Press

QUOTES

Powerful sultry vocals … interactive style grabs audience … 
has an amazing stage presence" ~ The Arcata Eye, Arcata CA 

“Lilting yet biting vocal delivery, in a genre of music that has been steadily probed since Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, the very capable guitar style of Alpert herself grabs listeners attention more effectively, wonderful tunes and some very talented musicianship" ~ California Aggie, UCD 

"Alpert has her own style, commanded attention on stage, quite an experience watching that happen, laced with sharp rawness that came from an unknown depth”  ~ California Aggie, UCD 

“Her compositions are really rich, accessible melodies that are still able to make you feel like you’re hearing something new and exciting, down to earth feel in her writing by weaving her genuine feelings into her songs" ~ The Bruin, UCLA 

"Her note perfect voice has won her the opportunity to lay tracks in every little musical corner" ~ Digital City, NYC 

"Alpert takes her musical talent one step ahead" ~ Fem, UCLA 

"Among the most memorable, mature self - awareness"  
~ Performer Publications, MA 

” Will most likely mak a splash on the ever evolving folk - pop world, a voice you remember and secretly resent"  
~ West Coast Performer Mag 

“ A neo-folk diva … there’s a lot that’s fresh here … 
she’s got ideas " ~ Willamette Weekly, Portland OR 

” Jenni Alpert breaks from convention, opts for the road less traveled, unconventional approach to songwriting “  
~ The Bruin, UCLA 

” Talented singer - songwriter, awesome Carol King feel “  
~ Campus Circle, LA 

” Strong tight compositions, Jenni Alpert is persistent and confident, school of self empowerment, books her own tours, Alpert has the drive to do it all “ ~ The Independent, UCSB 

"Becoming highly visible in the LA music scene commitment to musical diversity with songs blends different traditions of music into her own songwriting”  ~ Hip Fish, Astoria OR 

“One talented package wrapped with rich velvet vocals and a generous helping of musical versatility" ~ Hip Fish, Astoria OR 

"The career she has generated for herself has grown solely from her own determination" ~ The Bruin, UCLA 

"Armed with plenty of self ( -production, -management, -indulgence)" ~ The Village Voice, NYC 

"Can only see her work as passionate" ~ The Bruin, UCLA 

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PRESS
Album Review by Scott WIlson (Underneath the Surface) 
Aol Music 
New Uncover and Discover  
Album Review (Underneath the Surface) 
ASCAP Review 
Album Review Stereo-Subversion (Underneath the Surface) 
New Album Press 
Music Connection  
Fem Magazine  
TLC TV Show 
Eric n Roll (french press) 
Zewol.net (french press) 
Citts Del Capo (italian press) 
Bar Wolfe (italian press) 
World Press 
Donnerstag (holland press) 
Etoiles (french press) 
Billboard 
Portland Mercury 
The Daily Bruin 
The Daily Bruin 
Sound Wave 
Reginaspektor.info pop blog 
Brain queenkv blog 
DJ.queenkv.org/archives 
Tussin.journalspace 
Hellocruelworld 
Nypress 
Blogging.la/hotelcafe/archives 
Chromeoxide 
Howintheworlddidienduphere.blogspot 
Cryptmagazine 
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Tour in Holland Overseas with Jon Allen 
Doornroosje @ de Lux - Nijmegen 31 march 2010 
Paard van Troje 1 april 2010 
Tivoli - Utrecht 2 april 2010 

Also in Holland 
Shared the stage with Rogier Happel (ex Candy Dulfer) and band in Dauphine in Amsterdam  
Club Panama in Amsterdam with Rob van Kreeveld - piano. Ken Ard - vocals. Chris Strik - drums. René van Beeck  
Cultuurhuis Patronaat- Heerlen  
Paradiso - Amsterdam (main stage) 
Q-bus - Leiden 

RADIO 
‘Shouting Boots’ Radio 6 in 2010  
http://shoutingboots.radio6.nl/2010/04/01/claudia-acuna-jenni-alpert-in-shouting-boots/ with Anuca 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_-8nB1IQa4 

Tros Radio Muziekcafe Radio 2 in 2010  
http://www.nufoto.nl/fotos/136651/jenni-alpert-te-gast-bij-tros-muziek-cafe.html 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaZfzW3wFH0  
http://showbizzkanaal.skynetblogs.be/archive/2010/03/26/giovanca-en-freek-de-jonge-in-tros-muziekcafe.html with Giovanca  

