KJ Denhert

CD Review
K.J. Denhert
''Girl Like Me''
Mother Cyclone Records

I wasn't sure I wanted to review this CD project when I saw the
words ''Urban Folk Artist'' associated with the CD. Then I saw the
word ''Jazz'' as well! And then, Oh Yes........With all the fire, guts,
and gusto of a consummate vocal/instrumental artist, K.J.
Denhert's vocal & guitar talents came at me like a runaway train.
What makes this disc a unique effort is how Denhert marries the
urban folk idiom to our beloved jazz idiom succinctly &
successfully. Ergo, my review of her, has taught & edified me anew
about how pliable jazz can be. She sings definitely from the
'earth,' but what she sings to us, she says with authority! I would
suggest it to be more true that she plies her talents out of sheer
uncomplicated ''joie de vivre.'' Finally, K.J. Denhert is one of those
audacious talents with an ability to give us a performance with a
'rush,' while we sit trying to catch our breath, & reckon with her
sentimentality, solid vocal humor, and meaningful aplomb.

George W. Carroll/The Musicians' Ombudsman
- E Jazz News

Hit List


K.J. Denhert, Girl Like Me . . .
Even before Cassandra Wilson,
Norah Jones, and their various
guitar-playing accompanists nudged
the category into national
prominence, New York native K.J.
Denhert was calling herself an
"urban folk and jazz artist." This
diva plays guitar, strumming and
picking her acoustic in settings that
include electric guitars and bass,
keyboards, drums, percussion, and
occasional sax, cello, looping, and
programming. She personalizes the
James Taylor and Joni Mitchell
influences in her original songs with
funk beats and soulful vocals that
sound both streetwise and
sophisticated. Denhert's radical
revamp of the Beatles' "She Loves
You" is just one revelation on this,
her first full-length studio album,
which also harks back to such blues,
jazz, and soul forebears as John
Mayall (circa Turning Point), Les
McCann (a la "Compared to What"),
and Roberta Flack. (Mother Cyclone,
www.kjdenhert.com)
óDerk Richardson
April Issue 2004 - Acoustic Guitar

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

Artist: KJ Denhert
CD: Girl Like Me
Home: Westchester, New York
Style: Urban Folk and Jazz
Quote: "Denhert and her band, the NY Unit, lay down everything from African-esque beats to R&B-tinged funk with the unstoppable power and unbelievable ease of the moon-driven tides."
By AJ Van Beest
Here's the shortest review ever: This is an awesome album. Buy it now and be the envy of all your friends.
Need a little more? OK, how 'bout this:
Denhert's Girl Like Me — nearly three years in the making — is incredibly rich. Denhert's voice is a beautiful, full alto with a little huskiness around the edges. Denhert and her band, the NY Unit, lay down everything from African-esque beats to R&B-tinged funk with the unstoppable power and unbelievable ease of the moon-driven tides. Denhert's lyrics spring from the heart of someone who's seen both the beauty and pain in the world and wants to share it all. For example, here's a bit of Denhert's “Oleander:”
Someone come and wake me up
In my Lakewood home
You're as sweet as coffee in the cup
And you've warmed me down to my soul
Times got hard and we messed up
Where was I to go
Seems the harder that I try
The more that I feel alone
Girl Like Me covers a lot of musical ground and does it well. It begins with a melodic-minor-moving-to-upbeat funk (“The Silence Was Deafening”), dances through R&B, hangs with shades of Paul Simon and Sting, including a great cover of “Message in a Bottle," spends some quiet time in a dark corner with just a piano and Denhert's unforgettable voice (“Red July, Prelude”), and ends with a beautiful cross-country version of "Oh Susannah," of all things. The mix of styles isn't surprising, though, since Denhert bills herself as an “urban folk and jazz artist.”
This is Denhert's fifth album, and she has another one — a collaboration with singer/songwriter Adam Falcon — in the works. Though she holds down a regular gig at The 55 Bar in NYC's West Village, not to mention playing all over the city at other venues, Denhert isn't just a performing artist; she also owns and runs Mother Cyclone Records. If Girl Like Me is any indication of the kind of material MCR is putting out there, I oughtta just go camp on the sidewalk in front of the office so I can get all the good stuff. Like she sings in the title track:
With a girl like me you know you won't get bored
- Indie- Music. com

