Jena Kraus
| Jena Kraus | |
|---|---|
 Jena Kraus singing live at The Living Room in New York City | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jena Kraus |
| Born |
October 16, 1979 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, folk, soul |
| Occupations | Singer, musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Labels | Warner/Chappell Music, Giant Records (Warner) |
| Associated acts | Blind Melon |
| Website | jenakraus.com |
Jena Kraus is an American singer/songwriter and self-taught musician born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discovered at the age of nine by vocal coach Rita Cavell and was thrust into the world of entertainment. Influenced heavily by her hippie parents vast record collection, she had written her first batch of songs before she was twelve. On a dare, as a teenager, Jena entered a model search contest held by Ford Models. After winning, hand picked by Eileen Ford herself, Jena was on her way to New York City to be groomed for a career in modeling.
While still writing songs, and playing in the New York music scene she quickly lost her taste for the model lifestyle and decided to focus solely on music and forming a band. Though still underage she was able to charm her way into bars and night clubs to sing and play her songs while at the same time trying to find musicians to work with, when she met the (then unknown) members of the band Blind Melon. They took Jena under their wing, introduced her around and recorded several demos with her. Later, Jena was invited to sing on the critically acclaimed song Mouthful Of Cavities from their album, Soup. She was featured singing alongside Shannon Hoon in the documentary, Letters From A Porcupine. She signed a deal with Warner/Chappell Music and Irving Azoff's Giant Records. Several musical endeavors followed including being featured in films, on movie soundtracks, jingles, and reuniting with Grammy winning songwriter Eric Bazilian who had found her some years earlier singing on a street corner in Philly. Jena has made vocal contributions crossing over musical genres on albums as diverse as CKY's, An Answer Can Be Found to Joseph Arthur's, Temporary People. Described as "...soulful, sweet, soothing, melodic, haunting, and angelic, with a knack for creating interesting harmonies."