Jenn Johns

Her 2004 independent debut HeavyElectroMagneticSoularPoeticJungleHop was an underground sensation, setting the stage for a career as a major new artist, with her follow-up, 2007’s Painting on Wax, stalled by industry-related roadblocks. Johns shifted her focus to supporting social movements near to hear heart, becoming a Green For All Fellow, a BoldFood Fellow, Artist in Residence at Food First, the First Artist in Residence at Langston Hughes Center for Performing Arts Institute, Akondai Beloved Community grantee for A Day in AZANIA, and a Montalvo Performing Arts Guest Fellow for her visual and performance installation Liv, A Ritual for Humanity. Most recently, Johns has returned to her first passion, releasing her stunning 2017 return album AZANIA, a project based around her journey chronicling the concept of “freedom,” featuring South African multi-instrumentalist Sabu Jiyana. She makes her SFJAZZ debut with original compositions and the music of other women composers whose work has inspired her.