N22 Jazz Festival Opening Gig - Part of EFG London Jazz Festival #wearejazz

Boston, Massachusetts-born, recent London resident Jen Kearney counts Snowboy as a fan of her particular style of original music - an amalgamation of musical styles including Soul, R&B and Funk. Her music and attention to lyrics and has met critical acclaim nationally and internationally.

Born into a musical family, Boston, Massachusetts-born Jen Kearney was immersed from the start listening to all the records on the house. At 5 her parents made an attempt to give her the classic “lady down the street” piano lessons. After a few weeks of young Kearney’s efforts to try to develop her teacher’s appreciation for Fats Domino, the teacher told Kearney’s mother not to bring her back. Jen persisted teaching herself songs by ear on the piano and guitar eventually joining a rock band in high school. At 18 Kearney was accepted into UMASS Lowell’s highly regarded Music Performance program after the audition process. As an underaged student she started sneaking in to open-mic nights at local bars and began writing songs. She met and formed bonds with other songwriters and musicians, many of which she still works with today. At 19, she started recording original material on an old reel-to-reel with friends who decided to put a compilation album of local songwriters together and decided to record it in the style of Sam Phillips at Sun Studios with one microphone and a live band, mostly opting to do one take in order to avoid having to buy too much tape.

Kearney continued to hone her skills, writing and recording 5 additional albums and expanding to become a luminary in the Boston music scene. She has toured the US extensively sharing the stage with such acts as Los Lobos, Mavis Staples, Derek Trucks, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Daryl Hall and many more. In 2006, Kearney received an email from a person named Snowboy in the UK. He was a programmer of the Craig Charles Funk and Soul show on BBC 6 and had discovered Jen’s music. After years of corresponding Snowboy decided to cover two of Jen’s original songs. In 2017, Jen was flown over to tour with the legendary Snowboy & The Latin Section. The momentum of that tour has led Jen to London where she is currently touring and writing a new album due out in 2020.

THE JEN KEARNEY QUARTET Jen Kearney (keyboard, vocals) Cosimo Keita (drums) Tiago Coimbra (bass) Johnny 'Guitarman' Heyes (guitar)

Doors open 7pm, music from 8pm.

Photocredit: Cadena Hannon