Raised in Vermont, Jenny started out playing classical piano and was bitten by the songwriting bug after college while living in Boston. Inspired by great local radio and the singer songwriters she represented including Catie Curtis, Vance Gilbert, Brooks Williams and Bob Franke, she picked up the guitar, joined a songwriting group and attended open mics. She quit the music business, became a psychotherapist, and moved to the west coast in 1998 where, along with working at an HIV/AIDS support project, she recorded demos and played bars and listening rooms. She returned to New England in 2004, cut her therapy practice down to half time and started a gardening business. Like many writers, she spent the “Covid Isolation” period writing new songs informed by the emotional terrain of a psychology career, Taoist spiritual practice, and the vicissitudes of love and loss.
“Beautifully Crafted Songs.”
— Lui Collins
“Woodbird is a collection of twelve quiet, often highly personal songs that ruminate on love, loss, healing and survival … a strong debut in which Burtis emerges as a songwriter who crafts honest songs of great beauty.”
— Greenfield Recorder | Read the full article
Her acoustic guitar is at the center of her performance, and her songs offer an honest look at life and loss, with an eye toward irony, humor and redemption. She weaves classical music influences into her songwriting, favoring the Romantic tradition, and has been influenced by a variety of singer songwriters including Jane Siberry, Shawn Colvin, and Olivia Chaney. She and her band’s performances traverse a variety of emotional landscapes, from the tenderness of a revelation to the downbeat drive of rock n roll. She has just finished recording her first album, Woodbird. It includes the band as well as other local musicians including singer songwriter Lui Collins, saxophonist Rick Page, dobro player Charlie Conant, and multi-instrumentalist Dom Lewis. Woodbird will be released in June 2023.
Her band members include:
John “Klondike” Koehler,
who has played electric bass onstage and in the studio with folk singers, power trios and jam bands. He has played at the White House and the Shea Theater; recorded in NYC and Turners Falls. His bass lines provide a strong and steady foundation for the songs delivered by a variety of bands.
Doug Plavin,
drummer extraordinaire, who has toured and/or recorded with many musicians from varying genres including Dar Williams, Joan Baez, Michael Gregory Jackson, and Duke Levine, and whose inspired percussion and drumming adds depth and dimension to Jenny’s songs.
Geoff Rice,
who brings both atmospheric effects and crisp lead guitar, exercising tasteful restraint, always in service to the song. Geoff offers superb musicianship and an attunement to beauty, highlighting the emotion of Jenny’s music.
Photo by Kevin Redman at the Greenfield Recorder.