Jennifer profile picture

Jennifer

Organic jazz fusion, with heart

About Me

I am a singer who also writes, arranges and plays piano. I've been singing jazz since high school, so that is a definite influence on my style and playing. These days, though, I am also influenced by good pop or prog-rock arranging, and love songs with solid yet reflective lyrics. My passion is to merge meaningful lyrics with both an intense singing style and complex but evolving instrumental textures. I sometimes sing original songs, but also enjoy reinterpreting pop songs and standards in this way.In addition to performing, I teach music (voice, piano and music/movement); my specialty is vocal technique. My hobbies and interests include yoga, meditation, whole food/vegetarian eating, reading, salsa dancing, making jewelry and playing games with friends.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/9/2005
Band Members: **Jennifer Parde (voice + keyboards)**Also on Black Unicorn/Leaning Straight: Rob Levit (guitar + guitar effects), Amy Shook (acoustic bass), Frank Russo (drums), and Ben Frock (flugelhorn)
Influences: Eva Cassidy, Norah Jones, Vienna Teng, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Charlotte Martin, Beth Nielson Chapman
Sounds Like: Somewhere in between Eva Cassidy (incredible singer/interpreter), Vienna Teng (exceptional chamber pop singer/pianist/songwriter), and Claudia Acuna (great jazz singer)
Type of Label: None

My Blog

A weight has been lifted. . .

. . . and with it lots of knots,  tangles and general frizziness.  I've been growing out my hair for about 4 years now (just to prove that I could after 4 years of changing things up in coll...
Posted by Jennifer on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:44:00 PST

Being sick

So, Alex got sick last Tuesday: bronchitis (with a bad cough) and a fever which peaked at 102.4    He stayed home from work from Wednesday through the rest of the week and his fever receded ...
Posted by Jennifer on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:56:00 PST

I love Charlotte Martin :-)

Check out this new video from one of my favorite singer/pianists. (This particular song is actually a Pearl Jam cover): ...
Posted by Jennifer on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:00:00 PST

My new mala necklace

  So, I gave my old mala necklace/bracelet (I wound it around my arm like a bracelet) to someone at work that was asking about where to buy a mala.  And then I ordered a new sandalwood mala ...
Posted by Jennifer on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:23:00 PST

Bill Maher’s anti-pharmaceutical health rant

I loved this. :-) I already knew Bill Maher was a health nut, after reading a Rolling Stone interview about a year ago:name="wmode" value="transparent"> ...
Posted by Jennifer on Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:19:00 PST

2 Poems

I finished writing the first of these just a few minutes ago (in fact, I'll still be editing as I type):Nature (on 95)Nature intrudes at the most unexpected of moments,like when I'm crawling through r...
Posted by Jennifer on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:50:00 PST

My First Album Review

From Amy Obenski, at Ultra Indie Album Reviews: Jennifer Parde: Natural Surreality I'm proud to present to you my first review of ...
Posted by Jennifer on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:14:00 PST

Music announcements: CD release, tracks for download + a website!

So, alot of stuff is finally coming together for me musically right now.  The first, and biggest, thing is that I am releasing my first CD, "Natural Surreality".  My release party is this Th...
Posted by Jennifer on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 08:19:00 PST

MSG: Another reason why less processed is better

MSG is used in countless foods in your supermarket, local restaurants, school cafeterias, and more. Everything from soup to crackers to meats may contain it because MSG, as dangerous as ...
Posted by Jennifer on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:09:00 PST

Checking in

So, I thought I'd write something just to write something.  After all, I haven't blogged in, oh, exactly 3 months.  And there has been a decent amount going on.  Spending 3 days in a me...
Posted by Jennifer on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:16:00 PST