Gift of Jazz —A Blind Tiger Tribute to Melody Gardot presented by: Terri Jo Jenkins on vox, Rhiannon Dewey on sax, Bill Kopper on guitar, Julie Royster on bass, & Jill Fredericksen on drums.

MELODY GARDOT is a singer-songwriter born in New Jersey. At the age of nineteen, she suffered severe head and spinal injuries after being struck by a car. The road to recovery was a long hard journey, but the music was at the center of it. At a physician’s recommendation, she began music therapy to aid in her recovery. Melody’s injuries left her very sensitive to light and sound, thus her music reflects the beauty of quiet serenity. After years of music therapy, Gardot had written a series of songs about her experience on the road to recovery. Initially scared to share her music, Gardot was eventually convinced to send her songs to a local Philadelphia radio station, WXPN. Following positive responses to her music, Melody released her first two albums on Verve’s label. Inspired by blues, jazz, ballads, and bossa nova, Gardot carved out her unique sound that reflects her contemporaries (Norah Jones, Jazzmeia Horn, Jane Monheit, and potentially even Adele), but with her own elegant twist.

TERRI JO JENKINS has been singing professionally since her childhood in Nebraska. She released her first record (with her two sisters) when she was just 14 years old. Her first solo CD, “Legend of Strawberry Moon” was recorded in 1996 and her second release of original songs, “Stories Around Me” was produced on the Tremulant Records label in 1999. She has recorded with the Nebraska group, Jazz Factory, Denver’s Mile High Jazz Trio, and nationally recognized jazz pianist Jeff Jenkins. She was the featured vocalist at the Jazz en Vercors festival in France from 2009 to 2011. Additionally, she performs with the nine-member Colorado-based jazz band, Park Hill Brass, and the jazz vocal band, Quirktett. Terri Jo currently performs as a jazz and blues vocalist and owns and operates a private lesson music studio in Denver where she teaches piano, guitar, flute, and voice lessons. She is also the executive director of the SongBird Vocal Jazz Fest held each November in Colorado.

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