Hit List


K.J. Denhert, Girl Like Me . . .
Even before Cassandra Wilson,
Norah Jones, and their various
guitar-playing accompanists nudged
the category into national
prominence, New York native K.J.
Denhert was calling herself an
"urban folk and jazz artist." This
diva plays guitar, strumming and
picking her acoustic in settings that
include electric guitars and bass,
keyboards, drums, percussion, and
occasional sax, cello, looping, and
programming. She personalizes the
James Taylor and Joni Mitchell
influences in her original songs with
funk beats and soulful vocals that
sound both streetwise and
sophisticated. Denhert's radical
revamp of the Beatles' "She Loves
You" is just one revelation on this,
her first full-length studio album,
which also harks back to such blues,
jazz, and soul forebears as John
Mayall (circa Turning Point), Les
McCann (a la "Compared to What"),
and Roberta Flack. (Mother Cyclone,
www.kjdenhert.com)
óDerk Richardson
April Issue 2004 - Acoustic Guitar

In the '70s, no one did more to bridge the gap between soul and the folk-
pop/folk-rock/soft rock world than Roberta Flack, who acquired a very
interracial following and managed to appeal to Aretha Franklin and Chaka
Khan enthusiasts as well as the Joni Mitchell/Joan Baez/Judy Collins crowd.
Hits like "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your
Face" were played on R&B stations, but they also had enough of a
singer/songwriter aesthetic to win over what was essentially a '70s equivalent of
today's Lilith Fair audience. It isn't hard to understand why, three decades later,
singer/songwriter KJ Denhert was invited to open for Flack; Girl Like Me is the
perfect marriage of neo-soul and folk-rock/adult alternative sensibilities (with
hints of jazz at times). Flack, in fact, is among Denhert's influences, as are
Khan, Mitchell, Janis Ian, and James Taylor (Carly Simon's James
Taylor, not J.T. Taylor of Kool & the Gang fame). But while Denhert has her
musical points of reference, Girl Like Me demonstrates that she is a talented,
expressive storyteller in her own right -- and she obviously doesn't believe in
confining herself to one genre. Denhert has a lot to offer fans of Alicia Keys,
Macy Gray, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu, but anyone who is seriously into
Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, or the Indigo Girls also needs to pay close
attention to her. While Girl Like Me is dominated by Denhert's own songs, she
provides a few memorable covers as well (including a slightly bossa nova-ish
take on the Police's "Message in a Bottle" and an unlikely remake of the Beatles'
"She Loves You"). This very promising effort demonstrates that while Denhert
isn't easy to pigeonhole, she is very easy to enjoy.
~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide


KJ Denhert
Girl Like Me
08/12/2003
- Artist Direct

In the '70s, no one did more to bridge the gap between soul and the folk-
pop/folk-rock/soft rock world than Roberta Flack, who acquired a very
interracial following and managed to appeal to Aretha Franklin and Chaka
Khan enthusiasts as well as the Joni Mitchell/Joan Baez/Judy Collins crowd.
Hits like "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your
Face" were played on R&B stations, but they also had enough of a
singer/songwriter aesthetic to win over what was essentially a '70s equivalent of
today's Lilith Fair audience. It isn't hard to understand why, three decades later,
singer/songwriter KJ Denhert was invited to open for Flack; Girl Like Me is the
perfect marriage of neo-soul and folk-rock/adult alternative sensibilities (with
hints of jazz at times). Flack, in fact, is among Denhert's influences, as are
Khan, Mitchell, Janis Ian, and James Taylor (Carly Simon's James
Taylor, not J.T. Taylor of Kool & the Gang fame). But while Denhert has her
musical points of reference, Girl Like Me demonstrates that she is a talented,
expressive storyteller in her own right -- and she obviously doesn't believe in
confining herself to one genre. Denhert has a lot to offer fans of Alicia Keys,
Macy Gray, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu, but anyone who is seriously into
Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, or the Indigo Girls also needs to pay close
attention to her. While Girl Like Me is dominated by Denhert's own songs, she
provides a few memorable covers as well (including a slightly bossa nova-ish
take on the Police's "Message in a Bottle" and an unlikely remake of the Beatles'
"She Loves You"). This very promising effort demonstrates that while Denhert
isn't easy to pigeonhole, she is very easy to enjoy.
~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide


