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About jenmurdza

 
Portrait of jenmurdza
“...the whole package...” -XM SATELLITE RADIO

“Soulful standout Jen Murdza has beaten the pack by continually defying genres” -BOSTON.COM

"Distinctly different" -NORTHEAST PERFORMER

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HIGHLIGHTS:
2008 XM Satellite Radio, Radar Report - Artist of the Week

2007 Boston Music Award Nominee - Best New Act

2007 Mountain Stage NewSong New England regional finalist

2007 NEMO/Starbucks Music Makers Competition semi-finalist

2007 OurStage Blues Winner in September for "Cold"

2006 New York's Songwriter Circle at The Bitter End (alumni includes Vanessa Carlton and Nora Jones)
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Jen Murdza (murd-za)

Skillfully maneuvering lush vocals around her unique guitar rhythms, Boston's own Jen Murdza is an eye-catching, ear-catching performer who will take you instantly by surprise.

With a fresh songwriting style built on an almost sarcastic marriage of somber lyrics and playful, rhythmic grooves, Murdza blurs genres like no other. Her final sound is an addictive, foot-stomping mixture of soul, rock and jazz with a voice bigger than her body. The Boston Herald agrees and writes, Jen has a "strikingly supple voice".

Paul Jordan, BlogCritics.org writes, "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."

With the well-received debut EP "Things Untold" behind her and the recent release of her full-length follow-up "Reboundin'", Murdza is quickly gaining notice. This sophomore effort finds her helming the project as producer, arranger, rhythmn guitarist, keyboardist... and she even plucks the bass on one of the tracks. Supported by notable musicians from Boston jazz, soul, and rock music scenes, the album is alive with the rhythms and textures from the days when music was less mass-produced.

Murdza's "Reboundin'" is a collection of original music ripe with genre-blending tunes that are truly a "tip of the hat" to so many styles of music close to her heart. Songs like the title track and "Soft Shoes" have hints of the influential music from the peak of the Sun Records' era from artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Johnny Cash. The more pop-oriented tracks like "Gracious", "Cold" and "You'll Never Know" share strong roots in the R&B music Jen's Mom imparted on her from legends Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight. "Did I Ever Tell You", a song about never feeling you've said quite enough how much you love someone, blends the haunting melancholy of an old Hank Williams' tune with swirling Wurlizter-like tones of a carousel and textural guitar effects often found in modern day electronica. While Murdza definitely pulls from multiple genres, there is an inarguable cohesiveness to the album driven by her strong vocal style, unusual tempo changes, and acoustic guitar rhythms. Though influences abound, the sound is distinctively her own.

Jen has been featured in numerous publications including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Northeast Performer, Bay Windows, Northeast In-Tune Magazine, Metronome Magazine, and Skope Magazine among a number of online publications. She's performed live before the massive viewing audiences of Boston TV stations, including WBZ-TV, Fox 25, and NECN. Major Boston radio stations Mix 98.5, 92.5 The River, and 100.7 WZLX played Jen's songs "Gracious" and "Cold" in their You Outta Know, Homegrown and Sunday AM Blues shows. XM Satellite Radio featured Jen as their Radar Report Artist of the Week, in January '08.

She has opened for standout artists such as Dave Mason, Joe Bonamassa, Johnny A, Bill Janovitz, and Ryan Montbleau to a consistently positive response.
 
 
 
 

Events

 
Poster of TOAD  **BAND SHOW**
+
Jun 28
10:00pm
EDT
Poster of Lowell Summer Music Series OPENING FOR BRANDI CARLILE
 
 

jenmurdza's Achievements

 
Top-10
June 2008 Blues
Top-10
May 2008 Singer/Songwriter (Female)
Top-10
April 2008 Radio929 Earthfest
Top-10
February 2008 Singer/Songwriter
Partner_prize
Feature spot on URB/OurStage Microsite
Top-10
January 2008 Acoustic
Critics_choice
Starbucks Musicmaker Performance
Partner_prize
Free Subscription to Fanbridge
Channel-number_1
September 2007 Blues
 
 

jenmurdza's Blog

 

Two for the road...

