings such as winning first prize at both the Telluride Bluegrass and Merlefest songwriting competitions. He is a very successful session singer as well. Another of his passions is his work with children. He is a 3-time winner of the coveted Parent’s Choice Award. For many, many years he has written personalized songs for terminally ill children as part of the charity group, The Songs For Love Foundation. Last year, we wrote 115 songs for children.
George Naha is an incredible guitarist who has played with greats like Aretha Franklin, Bon Jovi, Roy Orbison, Steve Cropper, Melissa Manchester, Wilson Picket (and many more) and is one of the best guitar/music teachers I have ever met. He is also my songwriting partner.
Then, there is me, Jenai Huff. I had taken a hiatus from music for 20 years but have been making my own mark in the past 7 years since I reentered the music scene. I have had 2 acclaimed albums and have a new album being released March 2016 called Color Wheel. The most common thing I hear is that my soulful voice and lyrics inspire and soothe listeners. I am also a Yoga teacher.
So the four of us have the musical resumes to confidently say that sonically every performance will be wonderful and at times even sublime with our eclectic collection of original and cover songs but we are much more than that. We are all good friends so there is a relaxedness between us and a camaraderie that is delightful and contagious. We have similar spirits. We are all trying to be the best human beings we can be not just the best musicians. We know life is short and relish it and learn from it. We all love to laugh and genuinely like people. Both the audience and us will share an experience together and we will all be happy and grateful that we did.
Band Members
Links