KJ Denhert
Girl Like Me
08/12/2003
- Artist Direct

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

F
olksy soul from KJ Denhert -- a wonderful mix of acoustic guitars, soulful
rhythms, and honest vocals that have an earthy tone, but a sophisticated
outlook. KJ's been playing in and around New York for years, and the
album's got a very solid, very professional approach -- one that balances
all the elements of the music just right, without falling into cliche on either
side of the fence, and really getting at the best part of KJ's unique sound.
She bills herself as an "urban folk & jazz artist" -- and we couldn't think of
a better way to put it! Titles include "Silence Was Deafening", "Little
Mary", "Violet", "Girl Like Me", "She Loves You", "How Many Ways", "Red
July", and "I Like Your Face". (From the NuSoul CD page.)
- Dusty Groove Chicago Il ,2003

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

F
olksy soul from KJ Denhert -- a wonderful mix of acoustic guitars, soulful
rhythms, and honest vocals that have an earthy tone, but a sophisticated
outlook. KJ's been playing in and around New York for years, and the
album's got a very solid, very professional approach -- one that balances
all the elements of the music just right, without falling into cliche on either
side of the fence, and really getting at the best part of KJ's unique sound.
She bills herself as an "urban folk & jazz artist" -- and we couldn't think of
a better way to put it! Titles include "Silence Was Deafening", "Little
Mary", "Violet", "Girl Like Me", "She Loves You", "How Many Ways", "Red
July", and "I Like Your Face". (From the NuSoul CD page.)
- Dusty Groove Chicago Il ,2003

Another Year Gone By
K.J.Denhert
Mother Cyclone Records, 2005

www.kjdenhert.com

step into exactly the same river twice. Denhert’s jazz improvisational style- backed by her own guitar playing and a group of excellent musicians called the New York unit- ensures that you’ll never hear her sing the same song twice, even though the words might be the same (well sort of…) The album includes some old standards-“Ain’t no Sunshine,” “Summertime,” “Sunny,” and “Hit the Road Jack” -but you’ve never heard them quite like this.
Denhert is the kind of performer who thrives and excels in a live setting, and this recording shows off the fine nuances of her style and the fun she and her musicians have on stage. As Denhert puts it in the liner notes: “The improvisation…is a conversation between players that is worth documenting. It’s dynamic and I can get quite giddy, even silly at times.” “The fun comes through on this CD; you can close your eyes and be transported to the club scene.
A New York City native, Denhert now lives in Westchester. After a successful career in the corporate world, she bid it all goodbye in 2003 to devote herself fully to her music. The founder and owner of her own independent label, Mother Cyclone Records, Denhert’s goals are simple: She wants to keep writing and performing and growing her label. In addition, she believes in providing her musicians with a decent living that even includes healthcare.
Denhert and her band do a regular Saturday gig at a Greenwich Village club called the 55 Bar, and she appears regularly in the New Paltz and Kingston areas. Watch for her in the Hudson Valley, or take a weekend trek to the Village. Denhert is a dish best served live and hot. Meanwhile, though, if you can’t get to one of her live performances, Another Year Gone By is definitely the next best thing.
-SUZANNE MCHUGH





14 | www.insideouthv.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005
- Inside Out Magazine

Another Year Gone By
K.J.Denhert
Mother Cyclone Records, 2005

www.kjdenhert.com

step into exactly the same river twice. Denhert’s jazz improvisational style- backed by her own guitar playing and a group of excellent musicians called the New York unit- ensures that you’ll never hear her sing the same song twice, even though the words might be the same (well sort of…) The album includes some old standards-“Ain’t no Sunshine,” “Summertime,” “Sunny,” and “Hit the Road Jack” -but you’ve never heard them quite like this.
Denhert is the kind of performer who thrives and excels in a live setting, and this recording shows off the fine nuances of her style and the fun she and her musicians have on stage. As Denhert puts it in the liner notes: “The improvisation…is a conversation between players that is worth documenting. It’s dynamic and I can get quite giddy, even silly at times.” “The fun comes through on this CD; you can close your eyes and be transported to the club scene.
A New York City native, Denhert now lives in Westchester. After a successful career in the corporate world, she bid it all goodbye in 2003 to devote herself fully to her music. The founder and owner of her own independent label, Mother Cyclone Records, Denhert’s goals are simple: She wants to keep writing and performing and growing her label. In addition, she believes in providing her musicians with a decent living that even includes healthcare.
Denhert and her band do a regular Saturday gig at a Greenwich Village club called the 55 Bar, and she appears regularly in the New Paltz and Kingston areas. Watch for her in the Hudson Valley, or take a weekend trek to the Village. Denhert is a dish best served live and hot. Meanwhile, though, if you can’t get to one of her live performances, Another Year Gone By is definitely the next best thing.
-SUZANNE MCHUGH