Radio One at LLink Atlas in 2010  
http://llink.nl/atlas/viewpage.php?f_Aflevering=1919&page=aflevering 

Radio 5 at Oba live in 2010  
http://www.obalive.nl/archief.aspx?lIntEntityId=1187 

V-radio/Veronica 'studio Schram’ in 2010  
https://studioschram.wordpress.com/tag/jenni-alpert/ 

DJ Dolf Jansen added songs to playlist on on Radio 6 in 'Afslag thunderroad’ in 2010 and 2011  
http://omroep.vara.nl/playlist-detail.4121.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=39156&cHash=9fd9a4fce1a8d2091ca19a96907abe61 

Radio 5 'Desmet Live’ in 2009  
http://www.desmetlive.nl/program.asp?lIntEntityId=704 

RTV NH in 2009  

Vocals and featured on DFelic (Dutch producer) Funktified, which was 'hollandse nieuwe’ in 2011 and was on the VPRO Luisterpaal in 2011  
Link to an interview: http://3voor12.vpro.nl/artikelen/artikel/44740430 
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/artikelen/artikel/44721642 
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/luisterpaal/44721256 
Live Reviews in Holland 
http://www.roarezine.nl/2010/04/02/jon-allen-lux-nijmegen/ 
http://www.podiuminfo.nl/review/1296/Jon_Allen_-_313_-_Doornroosje/ 

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PRESS REVIEWS
Media: French Interview 
Location: Agnes 

-Listening to your song « All we need is love », the Beatles fan that I am needs to ask you if this song has anything to do with the famous English band ! 

Not intentionally, however I know many of us feel the same way about human kind and the wonderful things we can do together through love. 

-It ’s the second time you ’re coming to France, isn 't it? 

Actually it ’s the third. 

-How did you get this opportunity? 

I started out a few years ago as a backpacker, and I was stopping in France before heading to india. I landed one gig at a piano bar by walking in and kept looking for places because i love reaching people thought music. if i can ’t speak the language of a country, well then for sure i can speak the language of music with them. During that same trip, I walked into a club that looked like an interesting place to play in the future and met the sound engineer … gave him my cd and moved on with my journey. about a year later, that same person contacted me through myspace with several gigs for me…. it was amazing… i barely remembered him until i arrived in paris and met him for the second time… Ben from Studio Z Factory. Now he is working with me on many endeavors in France, promoting my music and helping me find distribution. He is a great person and a fantastic music partner. It starts with drive and passion, but can ’t be completed 
without a good team. 

-Would you like to sing a couple of songs in French ? 

IF i could pronounce french properly =). 

-Is you last record made of original songs only ? Or do you make some covers ? 

My recent record has no covers though I do like to perform covers once in a while when a song touches me. There are two songs on my record however that are co-written with other musicians… Both of those were unplanned experiences that happened the moments they were written and their messages fit with the rest of the record so I kept them. 

-You’ve recorded 6 albums in the United States. Are you quite famous over there ? 

No. Not at all famous. Those records are all experiences that marks my journey each step of the way to where ever it is i am headed. i started recording my songs years ago to remember the sounds I heard in my head. When people started expressing interested in buying my music, I decided to keep recording something each year to offer those fans something new to keep them included in my growth and discovery as an artist. I record with passion and every recording personally me teaches me more about who i am as an artist and what i like to do. 

-What is the title of your last record ? 

"No Second Guesses ” which is actually kind of funny because after it was finished being recorded… it has been hard to make a lot of the decisions about what to do with it!! 

-Will it be distributed in France too ? 

We are excited to be working on this. At first I wasn’t sure what my direction would be…. release it independently on the Internet, join a label with this very record, or 
distribute with each country that I have toured through independently thus far and I believe the latter is the path I am on at the moment. I am exited for all of it. 

-If you had to choose one female singer, who would be the closest to you ? 

female or male - all the same to me. Jeff Buckley is first name that came to mind the second I read this question… yet with time to think, there are many i ’d like to meet. 

