SMF: Jenny Scheinman's jazz violin
ON SUNDAY, March 30, distinguished violinist Jenny Scheinman returns to perform at the Savannah Music Festival. The celebrated composer and acclaimed artist joins the list of performers with her most recent project “All Species Parade” (2024) — a project inspired by the cultural history and diversity of life in the Pacific Northwest.
An ode to Humboldt County, “All Species Parade” is the result of meditations motivated by her collaboration with Ai Aiwane, a filmmaker who created a video installation about the Mattole River called “Cojo Come Home.”
Scheinman’s participation in this project sent her on a journey that conjured the sounds, music and cultural history of the Matthole River region.
Alongside her mentor Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, Julian Lage and more… “All Species Parade” has a heavy jazz influence supported by Scheinman’s classic fiddle style, complimented by her cultural awareness evoked through a deep connection with her hometown territory.
Her song “Jaroujiji” is dedicated to the Wiyot tribe from the Humboldt Bay region.
Jenny tells The Savannahian, “I wanted to pay homage to where I grew up. Particularly, the area known as the Lost Coast — a remote area prone to earthquakes and mudslides in northern California.
“I wanted to recreate and capture the energy of the relationship between the natural world and ourselves. A feeling of being immersed in something bigger than us… something powerful, alive and in a state of constant change and extraordinary evolution.”
This is not her first time in Savannah. Jenny has shared her expertise as an instructor with the Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar and performed with past projects, Mischief & Mayhem and Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait.
After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Jenny Scheinman headed to the East Coast to establish herself as a jazz artist in New York. The New York Times has referred to her music as a “distinctive vision of American music, suffused with plainspoken beauty and fortified by country, gospel, and melting-[pt folk along with jazz and the blues.”
For more than a decade, Scheinman has fronted multiple bands and played alongside various artists on the NYC music scene. These days, Jenny is a national touring artist and lives in Arcadia on the West Coast.
The Savannahian caught up with Jenny Scheinman to discuss her return to this year’s Savannah Music Festival, her most memorable musical moments, her favorite musicians, and more.
“The Savannah Music Festival is one of my favorites. Not to mention, I love Savannah. It’s such a great town and I look forward to this festival every year," Jenny says.
"This year will be super special because Bill Frisell, renowned jazz guitarist and composer, will be with us. He is a huge influence on my music and I am incredibly excited to have him play with this group, which is not just a studio band, but a road band,” shares Jenny.
Having toured and recorded with legendary musicians like Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Lou Reed, Bruce Cockburn and Joni Mitchell, we had to ask about her most memorable music moments.
She paused to reflect before responding.
"Well, Joni Mitchell was the most recent… I wrote a poem and Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band put music to it. He brought me down to L.A. and I walked into Joni Mitchell sitting in the studio like a queen with her staff (she has a cane to assist her when walking). What a moment! So, Brian and I started chanting the lyrics to help teach her the music," Jenny says.
Slowly, she joined in and we were all singing together. She had learned the song so quickly and began by adding her beautiful low harmony. It sounded as if somebody had poured a hundred gallons of harmonies into the room… truly a memorable and magical moment in the studio that day.
Another memorable music moment for me was spending a month with Lucinda Williams. She said to come out west and write string parts for me. If you listen to the string parts on “Rescue”... they are so colorful. She has such open ears and allowed me to create some beautiful music. I will never forget when she said, “The hair on my arms is standing up.”
Jenny says her favorite musician of all time, however, is Duke Ellingto.
"I was just listening to 'Isfahan' and the music we will be playing in Savannah is very much inspired by Duke’s 'Such Sweet Thunder.' I love his expansiveness, his imagination, the range he has and his humor — I think that music has to keep its humor and still go deep. He was such a communicator. Thelonious Monk, too… And Lucinda Williams is a big one for me. She is one of my biggest influences that I have played with to date," Jenny says.
What about a favorite song or album of all time?
"Bill Frisell’s “Unspeakable” (2004). I am on it and I just love that album."
Jenny describes how she knew she wanted to be a musician.
"Both of my parents were folk musicians, not professional musicians, but I grew up in a rural area, and campfire performances were a favorite pastime. I wanted to be in a band and would have played any instrument, but I eventually evolved into a jazz musician," she says.
"My melody-driven ideas and storytelling talent have a lyrical aspect, and the violin fits into that seamlessly. I appreciate musicians' peculiarities and constant creativity."
Violin isn't the only instrument Jenny plays!
"I started playing the piano when I was five years old and performed as a classical pianist midway through college. A few years later, I began playing the violin and took to it naturally. I even played the tambourine for a while," she says.
Jenny says she is currently listening to "songwriters like The Wood Brothers. Lately, I have been listening to Brennan Lee’s 'Obsessed with the West.' Meshell Ndegeocello and Anais Mitchell."
Savannahians, be sure to check out all the extraordinary Savannah Music Festival events from March 2 - April 11, 2025!
And get your tickets for Jenny Scheinman's Savannah Music Festival performance.
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