Jennifer Johnson
My Secret Garden
© 2004 Jennifer Johnson (783707900520)
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Soulful, soothing, relaxing Celtic-inspired contemporary and traditional folk songs
tracks
- 1 Fall At Your Feet
- 2 My Secret Garden
- 3 Ned of the Hill
- 4 Bright Blue Rose
- 5 Purple Rose
- 6 A Fhleasgaich Uasail
- 7 Ready For the Storm
- 8 Cum Ar Naire
- 9 Come to Me
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“Jennifer’s music has become a welcome addition to our Celtic programming at WDVR.” Carla Van Dyk, Radio Host WDVR
This relaxing blend of contemporary, traditional, and original songs, marks the debut of singer-musician Jennifer Johnson. She is accompanied by Eamon O'Leary on guitar and mandolin, Natalie Haas on cello, Jerry O'Sullivan on low whistles, and producer/engineer Ben Wisch also on piano.
ABOUT THE CD
"My Secret Garden" was recorded in January 2004 at Bailey Bldg. & Loan, in NYC by Ben Wisch. Ben recorded grammy-winning Marc Cohn's "Walkin in Memphis" and has worked with Kathy Mattea, Catie Curtis, Cheryl Wheeler, David Wilcox, Patty Larkin, among many other succesful artists. Needless to say, I was so glad to work with Ben. Having the right engineer was one of the most important parts of this project for me, so it was well worth the extra few months it took to find and contact Ben. In addition to being a great engineer and having worked with a line-up of already successful artists, Ben is easy to work with and helped to create the perfect space for this project to be born into.
Though it was a bit last minute trying to line up musicians over the Christmas holidays, everything fell together beautifully and I feel blessed to have had these amazingly talented musicians, as well as pleasant people, involved with this project.
Eamon O'Leary saved the day as I contacted him a few days before Christmas, with only 2 weeks notice, to play guitar on 6 of the the 9 tracks.
I was also fortunate to catch Natalie Haas in NYC for a few days in between a visit to California and a trip to Scotland to play with fiddler Alasdair Fraser. Natalie laid down cello tracks on Neil Finn's "Fall at Your Feet" and Jimmy McCarthy's "Bright Blue Rose".
And the lovely Irish piper Jerry O'Sullivan played low whistles on 2 of my original songs.
It was a wonderful experience recording this project and I am grateful to work with these gifted and wonderful musicians and engineer.
BIO
Based out of New Hope, PA and greater New York City/New Jersey/Philadelphia area.
From her earliest days, dance provided the platform for this diverse performer’s total artistry to emerge.
Her soaring vocals silence pubs and find a home in timeless classics of Celtic origin and beyond, and compliment her traditional fiddle playing, exuding toe-tapping energy and fun while transporting listeners to another time and place.
Born in New York, New York and raised in New Jersey, a natural musician from a young age, Jennifer studied piano at the age of 5, viola at the age of 7 and flute at the age of 11. She graduated from Skidmore College, B.S Dance Performance, and moved to Manhattan.
While a student at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance,
Manhattan’s energy and sounds influenced the artist and she began to immerse herself in a lifelong desire to study singing, her vocal studies over five years spanned a broad spectrum of styles from the jazz standards to opera and musical theatre during which time she performed with the Amato Opera, at Lincoln Center, and at numerous cabaret clubs and piano bars throughout the city. She self-taught herself guitar during this time, and began performing as a solo artist in coffeehouses, cafes and restaurants.
But it was travels to Ireland that opened the door to a world of timeless music and the discovery of a traditional Irish “session” that would inspire the singer/musician for years to follow. When back in New York, she immediately rented a violin and began studying with Irish fiddler Patrick Ourceau.
The following year, Jennifer spent a month in Cape Breton Island studying fiddle and stepdance and left “with her red shoes on”, studying solely Cape Breton fiddle for the next 3 years -- between trips to Cape Breton, videotapes, audio recordings, and “the shed” -- More recently, Jennifer has revisited Irish music and the the lively Irish music scene of NYC and NJ and has studied Irish fiddle with Athena Tergis and New York Sligo fiddler Brian Conway.
Jennifer taught Cape Breton stepdance classes for the New York Caledonian Club in New York City in 2004, and at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii in July 2005. She currently teaches Cape Breton stepdance workshops periodically in New York City.
Jennifer has shared the stage with Grammy-winning Hawaiin master musicians George Kahumoku Jr. and Daniel Ho during a 'Celtic Aloha Tour' throughout the Hawaiin Islands in the summer of 2005, and with the Scottish group “Old Blind Dogs” in the Cool Dog Concert Series in September 2006. Her debut CD, recorded by Grammy-winning engineer/producer Ben Wisch, was released in 2003 and has received radio-play internationally. Jennifer currently performs regularly with “Taps and Tunes” as a Singer/Fiddler/Dancer for senior and student audiences.
She is looking forward to recording and releasing her second album this year.