-Have you ever met some of your idols working in this musical world for so many years? 

i have met many artists in this journey of mine… some of them have become people i look up to and appreciate on a personal level - less because of where their art has taken them, but more because of the people they are despite what happens. 

-What do you like in French culture? 

mmm… there is so much. France is unlike many of the other countries I have visited and performed in. France has a uniqueness regarding how it views it 's independence and identity in the world. The people of france seem very connected to their culture and I think from what i have observed this sense of identity is great. i also love the deserts =). 

-Last question : what is your favourite song in this new record ? 

all we need is love is one i like singing - i feel connected to the message - i do believe that as artists and writers, we are vessels for the art to flow through….. we own nothing… we just are a way the music comes through…. i am thankful that the message behind all we need is love traveled through me too. 

Thanks a lot ! 
Agns 

thanks for the interview!!!! see you in June. 

Media: Bologna, It 
One Special Invite  

“SHE SINGS FROM EXPERIENCE” Upcoming May June 07 Tour 

This June, Los Angeles singer/songwriter Jenni Alpert will embark on a solo tour: a tour inspired by a phone call she received from a family in Atlanta, Georgia. This special family requested that Jenni come perform there, in hopes to help them raise funds to achieve their dream and complete their pending overseas adoption. From this phone call, she realized it was a calling. 

Being that Jenni herself was adopted at 4 years old, she had a personal connection with this family’s story. Just shy of 6 years ago, she started to record, tour and build her fan base selling CDs out of the trunk of her car. With her travels, Jenni discovered that she could use this touring vehicle to seek out members of her own biological family.  
Through them, she was able to find other members scattered throughout the US. This became Jenni’s main inspiration when routing her tours. She often revisits these cities, allowing her to stay connected with her family while sharing her magnetic talent with fans and friends she’s met along the way.  

The Atlanta family’s story touched her so much that Jenni decided to pause her current recording schedule to head to Atlanta for this fundraiser. Being that Alpert has a self-sustaining career of independent touring, she took this opportunity to build a small tour and revisit cities where she previously performed during the last 3 years. 

In the past few months, Jenni has been working on her new record, co-writing songs with producer/ engineer Marshal Altman and Shikira’s lap-steel guitarist Ben Peeler. She also worked in the studio with producer/engineer Nathaniel Kunkel, collaborating with music legends Russel Kunkel, Viktor Krauss, Matt Rollings and Dean Parks. Most recently, Jenni traveled to New York to continue developing this project with Steve Greenberg of S-Curve Records and Steve Greenwell, Joss Stone ? ?s producer.  

On her upcoming June tour, Jenni will be promoting a new live recording from her most recent tour in Europe called ? ?27 Minutes in Bologna ? ? - a rare, acoustic piano & vocal performance, captured in Italy.  

Be sure not to miss this exceptional, expressive & personable artist in your town.  

Media: The Arcata Eye 
Location: Humboldt, Ca Feb 27, 2001 
By: Donovan Nin 

“… Alpert was next. This young woman has an amazing stage presence. Her interactive style grabs the audience, enthralling us with her charisma and flair. Jenni Belts out her tunes with fiery, animated passion and just dares one to look away. 

Her powerful sultry vocals launched into "Just this Moment” an upbeat, feel good tune that promises us that “ I’m yours for the moment if you stay. wont you stay?” I wasn’t going anywhere. Sure enough, Alpert delivers; she was ours. For the moment, at least. “Alone” really touched me. Reminiscent of the Indigo Girls, the song is a coming of age tune about making one’s way through this world. Not to take anything away from her solo performance, but I longed to hear what it would be like with a full band and a back up vocalist.  

Guest star Chris Jones joined Alpert to play leads for the title cut on her latest release, Nothing s Wrong. The two share a natural chemistry that really shines, and I snapped up the CD faster than republicans denying an recount. Nothing’s Wrong was all I could of hoped for and more. “Alone” delivered the backup vocals I yearned for, and the whole album is a very hopeful collection of songs that leaves the listener with a deep sense of satisfaction. I hate to sound corny, but I was a changed man after listening to this incredible young woman. 

Jenni Alpert is a 22 year old graduate of UCLA. Her self-booked whirlwind west coast tour spanned three states and included 12 dates in eleven cities in just 16 days. This multi-talented artist is a natural performer, and has been at it since she could barely talk. “ I began playing piano before my feet could touch the ground”. Alpert said. She started her musical training on the piano, but picked up an acoustic guitar about three years ago. Now she can’t put it down, which is something we can all be grateful for. 

