Follow your bliss and tell your story , because life is not a rehearsal!
Jennifer Maidman bio:
In her long career as a musician, songwriter and producer Jennifer Maidman has collaborated with such well known international artists as Joan Armatrading, Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, Gerry Rafferty, Van Morrison, Linda McCartney, Boy George, Paul Brady and Robert Wyatt. She plays bass, keyboards, guitar and drums, and sings. She was a member of the seminal British instrumental group Penguin Café Orchestra for many years, and it was there that she met her partner, the trombonist and composer Annie Whitehead. Annie also has a stellar CV, working with Eric Clapton, Elvis Costelo and Joe Jackson amongst others. Jennifer and Annie have collaborated on many projects and produced several albums together, .
Jennifer’s recently released solo album is entitled Dreamland and was recorded largely in Woodstock, Upstate New York. The original inspiration for the record came from a dream Jennifer had while on the road with David Sylvian’s 1988 ‘In Praise of Shamans’ World Tour. Visiting Woodstock and the Hudson Valley for the first time the following year, Jennifer recognized the area as the place of which she had dreamed. After a long incubation period and occasional visits, she and Annie bought a cottage in Woodstock in 2014. In 2016 Jennifer began putting the Dreamland album together with Annie and two legendary Woodstock musicians, Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney) and David Torn (David Bowie, K.D. Lang). Woodstock based writer and film maker Dakota Lane also worked on the record and made a documentary about Jennifer and the making of Dreamland. The film was recently selected for the 2018 New York City Independent Film Festival in May.
Jennifer continues to be much in demand as a musician, both in the studio and working live with Annie, with blues legend Terry Reid, with former Penguin Cafe Orchestra members as The Orchestra That Fell To Earth, as a member of pioneering UK funk/soul band Kokomo and with the Murray Head band in France. In the last couple of years she has also been branching out in the USA, working with Secret City, the New York based ‘art church’, with Jerry Marotta’s Reelin In The Years band, with jazz legend Roswell Rudd (RIP) and with singer/songwriter Tai Burnette.
Jennifer came out publicly as transgender in the 1980s. She co-wrote the UK LGBT dance floor anthem No Clause 28 with Boy George in 1988 and formally transitioned in 2001.
LINKS:
Dreamland album on Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/album/1kM94tVaJYxHWCWy9WQ412
Music video for Open The Door from Dreamland : https://youtu.be/R4yJwWrXUVk
Dreamland Documentary : https://youtu.be/PANuMXh_Xtk
NYC Film Festival Dreamland tickets: https://www.nycindieff.com/film/dreamland
Jennifer Maidman website: www.jennifermaidman.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jennifermaidmanmusic/
