The Evening News

Released 2024

KJ and four jazz musicians walked into a Bar… It was probably a Wednesday and the bar was the 55 Bar.

Award winning singer-songwriter KJ Denhert is releasing her 11th  album, The Evening News. The album could easily have been a live set on any number of Wednesdays where the seasoned performer and writer was spreading her wings. The Evening News is the band name,  celebrating their first recording together.

Album Notes

 

One night, after a sold-out performance at The Falcon in upstate New York, dearly departed friend and venue owner Tony Falco asked KJ, “Would you be into singing some jazz?” The seed was sown! KJ put together an ensemble featuring some of NY’s most accomplished jazz musicians, drawing from the Great American Songbook tunes that KJ knew from childhood, and The Evening News (formerly called the Jazz Project) started a residency at The Falcon. That led to a mid-week residency at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, where KJ’s legendary band, The New York Unit had been playing for two decades. The KJ Denhert early set at The 55 became a must-see event on the NYC jazz calendar, and over 4 years the band developed a sound and repertoire of its own. Wanting to capture the personality of this ensemble, KJ and the band decided that this group needed to be recorded. The result is “The Evening News”, an album that features KJ’s spectacularly soulful vocals and guitar, exquisite playing by each of the band members, and a tracklist that weaves jazz standards, re-invented pop songs, and KJ’s captivating original compositions into a musical work of art. KJ hopes that you find as much joy in listening to this album as she and the other musicians did in making it. Enjoy the Evening News.

“As a songwriter, I am happy to finally share this album with four original songs and four classic tunes from Lennon and McCartney, Lerner and Loewe, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Of all of the songs on the album, Postcard from Paris could have been the title track, written posthumously for my Mom. Instead, I changed the name of the band to The Evening News and the band became the title track “- KJ

 

Blackbird

 

I read that Paul MC Cartney said that the civil rights movement and a newspaper headline were the inspiration for his song Blackbird. Nicki Denner brought her arrangement to the band on the night we decided to head to the studio. I sing, with the spirit of freedom that the trio drove

 

Esmerelda

 

A song about a friend I made in college. She was smart and tall, I was not. She laughed at my jokes and reached out when I was learning the price of personal freedom. The song recalls a platonic love that inspired me for a lifetime. “Oh, Esmerelda sometimes you just play the part”. Don’t let that break your spirit. I learned from her and frankly couldn’t understand why the whole student body wasn’t in love with her.

 

Surrey With The Fringe on Top

 

A live Blossom Dearie performance on the Tonight Show is one of my all-time favorites of this song. This is the song on the album that lulls me to a place where I can rest. It is a chance to work within a vibe that I find completely intoxicating. The arrangement features the quartet so effectively while reversing the typical role of guitar and piano – you don’t hear Nicki until the solo and I just love that feature.

 

On the Street Where You Live

 

This is one of those tunes that lots of folks know well so I would call it on our Wednesday gigs and I noticed the band was having as much fun as the audience or vice versa and the song made it to this album. This one is a classic shared for the fun of it. I didn’t play guitar and focused on being a singer. I could move about freely, ordering ginger ale with bitters and lemon. The drink was known as The KJ Denhert at the 55 Bar!

 

 

Postcard From Paris

 

This song could have been the title track – it is the most personal on the album. Looking around for that spark of an opening lyric, I literally found a map of Kathmandu and a postcard from Paris. I remembered how much more pleasant my conversations with my mother were when I was touring. In so many ways my relationship with my mother grew and morphed over time despite losing her in 2018. As the songwriter, the random items were symbols of a lifetime of travel and soon I was replaying conversations with my Mom in my head – like a highlight reel.

My acoustic guitar is tuned to one of my favorite Joni Mitchell tunings, CGDFCE. I challenged myself to write in my own voice starting from the touchstone of a tuning I hadn’t used in over 20 years until I was invited to play Joni Mitchell’s Coyote at a Last Waltz event.

 

Singer of Sorrow

 

Singer of Sorrow was a co-write between me and my multi-talented, singer-songwriter, good neighbor, and friend Anne Carpenter. One day she said let’s write a song – I think she found the words sorrow and singer in a notepad of unused ideas and literally I said how about Singer of Sorrow – boom we’re co-writers! Sad songs are the occupational hazard of the singer-songwriter. Commercial television evening news generally has a heavy dose of reality. I arranged the closing section for balance like the sports and entertainment. In the end, we’re all just trying to get by.

 

Eleanor Rigby

 

We were playing this song the other night and a woman shook her head and said – “This is the saddest song in the world.” I doubt that it is the saddest but verse 3 will get you if you are paying attention. The arrangement started with the help of Adam Klipple who played keys with the NY Unit. We developed some early arrangements for the band I called the Jazz Project. I’ve always loved The Beatles songs and have covered my fair share with different styles. Here I knew we had a winner as far as live shows go. The challenge is to bring that live excitement to recording.

 

I Love It When You Say Goodbye

 

My friend Evelyn suggested I put this song last on the album – like a bow on a gift. Something light and happy, she said not knowing it didn’t start out that way and it’s not as light as a feather. It was a song about wanting to get off the phone with someone for whom I’d lost all respect. I was about to debut the song at a Mother’s Day show and decided that snarky songs have their place but Love Songs make the world go round. I rewrote the song, which felt very good. The message is about contentment and as such it’s hard to recognize at times. The singer is able to be happy about saying goodbye when the uncertainty of your return is taken away. It’s a bit of a sequel to a song on Destiny, “Love Comes Tumbling Down”.

