Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kathy Jenkins absorbed her father’s Irish tenor voice and her mother’s torch-song interpretations of Judy Garland numbers from an early age. While in school she sang in the choir, studied guitar, and practiced to Barbra Streisand recordings; by high school she was already performing folk material in neighborhood clubs. After graduation she sang Top 40 and country-rock material with a band until enlisting in the Air Force, where membership in the Air Force Band introduced her to jazz and took her across Europe and the United States. One tour nearly ended in disaster when the group’s bus skidded off a mountain road and hung precariously above the drop.
She later married pianist, composer, and arranger Nick Levinovsky, and together they established the NLO label. On that imprint Jenkins issued her debut album, From This Moment On, in 1999; she also appears on Levinovsky’s Listen Up!, likewise released by NLO. Her wide range, unintrusive wordless vocalise, and clear diction have made her a compelling jazz artist. Now based in New York, she and her husband present concerts at clubs and festivals while also producing cabaret and jazz events.
She later married pianist, composer, and arranger Nick Levinovsky, and together they established the NLO label. On that imprint Jenkins issued her debut album, From This Moment On, in 1999; she also appears on Levinovsky’s Listen Up!, likewise released by NLO. Her wide range, unintrusive wordless vocalise, and clear diction have made her a compelling jazz artist. Now based in New York, she and her husband present concerts at clubs and festivals while also producing cabaret and jazz events.
Albums