JENNIFER HART BIO

A versatile song stylist who can sing anything, Jennifer Hart has a beautiful voice and puts a lot of honest feeling into each word she sings, no matter what the style.

She grew up in Iowa and remembers that her family often sang church music. She took piano lessons as a child and in college had Classical Vocals as her major and Piano as her minor. While teaching school in Milwaukee, she discovered jazz. Although Jennifer always loved to sing and tell stories through music, she did not think that a singing career was possible. So although she had some opportunities to sing, she also booked talent, worked at a production company in Denver, and sold advertising for two radio stations. In 1986 Jennifer decided that it was time to take a chance and become a fulltime singer. She quit her day job, worked in clubs in Denver, and recorded her debut, Faces Of The Heart, with award winning pianist Rob Mullins.

Opportunities arose to perform in Europe so for five years, Jennifer went back and forth to Europe, performing for months overseas. During this era she often performed with the great bassist Red Mitchell. "Finally I tired of traveling all the time and, when someone suggested that I try Palm Springs, I looked into its music scene and liked what I saw." In addition to working in Palm Springs, she performed one summer in Singapore and spent another summer singing on a cruise ship. Eventually she moved to Orange County, got married and spent some time outside of music.

But Jennifer Hart loved music too much and was too much of a talent to stay away for long. Since her return, she has appeared as guest vocal soloist with the Cypress Pops Orchestra and the Capistrano Valley Symphony, and become the featured vocalist with the Frank Amoss Orchestra, Arlene and the Guys Big Band, Slide FX Band, the Windmills Big Band, the Jerry Mandel Jazz band and the Jazz Lite Octet. She has been featured in one-woman shows, performs with her niece, opera singer Laurinda Nikkel, in the Nikkel-Hart Revue, and has been showcased in dinner shows as a singer-pianist. Jennifer sings phonetically in eight languages, plays soulful and swinging piano, and has a huge repertoire ranging from jazz and vintage standards to pop, country and contemporary tunes, spanning from Duke Ellington to Elton John. She also performs inspirational material in New Thought churches throughout Southern California on most Sundays and special occasions. Recently with Hart & Soul, she has collaborated regularly with pianist-arranger-composer Llew Matthews, having a very successful show at the Orange County Pavilion that is now available as a DVD.

Among the clubs and restaurants that Jennifer has performed at in recent times are Steamers, Cavallino Ristorante, Galli's Bistro 400, Salt Creek Grille, "S," Rendezvous Restaurant, Boardwalk Café, Chat Noir, Balboa Bay Club and the Queen Mary.

Her most recent recording, Straight From The Heart, includes her inventive and heartfelt versions of such songs as "On A Clear Day," "Here's To Life," the witty "I Lost The Right To Sing The Blues" and "Go Light Your World."

"I love to sing songs that have upbeat messages and tell stories, and songs that the audience will appreciate." With her warm voice, subtle improvising and open-minded approach, Jennifer Hart can always be relied upon to put on a memorable and colorful show full of honest feelings and thought-provoking interpretations. And, besides that, she is a lot of fun to see perform live.