 

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Musician Credits

 

KJ Denhert – voice & guitar

Nicki Denner – piano

Adam Armstrong – bass

Eric Halvorson – drums

Mark McIntyre – electric guitar

 

Musician Bios

 

ADAM ARMSTRONG – BASS

 

Adam Armstrong relocated from Australia to New York in 2000 with the assistance of an Australian Arts Council professional development grant. In his thirty-five-year career, Adam has had the opportunity to perform with many notable artists, including jazz greats, Kenny Kirkland, Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider, and Billy Cobham. Adam can be heard regularly in the clubs of New York City, playing with groups led by a variety of artists, including Ken Thomson, Richard X Bennett, Eric Person, Christian Finger, and KJ Denhert. Adam has toured through 34 countries, performing in clubs and at major festivals in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. He appears on over 80 albums, including two ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Award) winners, has played on the soundtracks of feature films, TV shows, and theatre productions, and has given master classes and workshops at institutions around the world.

 

NICKI DENNER- KEYS

 

Pianist/composer Nicki Denner has worked with Sheila E., Savion Glover, Michele Lee, and Doc Severinsen as well as other jazz and Latin artists in the United States,  Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Ms. Denner has released three critically acclaimed CDs under her own name. She is the Musical Director for the group Cocomama whose debut CD Quiero was included in the 2016 Grammy pre-nominations for Best Tropical Latin album.

She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, Studio 54, the Apollo Theatre, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Marathon, the Michigan Womyn’s Festival, the Guatemala City International Jazz Festival and as a musical ambassador for the State Department in Central America.

As a composer, she has written music for award-winning films as well as the New Jersey Tap Ensemble of which she is Musical Director.

Nicki is a devoted educator having served on the faculty of the Stanford University Summer Jazz Workshop, Campamento Internacional de Jazz in Guatemala, the JazzCabaret Festival in Ketchikan Alaska, Jazzhouse Kids, the New York City Tap Festival, and the New Jersey Tap Festival. She is also a contributor to Keyboard Magazine.

 

ERIC HALVORSON – DRUMS

 

Eric has performed with such jazz artists as John Fedchock, Dave Liebman, Bob Sheppard, Dave Stryker, Donny McCaslin, Steve Slagle, Vic Juris, Scott Robinson, Adam Rogers, Joe Locke, Bruce Barth, Marilyn Maye, Beegie Adair, vocalist Kenny Washington, Fred Hersch, Mark Murphy, James Moody, and Bill Henderson; vocalist Lucy Woodward; toured internationally with Ute Lemper; Broadway stars Sherie Rene Scott and Christine Ebersole; composer Frank Wildhorn; songwriter and pianist Marvin Hamlisch; soul singer Ben E. King; blues artist George Kilby Jr. and the legendary Pinetop Perkins to name a few. He is currently touring with vocalist Linda Eder and also works with many big bands including Josh Shneider’s ‘Love Speaks Orchestra’, the Birdland Big Band, the Bill Warfield Repertory Big Band, and the George Gee Big Band. He has performed at New York City’s top venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall (with Beegie Adair), Town Hall, Radio City Music Hall, City Center, and jazz venues Iridium, Blue Note, Small’s, Smoke, and Birdland. He is sought after by a variety of performers because of his rock and pop sensibilities.

 

Mark McIntyre

 

Mark McIntyre grew up in Yorktown Heights, NY, where he developed a love for music early on. With a voracious appetite for garage-sale record sales, he listened to the music of the 60s and 70s: the Woodstock recordings, The Who, Miles Davis, and Stevie Wonder. Always hungry to play, Mark began playing music as much as he could in the city of Peekskill.

Since then, Mark has held a monthly residency with his band The Syndicate at the legendary 55 Bar since March 2019, where he also performs as a member of KJ Denhert’s New York Unit. He lives in Brooklyn where he is constantly writing music for various projects including his band DANNI and Planetary People. He has performed on CNN with Billy Ray Cyrus and traveled to Brazil, Alaska, and Costa Rica to perform.

Non-musical information: Mark is a nerd at heart, and greatly enjoys his time outdoors.

 

Production Credits:

 

Produced by KJ Denhert and Adam Armstrong

 

Recording Credits:

 

Audio:

Recorded by Dave Stoller | Samurai Studios

Additional editing:

Chris Sulit | Trading 8 Studios

Mixed by:

Ben Rubin (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6)

Ken Freeman (Tracks 3, 4, 7, 8)

 

Mastering:

 

Steve Vavagiakis Bang Zoom Productions
www.bangzoomonline.com

 

Photographer:

 

Kyra Kverno

Lisa Sandagata

 

Special thanks:

 

Lisa Sandagata, Jeff Cadge, Lew Stiefel, Stanley Tomczak, The Cookstove Project-Ossining NY, Steve & Jane, Nancy Rosanoff, Jessie Mason,  Anne Carpenter, Anne Gero, Leo Traversa, Etienne Stadwijk, Mamadou Ba, Ray Levier, Tony Falco, Scott Ellard, Jean Marc Le Franc. Sunny’s Bar Red Hook, Jan Bell, and Toona, Matthew Clowney, Carol Corman, Lawrence McIntyre, Jazz Forum Tarrytown, Kenny B and Mary Ellis, Bianca & Paul Mancinelli, Danielle Jackson, Adam Armstrong, Nicki Denner, Mark McIntyre, Eric Halvorson and Anton Denner Steve and Lourdes Laifer, Andrew & Katina, Paula Jeanne Bennett and Jean Pierre Mosquera.