14 | www.insideouthv.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005
- Inside Out Magazine

Chronogram 3/05

Nightlife Highlights
By DJ Wavy Davy

KJ Denhert
FEBRUARY 19
Radio programmers and A&R reps take note: why Ms. Denhert is not yet a major-label star remains a mystery to NH. With funky attitude, irresistible songwriting and a top-notch band, KJ makes national acts look like bar bands. The ever-generous Full Moon Resort presents a hot winter night to remind you that the funk still lies just beneath the snow line.
8:00pm
No cover
Oliverea
(845) 254-5117
www.kjdenhert.com
- Chronogram

Chronogram 3/05

Nightlife Highlights
By DJ Wavy Davy

KJ Denhert
FEBRUARY 19
Radio programmers and A&R reps take note: why Ms. Denhert is not yet a major-label star remains a mystery to NH. With funky attitude, irresistible songwriting and a top-notch band, KJ makes national acts look like bar bands. The ever-generous Full Moon Resort presents a hot winter night to remind you that the funk still lies just beneath the snow line.
8:00pm
No cover
Oliverea
(845) 254-5117
www.kjdenhert.com
- Chronogram

Julie Gorham
Jan16 2005

Pioneering Performers


Arriving late I rounded the corner, following my ears to the funky sound of KJ Denhert. I was greeted with her animated grey locks erratically grooving to, “My Love Is Complete”. It was January 16th and ‘Philadelphia Songwriters Project’ was scrawled across my calendar. They had organized a set where four of Philly’s uprising singer-songwriters convened in an evening of round-robin. For a new-comer, this was a perfect toe-dipper into the ocean of talent this city has to offer; for a seasoned music-cat, it was an intimate sing-a-long where they could sway heads and tap feet as they mouthed the words to some of their favorite tunes. Sharing the stage with KJ were Joshua Komorowski (from The Love Syndicate), Chinua Hawk and, returning for his second year, Mutlu. This event was held at the acoustically abundant Kimmel Plaza, where a party-bag of people mingled to partake of Philadelphia’s musical offering (and with each artist playing three songs they were bound to get a plateful!).

KJ Denhert is a handmade necklace among songwriters. Pioneering her self-titled ‘urban folk and jazz’ style, she wields her guitar with the skill of a storyteller, using pops, plucks and slides to perfectly punctuate her quirky lyrics. Whether she’s getting down in “My Love Is Complete” or in gentle lullaby with, “Oh, Susannah” she and her peppercorn-colored instrument uniquely transpire KJ’s wisdom with the captivating rawness of a candle-flame. Her matter-of-fact advice to “Little Mary” to “not be afraid, there are a million of us feeling this way” left me wishing for five minutes alone to glean from her strong spirit; luckily, we have her songs....
- Phillysongwriters

Julie Gorham
Jan16 2005

Pioneering Performers


Arriving late I rounded the corner, following my ears to the funky sound of KJ Denhert. I was greeted with her animated grey locks erratically grooving to, “My Love Is Complete”. It was January 16th and ‘Philadelphia Songwriters Project’ was scrawled across my calendar. They had organized a set where four of Philly’s uprising singer-songwriters convened in an evening of round-robin. For a new-comer, this was a perfect toe-dipper into the ocean of talent this city has to offer; for a seasoned music-cat, it was an intimate sing-a-long where they could sway heads and tap feet as they mouthed the words to some of their favorite tunes. Sharing the stage with KJ were Joshua Komorowski (from The Love Syndicate), Chinua Hawk and, returning for his second year, Mutlu. This event was held at the acoustically abundant Kimmel Plaza, where a party-bag of people mingled to partake of Philadelphia’s musical offering (and with each artist playing three songs they were bound to get a plateful!).

