| Jenni Alpert | |
| Birth Name: | Cameron Morantz |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | Jazz, pop |
| Occupation: | Singer • songwriter • guitarist • pianist |
| Instrument: | Guitar, piano |
| Years Active: | 2005-present |
| Label: | Indie |
| Associated Acts: | Loudon Wainwright III, Luka Bloom, Jon Allen |
Jenni Alpert (née Cameron Morantz[1]) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.
Alpert's early independent releases include:
2005: Pieces.
2007: 27 Minutes in Bologna - a live vocal and piano set recorded in Italy.
2008: No Second Guesses, which received radio play in the Netherlands and led to an invitation to do a series of live radio shows.
2010: Underneath the Surface, an album that features musicians including Jimmy Paxson (drummer for Stevie Nicks and Ben Harper), Lenny Castro (percussion for John Mayer), Chris Chaney, Zac Rae, and Stevie Blacke.
2012: Her album Take It All was released.[2]
2013: Shining Light was Alpert's first vinyl record, another live performance recorded in Italy.
2015: Until Then, her most recent work, released by SCurve Records.
Her music has been featured on US TV shows like ABC's Castle, CBS's CSI Miami, and MTV's The Real World, Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant.
After releasing her first independent albums on iTunes, Alpert was selected to record her song "Untied" by The Sun Studio Sessions for PBS at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN. Soon she recorded and released a collection of acoustic performances live in Italy. While touring independently, Alpert recorded songs live with guitarist Guthrie Trapp in Nashville TN, which attracted the attention of SCurve Records. She was signed to a licensing deal, and they released the album Until Then.[3]
Alpert was born in Los Angeles and adopted when she was four. While spending time in various foster homes, she began to sing and play the piano. Alpert received a scholarship to attend UCLA in the Ethnomusicology Department, where she took part in Kenny Burrell's four-year jazz program.
Alpert hired a private investigator to help her find her father. Alpert and her father went on to collaborate on a number of musical and artistic projects, which led to her writing a memoir about her experiences, titled Home is Where the Heart is, An Adoption and Biological Reunion Story: A Memoir.[4]
A short documentary about Alpert's relationship with her father, called Homeless: the Soundtrack, was filmed and edited by director Irene Taylor Brodsky. It received a Jury Award at Tribeca Film Festival, won best short film at Nantucket Film Festival, was screened at the Laemmle Royal Theater in West Los Angeles, and was shortlisted for an IDA award in the short documentary category.
Alpert founded a nonprofit called Fine Arts Revolution Inc, which offers creative arts wellness programs and services to unhoused communities and to those in transition. Alpert started Art of Expression, a traveling audiovisual festival to bring together musicians who support music programs in early childhood education. She supports the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission and the Celia Center, nonprofits which respectively assist homeless people and people who have been either fostered or adopted. Alpert has also performed for America's Blood Centers.[5]