Jenni: Hear the Beat, Feel the HeatBy Sue GillisPhoto: Jan Doerler 
Jenni Johnson, a self-described music “stylist” and entertainer, has been performing to enthusiastic audiences over the past decade, from Vermont to New Orleans to Russia. No one sits still when her band kicks in and Johnson’s voice takes hold of those present, reeling in anyone within earshot. Johnson glides seamlessly from Cajun to Blues, soft jazz to rock n’ roll. Originally from Harlem, Johnson has been living in Vermont off and on since she was in her late teens. More than simply a vocalist, Johnson is quick to identify her career as that of a businesswoman – as the bandleader and singer of Jenni and the Junketeers, and in her work as a licensed fitness instructor with a masters degree in counseling from the University of Vermont. In a recent interview with Vermont Woman, Jenni speaks her heart, mind, and soul. Vermont WomanJenni, we caught your show at the Old Lantern in Charlotte for the First Annual Blues Festival, sponsored by WCLX. Do you define yourself as a “blues singer”? Jenni JohnsonI’m not a blues singer per se. When I got into this business, I purposely decided not to start out singing just the 12-bar blues thing and allow myself to be cornered. I sing jazz, we do some R&B, we do some straight-ahead blues, and we do a little swing. People have coined me as a jazz singer, but I like to call myself a stylist or entertainer. Vermont WomanYou have quite a voice range. You started with Ma Rainey’s See See Rider, Billie Holiday, included some Nina Simone – my favorite! – and ended with Hound Dog. Have you ever had music or voice lessons? Do you read music? Jenni JohnsonFor the Blues Festival I chose to sing mostly women songwriters and performers. And [in order] to educate too; See See Rider was written by Ma Rainey, the Mother of the Blues; and Hound Dog was written by Jerry Lieber for Big Mama Thornton, not Elvis like everybody thinks. No. I do not read music and I never took voice lessons. I have a natural instrument, a good voice and I am always learning how to improve. Before I sing a song I hear it first, I have to hear the song in my ears and my mind. Once I hear it, it comes out. To perform I have four books of song choices with full charts, written for me, in my key. I was the only female performer in the Blues Festival. What we played was blues, but not traditional. We did a little New Orleans style blues, some urban blues. We showed we are not just one type of music. I’m unusual. I’m the lead singer. I’m the bandleader. I get the gigs and hire the musicians. I carry in instruments and help set up and break down. I make sure everyone is fed and I write the checks. I am the manager and as long as I can sing and hire musicians where the chemistry works, we’re going to play some fantastic music together. Vermont WomanTalk about the process; from booking Jenni and the Junketeers to hiring to choosing the event playbook to the actual performance. Jenni JohnsonOften I am contacted through word of mouth or through my website. Because other musicians know I am a good manager, they also refer me. Then I hit my Rolodex, which is full of great local musicians. And I hire the best talent available. Vermont WomanThe performances seem to run very smoothly. And you are known for your generosity. You showcase each musician several times. Jenni JohnsonI like sharing my music. I don’t have to be that wonderful star. I am who I am. Either you like me or you don’t. It’s not about me. It’s about the music. If you put your ego aside every musician will shine and it makes for a great time for everyone. Believe me the audience notices. We play weddings and bar mitzvahs, to private in-home parties to small and large festivals. I match the type of music we play with the right musicians to the specific event. Vermont WomanHow long did it take for you to become a trusted member of the Vermont music scene? Jenni JohnsonWhen I started in this business in 1990, I was the new kid on the block. Some of these guys who I play with today had been playing for thirty years. It took five years to earn their trust… It was tough. Women, no matter what we do, no matter how good we are in what we do, we still have to work one thousand percent more to prove our worth. It was true for me with my peers and the people who hire us. Here is a simple example. We are Jenni and the Junketeers, right? A mother or father of the bride requests a song. Who do they ask? Not me; the keyboard player. Even the players have to learn to say, “Ask Jenni, she’s the bandleader.” Respect has to be there and because I am a woman, or a black woman, or the only woman…there are three issues to deal with and it’s often not there. Regardless, as a businesswoman I must act professionally and deal with the issue. Vermont WomanHow important was music to you as a child? Jenni JohnsonMy mother always had some great jazz music playing; Billie, Ella, Louie, Nat. And soul music; Aretha, James Brown, Temptations, Supremes, Earth, Wind & Fire. No matter how bad things got, music always seemed to give us, me and