How The Night People Pray

Canadian vocalist extraordinaire Jennifer Hanson, currently based in Atlanta Georgia, dispels any confusion with the country singer of the same name, by presenting ten beautiful songs from the pen of renowned Canadian songwriter Graham Shaw. This CD is all about terrific songs performed by a singer with outstanding chops, displaying a vulnerability and emotion not often found in today's punch-it-up market. The music runs on the edges of jazz, pop and even folk, and is propelled by some of the finest musicians in Canada. There is much craft evident in all aspects of 'How The Night People Pray', and it won't be surprising if the 'other' Jennifer Hanson starts getting requests to perform some of these songs. BIO In the rugged landscape of Flin Flon, Manitoba, there are two kinds of people: hockey players and singers. Though she is well known for her goalie skills, Jennifer Hanson's voice is what people remember about her. The North breeds a certain resilience into the people who call it home, and it served Hanson well as she navigated the tough landscape of the Canadian rock scene with her band Jenerator as well as recording artists, Glass Tiger. The youngest of seven children, Jennifer learned to love jazz classics at her father Bill's knee, and began working in a jazz vein in 1993. Her reputation for great vocal chops and notoriety for countless public appearances singing national anthems at NHL games in Winnipeg began to attract the attention of a new audience among jazz fans. Her smooth, torchy, seductive vocal style was/is right on the money then and now among current generation of jazz singers. She's definitely not just another voice in the crowd. Presently based in Atlanta, Jennifer she works in that southeastern US region with some of the finest local jazz musicians as well as performing in a swing orchestra on a regular basis. Her first record, 'Something Cool', met with great success, and continues to get airplay. Released in 1998, it was creatively and artisticallly well ahead of the current crop of jazz/pop/crossover singers. QUOTE: 'Animating songs written across many years by former Winnipegger Graham Shaw, Hanson continues to grow beyond her earlier billing as a singer of jazz standards ... Hanson retains the gentle abrasion and the occasional vocal stretch that mark a human singing in real time.' Randal McIlroy, Style Manitoba July 2004 REVIEW - 4 stars 'Jennifer Hanson seems to have found the match for her voice in the songs of fellow former Winnipegger Graham Shaw. The singer, who divides her time between Winnipeg and Atlanta, sounds soulful at times, dreamy at others and simply has some fun on In The Cathouse Again. Hanson has moved away from a jazz sensibility on this disc, delivering instead a pop sound better suited to her voice and style. And she's backed by some of the city's top musicians.' -- Chris Smith, Winnipeg Free Press May 14, 2005 RADIO RAVES: 'I received Jennifer Hanson's CD the other day and was blown away when I heard it! It is just a fantastic record beginning to end! I'm very excited to be playing it and my excitement is rubbing off onto our jazz programmers as well. They all seem to be very interested in playing the disc!' --Jason Wellwood,music director, CILU, Thunder Bay, Ontario.