Nothing’s Wrong is her second album. It and her first effort Honest Smile, are available from her website.  

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Media: Digital City 
Location: Los Angeles, California, Nov 7, 2000 
By: Eric Elbogen  

The youthful soul pining of Los Angeles’ Jenni Alpert has been known to break the hearts of many. With an impressive batch of pocket playing backup musicians in her arsenal, Ms. Alpert’s diligence and gift for writing a pop tune have given her quite the impressive national following. Surrounded by various string, keyboard and percussive textures, she and her acoustic guitar woo audiences with shiny bright pop-rockers. You might recognize Alpert from her various participation in the city’s finest projects, as her note perfect voice has won her the opportunity to lay tracks in every little musical corner.  

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Media: Fem Magazine (UCLA) 
Location: Los Angeles California, Feb 1999 
By: Ruhi Ghandi 

“… roll with the punches and keep believing in yourself., even though sometime you don’t know who you are. It is passion and drive which will make you succeed, not just talent” says Alpert" 

It seems as if women are taking over the industry. Who would have guessed otherwise though? With our sweet and sentious voices, it is no wonder that many would prefer to hear a woman's voice echoing from their amps. If anyone knows the thrill of being a female musician, it is a woman by the name of Jenni Alpert. 

Alpert discovered her passion for music by playing at local coffee shops. This mulit-talented young artist, could sing a song just as well as she could string a tune on her guitar. This same passion which left her daly coffee shop crowd in a frenzy, inspired her to take her musical talent one step ahead. These days, Alpert is performing with her band Thick Sliced Bacon. The band’s sound can best be described as an interblend between folk, rock, and pop. “ The instrumentation if the band is similar to that of the Dave Mathews Band, but the music can be related to the indigo girls,” says Alpert. Alpert, apart from being the lead singer and songwriter, manages the financial side of the band. She is the soul creator, the key networker, publicist and the manager/agent for the band. “ The music business is tricky. It still has the biases (against women) and a male trend, ” says Marla Littleton the violist for the band. However, Alpert seems to have shown everyone that a woman can do the job just as well and maybe even better. 

With the many demands the band brings, it is a wonder where Alpert finds the time to write her song-lyrics. Her inspiration, she says, is driven from personal experience; her songs are an expression of her life. Her favorite song is called No Name. “No Name is about many things, mainly about identity though. It’s about finding out who you are. It’s about having the passion in you and then going for something and then totally just fucking up then realizing who you are.” Alpert says. So far the bands success seems to be attributed to the female voice. “The female voice is sweeter and more marketable,” says Marko Glogolja, the drummer for the band. Glogolja, when comparing TSB to the all male band he played in before said" when there’s an all guy band, there is a clashing of egos. But not with this band not with Thick Sliced Bacon. I enjoy playing here.“ For all those women out there who hope to someday receive a grammy” roll with the punches and keep believing in yourself., even though sometime you don’t know who you are. It is passion and drive which will make you succeed, not just talent" says Alpert. TSB is: Jenni Alpert, Marla Littleton - viola, Danny Levin trumpet, Marko Glogolja - set, Dave Gould bass. 

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Media: Performer Publications 
Location: Somerville, MA March 2001 
By: Melissa Hafner 
Nothing’s Wrong Review: 

Jenni Alpert is a perfect example of the recent trend of self-reliance in music: she is self-managed, self-produced, and self-promoted. A pianist since the age of three, Alpert created her own jazz-vocal ethnomusicology major at UCLA, and brings a solid background of musical training to her work. At only twenty two, Jenni is developing the confident singing style that no doubt comes from her improvisational vocal work. Although her lyrics show one foot dragging behind adolescence, her songs nevertheless suggest the self-awareness of someone older.  

The disc kicks off with a catchy funked-up rhythm on Just this Moment, and again on the title track, while her smooth McLachlan-influenced mezzo soprano begins with sass and morphs into melancholia on the beautifully melodic “Moonshine”.  