my three brothers, peace of mind. It did not cost anything to turn on the radio. She let us play her records, too, as long as we didn’t scratch them… I would stand in front of a mirror, using my hairbrush as a mic and try to be Diana Ross, or Martha and the Vandellas. Especially when I was alone. I spent a lot of time alone at night. Vermont WomanTell me about how you grew up. Jenni JohnsonI don’t talk about it much. My early years were lonely and painful. Vermont WomanI think our readers would like to know your journey to Vermont. Jenni JohnsonI was born in Harlem and grew up on the streets of Harlem and Brooklyn. Don’t ask my age. Blacks don’t break. My mother died when I was twelve. The courts said my father could not take care of me so I got passed to different relatives who did not treat me right. I ran the streets. I did not have parents to stop me. I saw a lot of death and drugs. My salvation was school. School and music. Somehow I knew school would save me. I had two great teachers along the way who saw something in me, my determination probably. One recommended me for the NYC-VT Youth Program sponsored by then-Governor Phil Hoff and New York City Mayor Wagner. I jumped at the chance even though I had no idea where or what Vermont was. I thought Vermont was Log Cabin Maple Syrup. We had no geography in Harlem schools then. So Vermont was a foreign country. I came here for two summers. Then, I spent one semester at Trinity College, until family tragedy hit again. Several other members of my family died about the same time, 5 all together. I decided not to move back to NYC. I stayed in Vermont, got a job and an apartment and went to UVM at night. I made the Dean’s List and earned a 4.0. I went on to earn a Masters Degree in counseling. Vermont WomanI get the feeling there is too much pain from your childhood to go into too much detail. Jenni JohnsonIt’s just too hard for me to go back there. So much loss. The spirits of all my family, they are all gone, but I feel their spirits in me. I feel moved by them all especially when I sing. Vermont WomanThe great Rosa Parks recently passed away… Jenni JohnsonI was really surprised the way the country responded to her death. And it had nothing to do with President Bush. Nothing to do with this man. But the country came out and gave her due accolades, which she deserved. This woman who, while in her forties, got on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, tired at the end of her workday and said, “Enough is enough and I am tired – My feet hurt! I am not getting up from my seat!” That act got the whole civil rights movement going. Vermont WomanDo you feel like you could have been Rosa Parks? Jenni JohnsonI could have been a Rosa Parks – but they would have hung my ass. Vermont WomanWhat about Hurricane Katrina? Jenni JohnsonI know people there. I go to New Orleans every year and play the clubs. I cried. Why does this country continue to ignore blacks at a time like that? I was appalled by what this administration did not do and by Bush’s indifference. Vermont WomanWill New Orleans make a comeback? Jenni JohnsonThe people of New Orleans have every confidence they will come back. Let me tell you something, Sue. If it’s your birthday someone in New Orleans will find a way to celebrate it. They will embrace you. New Orleans is a place about celebration: the food, the music, the people. New Orleans would celebrate you as a person, for your ethnicity. New Orleans is about Jazz, the only music art form America can lay claim to. But mostly New Orleans is about the possibility of respecting who you are so you can continue celebrating. There is nowhere else like New Orleans. Vermont WomanDo you find bigotry in Vermont? Jenni JohnsonNot from Vermonters but Flatlanders mostly. True Vermonters will accept you and help you any way they can. Flatlanders, who have money and have brought their prejudices with them, think it’s okay to discriminate. I deal with some kind of discrimination from somebody almost every day. I am so tired of it. But that is the life I live so I have to choose my battles carefully. The battles I choose are insisting on people’s respect of who I am and what I do. Vermont WomanName two specific changes you would like to see. Jenni JohnsonMessage to the University of Vermont. Why are you cutting diversity programs? Bring back Winterfest. The turnouts have been fantastic. Kids learn about all ethnic cultures. Talk is cheap. Bring it back. And to families who have adopted children out of their culture: Teach your children about where they come from so they will know who they are. Many of you are not doing that and the kids will become messed up. Check your own bigotry or you should not be allowed to adopt children who are not from your own culture. Otherwise, your good intentions are for your own selfish egos. Vermont WomanYou are a remarkable woman and performer. Jenni JohnsonWhatever your age – if you have a heartbeat, you will like Jenni and the Junketeers. For more information visit jennijohnson.net.
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