KJ Denhert is a handmade necklace among songwriters. Pioneering her self-titled ‘urban folk and jazz’ style, she wields her guitar with the skill of a storyteller, using pops, plucks and slides to perfectly punctuate her quirky lyrics. Whether she’s getting down in “My Love Is Complete” or in gentle lullaby with, “Oh, Susannah” she and her peppercorn-colored instrument uniquely transpire KJ’s wisdom with the captivating rawness of a candle-flame. Her matter-of-fact advice to “Little Mary” to “not be afraid, there are a million of us feeling this way” left me wishing for five minutes alone to glean from her strong spirit; luckily, we have her songs....
- Phillysongwriters

BY RICH CUCCARO


Listening to K.J. Denhert sing for the first time, I thought to myself,
“It’s like hearing Roberta Flack with an acoustic guitar!” I’ve never
lost that viewpoint. Every time I’ve seen her, the soft, silky-smooth
vocals and the jazz-laced guitar phrasings have always reinforced that first
impression. Her fluidity and command of every element in her arsenal has
never ceased to amaze me.
On Girl Like Me, her latest CD, she receives backup from a host of great
players, and the ensemble effect may not always convey the impact of seeing
her do her thing live. It sure is a great listen, though. My favorite original
composition by K.J., “Violet” is here, as well as some covers that she makes
her own. Both “She Loves You,” by Lennon/McCartney and “Message in a
Bottle” by Sting are given jazzy Latin treatments. The old grade-school chestnut
“Oh Susannah” is a ruminative tour de force. She slows it down and, with
pensive piano back up and a little poetic license, sorrowfully recounts, “Oh
Susannah / Don’t you cry for me / cuz I come from New York City / and I
brought this old guitar / some good times and some scars / I bought this old
guitar with me.”
Beginnings
She may have been thinking of the first guitar she ever
used. Her grandmother’s entire family of eight brothers
and sisters were all musicians and, while still a child, K.J.
knew she could make music if she just had an instrument.
At 10 years old she picked up a guitar with just four strings
and wrote a song for a schoolteacher who had passed away
unexpectedly. Her brother added the two other strings
and she began teaching herself. She first used James Taylor
records and a tablature book and then learned Joni
Mitchell’s open tunings from another book. After that, she
says “all of the rest was my ears.”
Asked about early recordings listened to, she began with
Alvin and the Chipmunks, saying, “there was a B side to
the 45 of the Chipmunks’ ‘Christmas Time,’ called
‘Almost Good,’ an instrumental piano piece that really
swung!” From there, she listed a who’s who of pop music
that included The Beatles, Glen Campbell, John
Hartford, Michael Jackson, The Carpenters, The
Supremes and Brasil 66 and 67 (even though they were
her parents’ records). Influencing her direction on guitar
were James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young, and the Allman Brothers.
She says that her taste became more sophisticated as she
observed when “Joni started playing with the LA express
and turned onto to certain players, like Larry Carlton on
guitar and John Guerin on drums,” and continuing, “In college there was
Bruce Cockburn, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan, and Bonnie Raitt.”
Revelation
Asked about when she knew she’d make music for a living, she said, “By age
14, I was pretty good and would play for my family, their friends and mine.
I was never without a guitar… I took it on any vacation. My physics teacher
had a coffee house in the Bronx that I played at. I don't remember how I put
a band together, but I did, in high school. We got a standing ovation at
Gurdy's Folk City on my first night out at an actual bar! I was hooked then
and had been writing songs for years. There were no significant music teachers
in my childhood. In college I met a guitar player who really intrigued me
for what was similar about us… Vicki Genfan. The bar was raised and I credit
her and her guitar-playing ability for inspiring me to work to be a better
player.” [Acoustic Guitar magazine wrote of Genfan: “Her dazzling displays
of two-handed tapping, bell-like harmonics and funky bass note slapping
have guitar aficionados… slack-jawed with awe”] No wonder K.J. was so
affected. The influence becomes apparent… K.J.’s
guitar work is stellar.

The Career
The next sequence of events shed some light on
how her experience as a musician expanded. She
recounts:
“I left Cornell in 1978 without finishing my
undergraduate degree. I had a band and was
receiving airplay on Cornell's station. I had some
steady gigs but I decided I wanted to learn more
about the band business and the business of
music. I made one demo with my band and got
one rejection letter from Warner brothers… that
didn't feel good. So… I bought a strat and
answered an ad in the village Voice, and found a
job as a lead guitarist in a band. As a result, I spent
the next seven years on the road. In the first year,
I paid off my college loans playing for a show band
that toured the US, mostly playing lounges. That
band broke up and I called a few other all-girl
bands. One of them was looking for me already.
That made me feel good… they had a good
drummer and bass player so I hooked up with
them, rehearsed for about a month and spent the
next six years on a wild adventure that took me all
over the world, including two USO tours one in
Asia and one in Europe. I always joke that I am
going to write a book about those years called
“Se - Acoustic Live, VOL5 ISSUE 7 DEC 2003