The high production quality of the disc leaves enough sonic space to show off Alpert’s range of guitar and piano skills. Her band, seven guys who work closely with Alpert and flawlessly interpret her songs, play everything from electric guitar to trumpet to violin. With so many instruments, you might expect a wall of sound, but the songs are careful to leave room for silences, which as every good musician knows are just as important as the notes.  

By the most standard definition, Alpert is a folk singer/songwriter. But she meets all the challenges of writing, arranging, and playing all of her parts so well, and draws on so many influences (jazz, country, blues among them) that it would be a shame to assign her to such an overused appellation. At this early stage, Alpert’s art is still in it’s infancy, but the quality of this seminal work suggests that her more mature work will be among the most memorable tunes. 

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Media: The Willamette 
Location: Portland Oregon, Nov 15, 2000 
By: (bs)  

Jenni Alpert 
L.A. based Alpert is a neo-folk diva who alternates a strange mix of the coy and breathy vocals of Sarah McLachlan and the hiccuping tough grrl growl of Ani DiFranco. Still, there’s a lot that’s fresh here, and her coloring with organ, violin and trumpet to the usual strum and drum set up shows she’s got ideas.  

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Media: Campus Circle 
Location: Los Angeles, Ca Feb 28, 2001 

If you like a little soul with your latte then check out Jenni Alpert’s latest release, Nothing’s Wrong. Her acoustic guitar and rich vocals are complemented by a group of solid studio quality musicians, and the sound of a Hammond organ gives the album and awesome Carole King feel. The record is clean, well mixed and totally professional. Jenni has attitude without sounding annoying or like an Alanis rip off, but mellow enough to listen to while the words pass you by. The album is really good almost anyone will like it. To find out more about this talented singer-songwriter:  

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Media: Positively State Street 
Location: UCSB, Independent, Nov. 2000 
By: Kier Duboui 

Nobody cares. You have to care yourself or else it ’s not worth it. Singer/songwriter Jenni Alpert  

HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR OWN TOUR: For the great unsigned masses, this week ’s lesson comes courtesy of L.A.-based singer/songwriter Jenni Alpert, who makes regular stops in Santa Barbara. She appeared on Valentine ’s Day at the UCSB Hub and then later that night at Alcazar ’s two stops on a swing up the West Coast to Seattle.  

STEP ONE: Bring your friends. Alpert and her daffy DiFrancoisms are supported by Dawn Thomas sitting in on guitar and backup vocals (and a substantial chunk of her own solo stage time) and Chris Jones playing a weepy acoustic slide guitar. Thomas was introduced to Alpert six months ago by a mutual friend, and was subsequently drafted to go on the road too, while Jones is Alpert ’s next-door neighbor. When sharing the stage the three form a pleasant enough power trio, but on her own, Alpert relied upon guitar, a few effects pedals, a narrow but powerful voice, and some solid tunes. Which leads to … 

STEP TWO: Bring good songs, which Alpert did. Her latest album, last year s Nothing ’s Wrong, is competent without seeming slick or contrived, but offers few pretensions beyond the earnestly-sensitive-girl-with-guitar motif (her honesty makes it difficult to call it formula) that was run into the ground on the Lilith Fair tours of the past few years. Vague tales of personal relationships cloud some levels of her lyrics, but Alpert’ s lighthearted delivery keeps things from getting too serious. Moonshine, augmented with some nice guitar echo, was far more ethereal and creepy than the album version with a full band, and Just This Moment was typical of most of her set: strong, tight compositions that work well solo or in a combo. 

From there, Alpert was off and running; requests to translate her mile-a-minute banter between songs were shrugged off by Jones, who just laughed and shook his head at the impossibility. They were all having too much fun up there (egged on by inebriated coeds) to stop and talk about the business, which is …  

STEP THREE: One cannot ignore the business side of things, period. Alpert and Thomas came prepared with plenty of copies of their CDs, which sold quickly, and took information from everyone to add to their mailing lists. They talked to anyone about anything. A grateful Thomas explained that Alpert has the drive to do it all, while Thomas doesn ’t sweat the small stuff: I just like to go up there and play. For her part, Thomas ’s voice overpowered her own minimalistic guitar; despite the Hubs notoriously muddy acoustics Thomas still rumbled the rafters on the other side of the building.  

STEP FOUR: On your own independent tour you can kiss regular sleep and meals goodbye. Sure, that sounds normal in theory, but in practice its another story on whats basically a microcosm of a full-throttle rock tour. 