Squirrels, Seagulls, and Crows… OH MY!

Just got back from northern California. While I was there I took a trip to a quaint and serene little beach town called Carmel-By-The-Sea. This is one of my favorite spots in all of California. I rented a guitar (because I’m afraid of the airlines losing mine) from Haight and Ashbury Music Center in San Francisco for a gig I booked in Santa Rosa and hadn’t yet had a chance to give it a spin. Here’s a picture of me running through some tunes on a Samick jazz guitar.

A few seconds into my warm up, a squirrel popped out of nowhere and hung around for a few songs. Now that we were friends, I tossed him a piece of a breakfast burrito. A couple crows then sauntered over to partake of the spicy b...

 
 

jenmurdza's Photo Gallery

 
 
 

Comments

 

19 comments

  • Posted by Charlotte Ryerson on Jun 24 at 11:59 AM EDT
    Hi Jen,
    I just put in a friend request--you are one of my Myspace friends! I just got word this morning that I'm in the quarter finals here in soft rock. . .anyway I enjoy your music!
  • Posted by jessicajarina on Jun 7 at 1:28 AM EDT
    Awesome music! I'm so glad you've done so well, you def deserve it!
  • Posted by dave mccullough on Jun 5 at 11:23 AM EDT
    Great music you got up in here.
  • Posted by Cathie Fredrickson on May 15 at 1:02 PM EDT
    Great songs, great vocals, you've sure got the edge, best to you, Peace always, Cathie
  • Posted by Tony Lovell on May 6 at 4:18 PM EDT
    I saw you at Lizard Lounge late, late last night. It wasn't until you were off the stage that Tom introduced you! I had no idea (being terrible at faces), but you were great. I hope to run across you again soon.
  • Posted by Quinn on Apr 24 at 8:49 AM EDT
    Great to see you back in Quarterfinals Jen! Hope you're doing well. Keep it up!
  • Posted by zazuma on Apr 12 at 11:48 AM EDT
    Musically Delicious.Truly awesome!
    ZaZ..
  • Posted by brianw on Apr 7 at 6:07 PM EDT
    awesome to see doing so well yet again - looking forward to your next new song!
  • Posted by Dean James Silva on Apr 3 at 11:07 AM EDT
    great stuff!! loved it
  • Posted by Lea Marie on Apr 2 at 1:38 AM EDT
    Gracious is an amazing tune! Love it!
  • Posted by Timothy Rogers on Mar 31 at 7:59 AM EDT
    You have a lot of talent, best wishes to you.
  • Posted by mswenson on Mar 5 at 4:42 PM EST
    excellent music! keep it up. Is it just me or is the playlist voting all screwed up this month?
  • Posted by The Scribtones Band on Feb 15 at 2:38 PM EST
    Great music.
  • Posted by Giancarlo Angioni on Feb 6 at 2:44 AM EST
    Hello,
    Nice song and very nice voice!
    Sincerely,
    Giancarlo Angioni
  • Posted by brianw on Feb 5 at 4:39 PM EST
    You are the download of the week on OurStage this week, and we're featuring you in our weekly Fan newsletter... Bask in the glow of OurStage's fanbase! Happy-dark

    Talk to you soon!

    Brian
  • Posted by Kelley Krueger on Feb 4 at 9:52 PM EST
    Really great mix of r&b, funk, blues n' everything else... Skillfully produced tracks... Real style... Kelley Krueger
  • Posted by brianw on Oct 5, 2007 at 2:42 PM EDT
    great to see you perform yesterday at ourstage - hope to see more soon!
  • Posted by mike kenward on Sep 20, 2007 at 9:39 PM EDT
    i really liked cold and did i ever tell you,....peace and keep walkin' down that dusty road,cheers
  • Posted by Charge on Aug 6, 2007 at 3:27 PM EDT
    nice tunes!
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jenmurdza's Stuff

 
Gracious
Uploaded Jul 30, 2007
Lamb
Uploaded Jul 01, 2007
Better Off
Uploaded Oct 27, 2007
 
 

jenmurdza's Fans

 
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