THE HOT TICKET
GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE
Friday, February 11, 2005.
by Pete Swanson

Trio brings mix of jazz-influenced sounds to Great Falls

A Bozeman trio makes a stop in Great Falls tonight on the heels of their latest album release. The Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio performs in the University of Great Falls Theater at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15; they're available at the door, Peak Health and Wellness Center, Planet Earth and the UGF Campus Store.

Formed three years ago, the trio features Jeni Fleming fronting the group on vocals, her husband Jake on guitar and saxophone, and Chad Langford on bass.

Their style is a mix of pop-infused folk, jazz standards, original material and sacred standards. Jeni further defined the trio's eclectic style as "jazz-influenced" during a recent phone interview.

"We've never thought of ourselves as a jazz trio," Jeni explained. "We're interested in reinterpreting a song. It's just as influenced by the pop and folk music that we grew up with and our classical training."

The trio's new album is titled "Once Around the Sun." The work contains five original compositions and an equal number of covers, such as the standard "Send in the Clowns," "In My Life" from the Beatles, and Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." The centerpiece of the album is the sparkling purity of Jeni's voice, fortified by tastefully crafted instrumentation and top-notch production. It's the trio's third album.

"We actually like this one," Jeni joked, quickly adding the trio feels the new album best defines their collaborative power and musical identity. "To date this is the most accurate musical representation of our abilities."

Jeni's musical career has been an uneven path. Growing up in a religious family, her first experience came as a young child singing in church, where her mother was choir director. At age six, she began training in classical piano, a pursuit that lasted through high school in Billings.

At age 17, a church member and trumpet player sparked her interest in jazz. Until that time, Jeni kept her classical training and church vocal experience separated from her interest in popular music.

"I was always drawn to contemporary music," she said. "I really learned to sing from the people I listened to on the radio."

Those popular influences included Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. "Those two schools of learning really came together when I discovered jazz," she noted. "I was hooked."

After high school Jeni devoted her time pursuing a degree in architecture at various universities. She eventually landed in Bozeman, still working toward an architecture degree at MSU. Then she met her future husband Jake and the pair embarked on music careers together in earnest. Jeni wound up earning a music degree with emphasis on classical piano from MSU. Jake earned a music education degree from MSU.

Jeni soon started singing with the MSU jazz band just for fun and quickly found other work within the Bozeman jazz community. In 1998, Jeni and jake formed a duo and toured the West Coast for a year. Four years later they formed the current trio and released their first album, "The Trinity Tour." A year later they released a second album, "Things I Meant to Say."

Jeni said the trio's live shows are conversational and laid back with a simple focus. "We want to elicit some kind of emotional response," she explained. "We want our concerts to be a memorable experience."