Thomas was holding up well despite waking up at 4 a.m., but she wasnt looking forward to the six-hour drive to their next stop in Mountain View. Alpert, used to such cross-country treks playing to small audiences, is unfazed. How does the veteran road rat make people care? Nobody cares, she matter-of-factly replied. You have to care yourself or else its not worth it. Apparently taking additional cues from the Ani DiFranco school of self-empowerment, Jenni Alpert is persistent and confident enough to record her own songs, manage her own affairs, and book her own tours but all with a little help from her friends. Hey, indie rock may indeed be a festering fraud, but indie touring is still where its at (if you dont forget to budget your gas money). Righteous, babe.  

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Media: Hipfish 
By: Astoria Oregon, Nov 14 2000 
Honest Smile review 

Jenni Alpert is do-it-yourself kind of gal. She recently released the cd “Honest Smile”, which she produced and promoted on her own, as well as being her own manager. She was the first to major Jazz Ethnomusicology at UCLA. And, when all the jazz/folk promoters who where responsible for booking shows at UCLA venues up and quit, Alpert proclaimed herself Director of the Jazz/Folk series and started booking acts herself.  

Alpert is a folk artist and social activist who is becoming highly visible in the LA music scene. She is accompanied by an ever changing lineup of musicians as she continues to blend different traditions of music into her onto songwriting. Honest Smile shows off her commitment to musical diversity with songs that are sometimes driven by the viola, and sometimes deeply rhythmic, like the excellent cut, “Steel Will.” Her voice is deep and sometime reminiscent of Fiona Apple’s. 

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Media: The Daily Bruin (UCLA) 
Location: Los Angeles, California, Oct 26 1999 
By: Sharon Hori 

“For me, music is a white canvas that you paint on,” Alpert said. “It’s not really about lines and notes and rhythm. You just splash a little orange here, and you splash a little red here, and that’s how I’ve always understood music to be.” 

A classical musician would see treble clefs, eighth notes and pianissimos in a sheet of music, but 21-year-old Jenni Alpert sees only colors. Alpert, a fourth-year student and the only jazz vocal-studies ethnomusicology major at UCLA, said she hears the underlying heartbeat of music in her footsteps and sees a rainbow spectrum in sound. A pianist since the age of three, Alpert has lived, breathed and even seen the sensation of sound. To take colors and to apply them to music is a methodology that I’m not the only one who has come up with, I’m sure,“ Alpert said, adding that jazz musician Duke Ellington saw colors in music as well. "It’s taking the timbre, the tone and the texture of instruments. What do they sound like to you in your ear and what do you see visually when you hear that sound? I see color.”  

Conservative listeners who are colorblind to the rainbow of sound do not see Alpert’s vision - that the sound of a trumpet is a reddish-orange, or that a viola is a deep blue. When the instrumental paints are blended together like hot and cold streams of water, the song blends into an auditory work, as in the song “Sometimes,” which Alpert says is a shade of dark purple. “For me, music is a white canvas that you paint on,” Alpert said. “It’s not really about lines and notes and rhythm. You just splash a little orange here, and you splash a little red here, and that’s how I’ve always understood music to be because it was so damn academic. It was too hard to understand in any other context.”  

With the completion of her first album, “Honest Smile,” two months ago, Alpert hopes that her audience will appreciate the methodology of her compositions. But the career she has generated for herself has grown solely from her own determination. Four years ago, after graduating from Calabasas High School, Alpert auditioned for a UCLA School of Music classical board. Although apathetic to the consequences - but equipped with seven years of musical-theater experience and 12 years of piano and vocal improvisation - she took a chance.  

Even though the board left Alpert’s audition halfway through and later told her that she could not attend UCLA without a classical background in music theory or history, she did not give up. “I didn’t understand key signatures, transposition or instrumentation. I didn’t understand the basics, like how to read music, but it didn’t matter to me then,” she said. But a compromise was made for the musician with exceptional performance skills. With the help of jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, the creator of the jazz program at UCLA, the UCLA School of Music offered to personalize a music major for Alpert, allowing her to specialize in jazz studies and receive four years of vocal lessons.  

