Album Notes

"Houston, Texas has finally taken notice of the jazz singer with many of the same features as Marilyn Monroe. You would swear looking at her "live" pictures in the Houston Chronicle that you were transported in time and were listening to Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, or one of the great torch singers of the past. No one in the music business today, writes jazz like Rathbun. She is one of the best composers of music in that genre ever. She takes you back to the greatest days of jazz, big bands, and the speak easy way of living during the 1920's. What a rush being at one of her concerts. Fan of Bette Midler or Rosemary Clooney? You'll absolutely love Jen Rathbun." - Mikel Gore - Entertainment Headline News Editor

"It's no wonder that Jen Rathbun has been nominated the Female Vocalist of the Year in the State of Texas for the Texas Music Awards. The houston jazz star has the greatest jazz album ever and Billboard's review "brilliantly produced tawdry jazz album" is exactly right. This album is worth whatever you have to pay for it. It's absolutely sensational." - Go.com Music Editor

"If Jen Rathbun were an actress in the 1940s, she would have owned the part of the smart dame who wore killer suits and spouted off snappy one-liners. Instead, she's a modern-day musician who sings and writes clever tunes loaded with personality ... "Coffee, Chocolate & Men" is recommended, especially if you are looking for something beyond the dime-a-dozen covers album.
" - JazzReview.com

Jen Rathbun
Singer, Songwriter, Pianist
What the buzz is about

You're in a smoky little club downtown. The crowd is noisy, self-involved. And then this gorgeous blonde fires off an amazing riff on her keyboard. Conversations die down as she begins to croon out a jazz ballad. It's not some throwback oldies cover, but a pull-forward, nouveau cabaret, this-genre-ain't-dead-'til-I-say-it's-dead fresh new sound. Some guy in back shushes the drunk at the next table -- he feels that immediate connection. She's telling him that, "All I want is you / ... / My lips are licked / I'm not that strict / This'll take a minute or two." The song ends and the audience cheers enthusiastically. He is momentarily weirded out -- it had seemed as if she was singing just to him, but they all must have heard it. Then she's moaning out, "I feel nasty / ... / I'm with him / But you are near / Tickling my thoughts / And teasing my fears." It's obvious to him that all the others are mistaken. It's him she's singing to. Later he'll tell his girlfriend, a little sheepishly, about the powerful contact he felt and she'll look at him funny. She's a little smarter than he is and doesn't tell him how that blonde gave voice to her own innermost thoughts when she cried out, "Why are all the good men / Married, buried, or gay? / Why do all the wrong guys / Seem to head my way?" Maybe her soon-to-be-ex hadn't heard, "Some things are better rich like coffee, chocolate, and men."

Those two may not stay together much longer, but they are sure to join the cadre of loyal Jen Rathbun fans. Houston jazz devotees follow her from venue to venue and snap up her CD's like junkies seeking a fix. There's just no one else out there doing what she's doing, just no one else out there who seems to be singing just to them. Each has there own favorites: "Cool Cat", "Cereal Rag", "Doctor of Love", "Coffee, Chocolate & Men"--she calls out for requests and the air fills with shouts of twenty different favorites.

Listen and judge for yourself. See if she doesn't have something to say just to you.

By M. Phillips & C. Bass

What the Industry is saying about Jen Rathbun and her latest album Coffee, Chocolate & Men:

Winner National Singer/Songwriter Auditions
2004 MTM Music Awards Musician of the Year nominee
2005 MTM Music Awards Female Vocalist of the Year nominee
Platinum Plus Universal Recording Artist

"She's one of the best I've heard and has a real chance at making it big." - Robert Metzger, three-time winner of Cashbox's Producer of the Year

"Quite possibly the sexiest album ever recorded." - Lucky Boyd, music critic, advisor, and co-founder of MyTexasMusic.com after hearing Coffee, Chocolate & Men.

"...one of the best new songwriters I've heard in a long time." - David Fahl, singer/songwriter, Real Folk Music Record Co.

"Every now and then an artist comes along with something unique to offer. Jen Rathbun does just that...." - Chris Collins, KPFT 90.1 FM, HAAM Radio Show DJ and co-founder of the Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians

"I loved her songs. Nasty was the sexiest song I've ever heard." - Joanne Sprott, coordinator; The Harmony Coffee House