Jennifer Charles
| Jennifer Charles | |
|---|---|
Jennifer Charles
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
November 15, 1968 , Washington, D.C. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, wurlitzer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Associated acts |
Elysian Fields Lovage La Mar Enfortuna |
| Website | http://www.elysianmusic.com/ |
Jennifer Charles (born November 15, 1968) is an American singer, musician, composer, and poet. Along with Oren Bloedow, she co-founded the New York band Elysian Fields.
Jennifer Charles was born in Washington, D.C. While Charles was growing up, her mother was a torch singer in Washington D.C. clubs and her father had a radio show that played jazz. At the age of 14 she began her professional theatre career, appearing in plays and experimental theater productions at places like The Studio and The Source theaters.
In 1987, she moved to New York to continue her theatre and academic studies, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from NYU's Tisch school in just three years. Upon graduating she appeared in various off-broadway theater, had a stint singing in a dive piano bar and curated a performance/poetry series at the original Knitting Factory. She has also curated at Tonic, DJed in Paris, and at John Zorn's The Stone.
Elysian Fields was founded in 1995 and have released five full-length records (six counting one produced by Steve Albini that was suppressed). They have also contributed to many compilation CDs, including the first song on John Zorn's Serge Gainsbourg tribute album. This song, their rendition of "Les Amours Perdues", also appeared in Lea Pool's film Emporte Moi.
Besides Elysian Fields, Charles has other projects. She and Bloedow recorded La Mar Enfortuna for Zorn's Tzadik label, featuring renditions of Sephardic and Ladino songs. She has studied classical Indian singing with teacher Gulamji.
In late 2007, she and Bloedow put out a second Tzadik full-length, under the band name La Mar Enfortuna, called "Conviviencia". Charles sings in five languages on the record, including Ladino, Spanish, Aramaic, Arabic, and Greek.
...
Wikipedia