Jennifer Clarke

Described as one of the finest singers to come out of Cork in recent years, Irish singer Jennifer Clarke has been making her melodic mark on the Irish, European and American music scenes since completing the 'Music, Management and Sound' course at Colaiste Stiofan Naofa in Cork, Ireland. Originally achieving her grades as a classically trained singer, Jennifer realised that her passions lay elsewhere and looking back to her childhood with her father's record collection of James Taylor, The Eagles, Carole King, Crosby, Stills and Nash among many others, she began writing her own pop/folk songs at the age of 18. This was also when the piano player decided to learn guitar. Now an endorsee of Gibson Acoustic Guitars she has been "successfully paddling her own canoe since the early days", having had her debut single 'Right Back at the Start' play-listed by over twenty Irish radio stations and securing her an opening slot on Boyzone singer Ronan Keating's Irish tour in 2005. From this she played Dublin festival 'O2 in the Park' to a crowd of 100,000 bringing her to the attention of New York music manager Mike Maska (Joe Jackson, Rickie Lee Jones) who quickly signed her up. After setting up her own record label and recording her debut album under it in the Big Apple with Maria McKee producer Bruce Brody, Jennifer went on to have the first single from the record, 'Closer', go straight to number 3 in the Irish download charts. The Irish Post in London said: "A singer with a unique combination of talent, stubborn resolve and a certain amount of good fortune, Clarke's single 'Closer' captures just what is so beguiling about her music; her clear, sweet voice, her tasteful musical arrangements and her emotional lyrics." and the Cork Evening Echo wrote "Jennifer has the whole package-a great voice, a top-notch music sensibility and the looks to match...Closer is a killer track...She brings the listener on a journey of emotion throughout her songs, making the lyrics both heartfelt and poignant." The summer of 2007 saw her first European tour as opening act to global star Michael Bolton who subsequently brought Jennifer on five more tours over the next three years covering the UK, Ireland, continental Europe and North America. Music blogger Music Zephyr said Jennifer had "A sublimely beautiful voice;hauntingly gorgeous to the ear." and renowned Irish Music publication Hot Press editor Niall Stokes described Jennifer as "A rising artist of proven pedigree successfully forging a career as a solo artist of integrity, ability and originality." In the midst of all her live shows Jennifer began her lifelong love affair with Nashville, Tennessee, having connected with Grammy Award winning songwriter Marcus Hummon through a chance meeting with his business partner at a gig in New York. She consequently spent six months living there writing, recording and growing as an artist finding her musical way and has returned many more times since working with hit songwriters, award winning producers and performing at the world famous Bluebird Cafe. Also during this fruitful time Jennifer toured Germany with Hollywood star Kevin Costner and his band Modern West playing in front of thousands of fans every night and performed on Irish daytime talk show Seoige and O'Shea to a viewing audience of over a hundred thousand leading to The Irish Sun calling her "a plucky singer with talent and ambition". This summer saw Jennifer record her newest EP 'What's This Whole Love Thing?' with London producer Tim Ross, son of legendary Irish folk artist Christie Hennessy. Jennifer says of the record: "Working with Tim and the outstanding team of musicians we had was a dream. The work I've done in Nashville writing these songs over the past year or so has finally come to life in the recordings and I can't wait for people to hear them!". The record, which features six of Jennifer's newest songs, is due to be released in the New Year with a tour to follow. Keep checking back at www.jenniferclarkeofficial.com for more details! Singer/songwriter