It was in the moments when she was alone in the house she grew up in, just oustside of Baltimore in a small suburb, that she would pretend she was under a solo spotlight playing to a hushed crowd that would erupt into thunderous applause as she finished the final notes of her song. Her daydreams are still very much like the ones she painted in her mind while sitting at the piano as a child, only these days they are closing in on real life. It is her passionate and expressive lyrics and a soulful, powerhouse of a voice that instantly draws her listeners in and leaves them wanting more. In between songs and offstage, her humble nature and contagious laugh are the perfect balance.
Jayden's musical journey began at the age of four with her first piano lesson. Her years of dance and piano training prompted her to study and receive a degree in music theatre. However, during her college years she began to discover that singing was her greatest passion, listening to a broad spectrum of idols like Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Sam Cooke, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Police, Led Zeppelin and countless others, all while studying classical and broadway music.
Directly out of school, Jen began doing regional theatre work, but soon found herself yearning to test out the big apple. Within a few short months of arriving to NYC, she was snapped up by Royal Caribbean Cruise lines to be a headlining vocalist where she sailed around the world regularly performing to houses of 1000-1500 people. She was then asked to be a headlining guest entertainer with Princess Cruises. Between worldly adventures Jen would usually head back to the city ...wondering if the broadway stage was meant for her. At the time, it seemed to be the direction her career was accidentally taking even though she felt a strong pull in a different direction.
Jen began writing, mostly out of frustration; trying to figure out what she should be doing with her life, trying to make sense of the few too many relationships gone wrong, and trying to figure out where she wanted to call home. "I never thought writing songs was an option because it wasn't something I had been taught. So I had no idea where to begin, but I just started writing what was bottled up...my own therapy sessions I guess. No one ever said, "hey, this is how ya do this" so it took some trial and error to figure out my own method. And I still question it." Soon enough that trial and error turned into songs and her unique sound and extensive performance background began to garner her positive feedback from other recording artists and awards from various songwriting competitions.
In the summer of 2006 Jayden landed in San Diego and officially launched her solo effort with her first full album "Lost Along the Way," which was unconventionally recorded live on a blank stage. If you ask her about the album, Jen will say "it was a great start, but not where I'm at now." Since that first recording where she was still finding her style, things have changed dramatically...lyrics and melodies have been tightened and most noticeably she is playing piano for most of her tunes. However, despite the fact that Jen downplay's her first album attempt, it has received some fantastic local and national press and was spun on nearly 200 college radio stations in North America. In an amazingly short period of time (8 months) she has built a following, attracted producers and label attention and played on numerous notable stages like Twiggs, Lestats, Hot Java Cafe, Borders Bookstores, Dreamstreet, University of San Diego, and Pacific Beach Festival (San Diego) and Room 5, The Ten 20, Ghengis Cohen, and the legendary Whisky A Go Go (Los Angeles).
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