jen murdza
Press
XM Satellite Radio - Radar Report
XM Artist of the Week - January 2008
Heartfelt songs, slick production, and a beautiful voice. So many of her peers are only one or two out of three, but Jen is the whole package. Her album, Reboundin', is a great success.
Metronome Magazine
"Reboundin'" one of Metronome's Top 5 CDs of Dec. 2007 - by Douglas Sloan - December 2007
Jen Murdza's beautiful vocals power these well written originals with emotions as expansive as the deep blue ocean. Jen's a natural singer. Nothing ever sounds forced or contrived. Murdza just let's it flow and flow it does. She enlists a powerhouse of players for "Reboundin'" that include guitarist Joe Feloni, drummer David Jamrog, bassist Everett Pendleton, trumpeter Scott Aruda, saxophonists John Aruda and Paul Ahlstrand.
While the music is well played and incorporates funky, uptempo grooves, Murdza's prose holds deep emotional meaning that always manages to shed a sense of hope. Ultimately, Murdza always makes you feel good with her songs. There's no filler tracks either...just a well produced CD filled with great music, Outstanding!
Boston.com
2007 BMA "Best New Act" Nominees - November 2007
It's tough to distinguish yourself in the world of female singer-songwriters these days. There are a lot of beautiful voices atop lightly strummed guitar. But soulful standout Jen Murdza has beaten the pack by continually defying genres.
Muruch
Jen Murdza: Reboundin' - muruch.blogspot.com - November 2007
Boston singer-songwriter Jen Murdza is definitely one to watch. Her voice is sexy and powerful, and catchy is far too tiny and unsophisticated word to describe her infectiously eclectic melodies. Her first full length album Reboundin' stirs together blues, jazz, pop, country, rock, and several sub-genres in a refreshingly innovative way. Her siren vocal style and affinity for horns is akin to Bernadette Seacrest, but the rougher blues edge of her guitar is closer to Michelle Malone.
"Gracious" layers Jen's sultry vocals over a twisted pop melody made of big brass and bluesy guitar. "Allright" at first dips down even further into the seductive jazzy tone of Murdza's voice before kicking in some funky guitar work.
"Did I Ever Tell You" is a torch number lightly laced with twang, and "Soft Shoes" sprinkles doo wop with rockabilly. "Amorous" would be pure pop if not for the jazz splashes. "Reboundin'" is a classic country jaunt with a chanteuse sashay, and the finale "How Long" finally yields to Murdza's inner femme fatale.
Bay Windows
"Reboundin'" Review - Brian Jewell - October 2007
If you don’t know Boston’s own Murdza, you better pay attention. Her debut album shows that if there’s any justice in the music world, she’s got a long and successful career ahead of her. True, she’s got some big barriers between her and mainstream success: She’s smart, she’s sophisticated and she’s hard to pigeonhole. Most of Reboundin’ sounds like a blend of country and jazz or R&B. With her smooth, sultry voice, Murdza can’t help lending a bit of jazz chanteuse flavor to most of her songs, even though it’s not always as ostentatious as it is on the delightful, bluesy title track, which features a bit of scat over Murdza’s twanging guitar. At other points the synthesis is more subtle: The eerie use of strings on the wistful ballad "Did I Ever Tell You," for instance, and the Motown nods on straight-up pop numbers like "You’ll Never Know." Besides straddling genres, Murdza has a talent for crossing upbeat tunes with darker lyrics, adding another note of tension to the complex layers hinted at in her precise, evocative vocals.
Northeast Performer
"Reboundin" Review - October 2007
She's classified as a country singer/songwriter, but Jen Murdza feels much jazzier. Her low, sultry voice combined with heavy brass, Santana-influenced electric guitar, and the occasional unexpected wah-wah effect makes for something distinctly different than your average female country songstress. Her vocals are the album's centerpiece, with an impressive range, resounding vibrato, and effortless transitions between chest and head voice.
Boston Girl Guide
Jen Murdza "Reboundin'" (independent) - TC Krentz - October 2007
Jen Murdza has released a fabulous follow up to last year's debut EP Things Untold. Jen's songwriting skills remain strong for her second release Reboundin'.
The first track Gracious has cleverly flirtish lyrics that dance within an infectious R&B groove, complimented by classic horn work by the Aruda brothers. The lyrics alone of the gut wrenching Did I Ever Tell You is a mandatory reading in order to grasp the depth of Jen's lyrical integrity.
The record reflects several styles, including folk, pop, country, and R&B while maintaining it's own unique approach to each of them. Honest music with brilliant time changes and great players all lend themselves to creating a collection of outstanding tunes that truly deserve a good listen.
Tufts Observer
Starbucks Music Makers performance - by Andrea Lowe - September 2007
Other notable acts included Jen Murdza, new to playing solo, who had an incredibly striking, radio-ready voice. Her alternative-country style was far different from anything else heard that evening.Live Music Blog [ + Read more ]
Jen Murdza: New Voice With Old Soul - Kathryn Vercillo - February 2007
Jen Murdza's music has a familiar quality to it, as if you heard it once long ago, although that's unlikely since she's relatively new to the modern music scene. Perhaps it's the old-world quality of her voice with it's sultry jazziness.
Skope Magazine [ + Read more ]
Still much to be said: An interview with Jen Murdza - Bill Copeland - December 2006
Jen Murdza is a singer-songwriter of diminutive proportions. But the 5-foot-2-inch performer has a large message. Her songs of relationships gone bad strike universal themes of loneliness and rejection. Her debut CD Things Untold features five new tracks.