BY RICH CUCCARO


Listening to K.J. Denhert sing for the first time, I thought to myself,
“It’s like hearing Roberta Flack with an acoustic guitar!” I’ve never
lost that viewpoint. Every time I’ve seen her, the soft, silky-smooth
vocals and the jazz-laced guitar phrasings have always reinforced that first
impression. Her fluidity and command of every element in her arsenal has
never ceased to amaze me.
On Girl Like Me, her latest CD, she receives backup from a host of great
players, and the ensemble effect may not always convey the impact of seeing
her do her thing live. It sure is a great listen, though. My favorite original
composition by K.J., “Violet” is here, as well as some covers that she makes
her own. Both “She Loves You,” by Lennon/McCartney and “Message in a
Bottle” by Sting are given jazzy Latin treatments. The old grade-school chestnut
“Oh Susannah” is a ruminative tour de force. She slows it down and, with
pensive piano back up and a little poetic license, sorrowfully recounts, “Oh
Susannah / Don’t you cry for me / cuz I come from New York City / and I
brought this old guitar / some good times and some scars / I bought this old
guitar with me.”
Beginnings
She may have been thinking of the first guitar she ever
used. Her grandmother’s entire family of eight brothers
and sisters were all musicians and, while still a child, K.J.
knew she could make music if she just had an instrument.
At 10 years old she picked up a guitar with just four strings
and wrote a song for a schoolteacher who had passed away
unexpectedly. Her brother added the two other strings
and she began teaching herself. She first used James Taylor
records and a tablature book and then learned Joni
Mitchell’s open tunings from another book. After that, she
says “all of the rest was my ears.”
Asked about early recordings listened to, she began with
Alvin and the Chipmunks, saying, “there was a B side to
the 45 of the Chipmunks’ ‘Christmas Time,’ called
‘Almost Good,’ an instrumental piano piece that really
swung!” From there, she listed a who’s who of pop music
that included The Beatles, Glen Campbell, John
Hartford, Michael Jackson, The Carpenters, The
Supremes and Brasil 66 and 67 (even though they were
her parents’ records). Influencing her direction on guitar
were James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young, and the Allman Brothers.
She says that her taste became more sophisticated as she
observed when “Joni started playing with the LA express
and turned onto to certain players, like Larry Carlton on
guitar and John Guerin on drums,” and continuing, “In college there was
Bruce Cockburn, Laura Nyro, Steely Dan, and Bonnie Raitt.”
Revelation
Asked about when she knew she’d make music for a living, she said, “By age
14, I was pretty good and would play for my family, their friends and mine.
I was never without a guitar… I took it on any vacation. My physics teacher
had a coffee house in the Bronx that I played at. I don't remember how I put
a band together, but I did, in high school. We got a standing ovation at
Gurdy's Folk City on my first night out at an actual bar! I was hooked then
and had been writing songs for years. There were no significant music teachers
in my childhood. In college I met a guitar player who really intrigued me
for what was similar about us… Vicki Genfan. The bar was raised and I credit
her and her guitar-playing ability for inspiring me to work to be a better
player.” [Acoustic Guitar magazine wrote of Genfan: “Her dazzling displays
of two-handed tapping, bell-like harmonics and funky bass note slapping
have guitar aficionados… slack-jawed with awe”] No wonder K.J. was so
affected. The influence becomes apparent… K.J.’s
guitar work is stellar.

The Career
The next sequence of events shed some light on
how her experience as a musician expanded. She
recounts:
“I left Cornell in 1978 without finishing my
undergraduate degree. I had a band and was
receiving airplay on Cornell's station. I had some
steady gigs but I decided I wanted to learn more
about the band business and the business of
music. I made one demo with my band and got
one rejection letter from Warner brothers… that
didn't feel good. So… I bought a strat and
answered an ad in the village Voice, and found a
job as a lead guitarist in a band. As a result, I spent
the next seven years on the road. In the first year,
I paid off my college loans playing for a show band
that toured the US, mostly playing lounges. That
band broke up and I called a few other all-girl
bands. One of them was looking for me already.
That made me feel good… they had a good
drummer and bass player so I hooked up with
them, rehearsed for about a month and spent the
next six years on a wild adventure that took me all
over the world, including two USO tours one in
Asia and one in Europe. I always joke that I am
going to write a book about those years called
“Se - Acoustic Live, VOL5 ISSUE 7 DEC 2003