Cross-media art director in Portland, Oregon.

An @xrayfm music interview podcast sharing the stories of today's music industry from the voices of working musicians and creatives from Jeni Wren Stottrup. West Coast and beyond.

Jeni Wren is powerful vocalist and songwriter whose originals experiment in funk, jazz soul and hip-hop, the love child of Nina Simone and Betty Davis; Adele and Jill Scott. "Jeni's voice is captivating.. when combined with the heart behind her lyrics, they're downright moving."(PDX Pick).

Her debut EP North Star, due September 19th showcases her vocals within a tapestry of sexy jazzy soul, produced by Matthew Flowers(Feist, The Visitors) and featuring strong support from many of Portland's fastest rising artists including Bill Marsh, Tim Snider, Farnell Newton, Noah Bernstein and Ben Darwish.

Backed by a full band including Akila Fields(Shy Girls), Michael Dougherty(MRB), Catherine Mehta(De La Warr), Teddy Presberg(Fu*k Monster) and Tom Goicoechea and Josh Thomas(1939 Ensemble), the live experience is a beautiful sight driven by soaring harmonies, tight grooves and strong lyricism. The CD release show will feature her biggest band yet, with an 11 piece band, including a full horn section and background vocal duo.

This show is the launch of her fall monthly residency at Secret Society, which will feature such notables in the Portland soul scene as Magic Mouth, Satin Chaps and Brownish Black.

Since debuting the songs a year ago after organizing a benefit for Blue Room music, she was a member of Shy Girls, who were voted Best New Band in Willamette Weekly's 2013 poll and has been recording her debut EP. She has also performed regularly as a guest with numerous artists including Nicole Berke, Tom Grant, Just People, Tim Snider, Redwood Son, Wil Koenke, Ruby Pines and Garrett Brennan.

Jeni, as former elementary Montessori teacher, continues to be an advocate for music programs, currently working as a vocal instructor at School of Rock. In addition, half of the sales of her debut single through reverbnation go toward providing instruments in school music programs through Fender Music Foundation.


The story goes like this…

In 1994, Elissa Maas Weinzimmer was in third grade at an elementary school in Northern California. While the other students spent their recess playing soccer or tetherball or on the monkey bars, Elissa would trek to the very back of the field to sit on a special log surrounded by trees and blackberry bushes. There she would compose and sing simple spiritual songs. 

The following year, Elissa started music classes. She began performing in musical theatre and singing in choirs, and she forgot about her own songs. Years passed full of the American songbook, and arias, and pop a cappella arrangements.

In 2007, at age 21, Elissa experienced a major vocal trauma: a vocal hemorrhage due to pushing and over-singing. After the hemorrhage, Elissa gave up performing and focused her efforts on studying the human voice to understand what had gone wrong.

In 2011 she founded Voice Body Connection, a vocal education company dedicated to helping speakers and singers have a healthy, confident voice. 

Teaching brought great fulfillment. Yet gradually Elissa started to remember her own songs. At a certain point, it became clear that she would need to embody her own voice and creativity fully in order to continue helping others heal their voices.

Today Elissa makes medicine music, much the same as she intuitively did as a child. She releases this music under her first and middle names - the middle name which is also her mother’s maiden name - in order to honor her matrilineal ancestors from whom she received her musical inclination. 

This music is an offering. May we connect to earth, sky, water, sun, and moon. May we dive deep into our own hearts, and also hold and nurture each other. May we channel the divine everyday. May we remember ourselves forward and backward across time and space. May we be blessed. May we be free. May we be light. 

Our voices are our pathway to liberation.

Bookings: 
Worldwide: alexandra@higher-ground.de
North & South America: inbal@prismaartists.com
Management: cg@285.group
Voiceover: sue@sueterryvoices.com

dannyprose is following