Last year, Alpert switched to the ethnomusicology department under the agreement that she would focus on writing and studying jazz music. “UCLA has given me the tools to define myself,” she said. “Over the course of four years I’ve been exposed to so much education that now I have surpassed what I didn’t know then. I still like my own method, but just the same, I see the value in communicating with other musicians. You have to know their language.” Thus was born the first jazz vocal-studies ethnomusicology major.  

“Now I have ventured into several different areas in the music and ethnomusicology departments for my own information,” Alpert said. “So I will end up with an ethnomusicology degree, but I will have learned many different aspects of music, which is really a wonderful thing. But it’s unique and it probably will never happen again. And I slipped through the cracks, so now to be a vocal major jazz studies ethnomusicologist, it exists in different terms in different definitions, so therefore I am the only jazz vocal music/ethnomusicology major in UCLA.” Since her enrollment, Alpert had to pick up new hobbies in order to keep busy. After a disappointing rejection from the UCLA musical theater production “Into the Woods,” where Alpert had auditioned for the lead role, she decided to start a band.  

The musical group Collective Harmony became the first phase of musicians who joined Alpert in her struggle to become heard. Performing in clubs and coffee houses, she learned to manage a band and combine new instrumentatal colors of sound. But, it wasn’t until Alpert met USC sound engineer Steve Kaplin and formed her second band, Thick Sliced Bacon, that Alpert’s first album, “Honest Smile,” came to life.  

The rainbow album features five of seven songs Alpert has written, with an additional version of the ballad “Amazing Grace.” “I’ve written songs about people that I admire, I’ve written songs about people that I don’t admire but yet, I acknowledge,” Alpert said. “I write songs about relationships in general. You’d have to listen to the CD and define it yourself.”  

A pianist, guitarist and vocalist, Alpert admits to having dappled with bass and drums, although she doesn’t claim them as her forte. For “Honest Smile,” she wanted her musicians to play the colors the songs portrayed. “The thing with Jenni is that she’s always thinking of new ways to describe her music,” said Marla Littleton, a third-year music student and violist who has worked with Alpert for a year and a half. “It can be a bit challenging. She requires a different vocabulary that’s indicative of what she does to get performers to understand where she’s coming from and not just tell them what to do.”  

According to Littleton, Alpert creates a down-to-earth feel in her writing by weaving her genuine feelings into her songs. “Her compositions are really rich,” Littleton said. “They have really accessible melodies that are still able to make you feel like you’re hearing something new and exciting. Jenni is open about her soul, and she opens up so much personal experience that people end up really identifying with her without knowing her.”  

The songs carry a smokey jazz aura, thick with trumpet, viola and guitar. Thus, her knowledge of jazz is put to good use. “Most people respond to (the song) 'Honest Smile’ the best because it’s kind of poppy, in a musical term,” Alpert said, revealing that the song is about a student actor she had met in the dorms who was wasn’t honest with himself all the time. Her piano compositions are contemporary, and on the guitar she writes folk tunes.  

But even with an EP album, a signature composition methodology and a handful of available gigs, Alpert is not propelled toward success in search of well-paying rewards. Even during her two-month internship at Geffen Records, Alpert said that she was looking for the experience, not a contract. “If somebody at a record company is going to offer me a deal, it’s because they believe in the art, and it’s because we together can help mass market it,” Alpert said. “To me it’s not just about holding a microphone, having an image, looking beautiful and singing a song.”  

Alpert said she rarely listens to the radio - in fact, her car stereo doesn’t even work. As a musician bottled up with artistic inspiration, Alpert said her motivation is pumped from passionate musicians who have achieved recognition. Among the groups that have earned Alpert’s greatest admiration are the Indigo Girls, who are known for the passion and poetry that drive their songs, and Ani DiFranco, whose desire to launch her own record company was entirely innovative. Alpert’s different perspective of musical colors, along with her determination as an artist, allows her to pave her own way toward artistic recognition.  

Today, two months since the production of her album, Alpert has sold more than 100 CDs, and looks to expand her recognition to local venues. “Anyone will succeed if they have the passion to do it,” Alpert said. “You can’t sit on your ass and wait for people to come see you. It just doesn’t happen. Generating your own future is really how to do it. You still have to do your work, and you have to find people who can help you do your work. And it’s gotta be for the arts, and it’s gotta be for the love, the people, for education.”