ABOUT

Jenna Reel is a singer-songwriter, jazz pianist, composer and producer from Atlanta, Georgia and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She melds influences of jazz, R&B, hip hop and soul into her original music as well as her playing style. She holds a double Bachelor of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

 Jenna has performed internationally, participating in the 2019 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in Nancy, France. She has performed across the US as the touring keyboardist and background vocalist for Cincinnati jazz pop singer songwriter Emmaline. Venues she has performed at include Sculler’s Jazz Club (Boston), Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club (Portsmouth), The Jazz Kitchen (Indianapolis), Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta), Catalina Jazz Club (Hollywood) and Blue Note Napa. She has also played the stages of the Rochester, Saratoga Springs, and Monterey Jazz Festivals.

Having written, recorded and produced her original music for release, Jenna is currently working on her debut EP. Her music is a blend of jazz, pop, and R&B, with the inspiration of neo-soul legends Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway and D’Angelo melded with the jazz stylings of Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and Hiatus Kaiyote. Jenna also creates electropop music on the side under producer persona and pseudonym J.R. 

She is a go-to collaborator on many Cincinnati-based projects. Jenna has played with prestigious groups at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as well as with notable groups on the scene. Currently, her four-piece jazz-fusion group Microbat explores modern jazz, pop, and sample-based hip hop. 

Jenna is also a member of the internationally esteemed Women In Jazz Organization, being one of twenty female and non-binary students selected to participate in their 2021 through 2023 mentorship seasons. She is a published researcher on the University of Cincinnati’s public journal database, having studied the presence of female jazz instrumentalists in the jazz canon and the American jazz education curriculum. Recently, she joined the faculty for Jazz Girls Day, an outreach initiative sponsored by University of South Carolina and the Columbus Jazz Arts Group.

Artists that she has worked with, or participated in masterclasses with, include the likes of John Fedchock, Maria Schneider, Tia Fuller, John Clayton, Delfeayo Marsalis, Roxy Coss, Carmen Staaf, Jazzmeia Horn and Lauren Sevian.