"I thanked her for making my radio station sound so good. It is rare that I see someone new come through on tour with a sparkling talent for songwriting and a truly great voice to compliment it! I hope she digs in deep and keeps her career moving forward. Jennifer definitely has the skills it takes to be a heavyweight."
Brad Hockmeyer
Owner/Program Manager
KTAO AAA Radio, Taos, NM
With her beautiful voice, singer/ songwriter Jennifer Spector is a pleasure to listen to. That her songs are also first-rate makes "Ahead of the Game" appropriately titled. The songs here are mellow, and Spector's acoustic guitar playing is augmented by diverse instrumentation including flute, oboe, banjo, trumpet and a terrific xylophone on "Humor." Lyrically, she turns nice philosophical phrases such as "A grain of salt goes a very long way in life's smorgasbord." This album is one "game" worth playing over and over again.
Rating: A Thomas Bond, Music Editor
Get Out, The Tribune (Phoenix)
Her songs come with a degree of honesty that comes with life experience and the humanity of relationships.
Ryan Heinsius, Flagstaff Live
With her passionate voice, Jennifer Spector will prove that she is diverse. This performing songwriter will definitely move you either in person or listening to her new album Ahead of the Game."
Lavender Magazine, San Diego CA
"With her great voice, get ready for a true slam session. Her diverse spectrum of musical offerings entwine together to create her own original sound."
Buzz Magazine, San Diego
"Social commentary, philosophical insight and quality music! The result is the refreshingly original sounds of singer/songwriter Jennifer Spector."
Vince Darcangelo
Boulder Colorado Weekly
"I love the CD! Great singing, playing and songwriting!"
Kenny Scaggs
(of the Glen Campbell Band)
EXTENDED BIO
Jennifer started her music journey in 1996 putting 8 of her original songs on cassette tape. She took a backpack full these with her to the streets of 14 European Countries and busked her way solo across the contiment ---Dublin to Warsaw, Athens to Seville.
1997-2001 She formed and fronted two bands that hit the local Phoenix scene with an eclectic fresh mix of Rock, Jazz, and Folk. The Bloomsbury Group (1997-1999) and Treehouse (1999-2001). This is where she met her partner David Tieman. After the bands dissolved, Jennifer gave full attention back to her acoustic routes and her original love ---contemporary folk music. After playing nearly every venue in the Phoenix Valley and other out-of-town Arizona venues, 2002 saw the release of Jennifer's first full-length recording Ahead of the Game. She produced it herself with David's help, who also played bass and lead guitar on the CD.
Summer of 2003, Jennifer embarked on her first big tour to Chicago and back as well as a Texas tour earlier that spring. She continued to play regional venues after returning but stayed relatively close to home until she was honored with her first major accolade as TELLURIDE TROUBADOUR NATIONAL FINALIST in June of 2004 at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. It was just the month before where she earned another National Finalist title at the Tucson Folk Festival there in her home state of Arizona. Jennifer has had the honor of being asked to share the stage with respected national artists David Wilcox and Loudon Wainwright III (Acoustic Music Arizona, 2004-2005 season). She performed with folk great Christine Lavin in Las Vegas (Sept 25th, '04 Acoustic Routes Series)
In 2006, Jennifer and partner David Tieman moved to the inspiring & thriving Seattle music scene. As the folk duo The Hayburners www.thehayburners.com their songs made the top of the National Folk DJ and Roots report top 40 charts for consecutive months in 2008. They reinvented themselves as a pop & jazz based folk project called The Ginger UPs www.thegingerups.com and their first full length recording under this name was released in 2015.
2014-2018 saw them performing an average of 135 shows a year. October 2018, Jennifer and David decided to part ways to learn and grow n their own.
Summer of 2019 and Jennifer is back for a fresh start, immersing herself in her art and enjoying the green paradise that is the Pacific Northwest!