Northeast In-Tune Magazine [ + Read more ]
Jen Murdza - Kathryn Vercillo - November 2006
If you walked in to a room where a friend was playing a CD by Jen Murdza, you'd immediately begin nodding your head in tune with the music and you'd ask your friend, "who is this?" That's because Murzda's soulful voice and her danceable music both sound like something that you might hear on the radio. The sounds are polished and the music is contagious in that way, which makes you want to learn the words just so that you can sing along.
Indie-Music.com [ + Read more ]
Jen Murdza ~ "Things Untold" - Barney Quick - September 2006
In the hands of someone with less overall creative vision, her smooth pipes and subdued writing style might come off like some kind of contrived mood fodder. Not so with Jen Murdza. She's the whole package and she's making real music.
Boston Girl Guide [ + Read more ]
Jen Murdza "Things Untold" (independent) - TC Krentz - July 2006
Jen Murdza has kicked off her recording career with a fantastic 5 song EP.
Boston's own should make New England proud with her debut "Things Untold." It is a truly classy combination platter of acoustic jazz, intriguing folk & soul. The twist from the norm of this genre is the grooving rhythms Jen writes with. Captivating hooks with authentically affective lyrics annotates what kind of talent Jen Murdza possesses. Do look into this artist at the top of her promising musical career.
BlogCritics.org [ + Read more ]
EP Review: Jen Murdza's things untold - Paul Jordan - June 2006
Not since I first heard Diana Krall, nearly five years ago, have I been so excited about the advent of a fresh new female vocalist to the music scene, Jen Murdza is going to break a lot of molds and cross lines between genres, mark my words, she is the real deal.
The Boston Herald [ + Read more ]
Sultry newcomer Murdza displays 'Untold' talent - Nate Dow - June 2006
As a 3-year-old growing up in Medford, Jen Murdza was precocious enough to mimic Elvis Presley. She learned tunes from "Annie" and loved flitting around the house crooning songs like "Jennifer Juniper."
Eric N' Roll [ + Read more ]
Jen Murdza: Things Untold (ep) - Eric Boisson - June 2006
(The following is a rough translation) Jen Murdza fell into music very young and it is, in fact, her mom who particularly inspired her through legends like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Marvin Gaye. Since, the petite Bostonian grew to write her own music, a mix of pop, soul and jazz... "Things untold" is the result, a 5 song EP balanced rather well with the service of its pretty stamp of voice. Her interpretation reminds me a little of Nadine Goellner, Natalia Zukerman, Fiona APPLE, and Sara Bareilles for example... As much to say, Jen is full of pretty promises... Extract to come in the radioblog.
Metronome Magazine
Jen Murdza "Things Untold" (Full article) - Sarah Bayle - May 2006
The only appropriate way I can think of to start this review is to thank the woman who released it. I've been waiting over a year for this EP and it was worth it. "Things Untold", bluesy, full of soul, splashed with jazz and injected with just a hint of sass, exposes listeners to a depth of sonic vocals and novel rhythmic patterns rarely found, especially in their own backyard, Boston. You gotta love that dirty water.
One of my favorite things about Jen Murdza is that I find myself at a loss to compare her vocals to those of any well known artists. She owns and controls the smoky, smooth texture that emanates from her lips. Her influences range from Karen Carpenter to Stevie Wonder, but no other artist falls from her tongue.
Murdza's sonic freshness, ubiquitously and rightly labeled sultry, and often highlighted as the strength of her artistry, can actually be seen as strongest in its offer of companionship to her emotive and tactile lyrics. This EP is personal and it's about relationships, but rather than offer the listener a seat from the bleachers, it throws us into the dug out. Opening track "Lamb" says it best: "For what I feel to fall from your lips/But instead the silence drips/Slow like wax and strips away/The ember from the room/Wrap yourself around me/Melt over me like honey/Oh surrender me the secret/Of what you're feeling for me...[refrain]I feel and absence/That's as wide as the sky/It cuts deep inside me/I'm the lamb you sacrifice."
Amplifying vocals and lyrics is rhythm, guided strongly by deft acoustic guitar, a pairing that compliments Murdza's vocals soundly. Murdza has a knack for switching tempo at the right unpredictable moments. You can travel with the song, but you don't necessarily know where the song is traveling. She takes the pain out of the angst and inserts blues and soul. The line is fine, but the point of its cross is tangible.
"This is Real," which has been getting its fair share of local time here and there, again illuminates the symbiotic relationship between Murdza and the acoustic: "Angels couldn't pull me from you/No, not even God could take my love from you/Despite constraints of time and place and even when I pass from this place/There'll be no end to how I feel/'Cause this is real"[refrain] Lyrics alone are misleading; this is not a ballad. Thanks again to creative rhythmic patterns, a forcefulness inserts itself.
No song on this EP should go unnoticed, and all are accessible at www.jenmurdza.com. I could not say it better than Jen Murdza's biographer; "Things Untold" is just the beginning. It is incumbent on you to get out of your house and hear the depth of these lyrics from this big voice. This is Jen Murdza's first recording, and after you hear it, the next thing you'll want to do is to hear her live.
Taxi
Review of "Flicker" - April 2006
"...an outstanding voice that handles, agile, quick moving melodies with ease...writing style emphasizes unusual beats and fresh relationship of words to melody that's very attractive...a blend of jazz and urban that could do very well at radio..."