The stunning self-titled debut CD from Pacific Northwest native JILL JENSON features the work of an artist with far from your usual artist's resume. Jill's various career stints include disc-jockeying at a high-profile jazz station, work as a professional jingle singer and voiceover artist, and senior executive/consultancy positions at AT&T Wireless and Microsoft. Certainly not your typical artist background, but this jazz/pop CD is anything but ordinary. Produced by singer/songwriter/producer Tim Cashion (Bob Seger, Robert Palmer, Grand Funk Railroad), and executive produced by veteran producer Matt Pierson (Bob James, Joshua Redman, Michael Franks, Willie Nelson, Brad Mehldau), JILL JENSON is a beautiful, highly sophisticated and personal collection of songs that address the issues which all of us face in contemporary life including love, loss, hope, longing and transformation. JILL JENSON is set for release by BaiMai Records in the beginning of 2006.

Joining Jill on the CD are noted musicians/guitarists Chuck Loeb (Stan Getz, Gary Burton, Michael Franks, Bob James) and Brian Monroney (Gloria Estefan, Luis Enrique, Tom Jones), bassist James Genus ( Anita Baker, Lee Ritenour, Vanessa Williams, Saturday Night Live), percussionists Bashiri Johnson (Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Madonna, Miles Davis, Natalie Cole ) and Jose Rossy (Weather Report, Talking Heads, Chic, Patti Labelle, Robert Palmer) and guitarist Bruce Kulick (Kiss, Michael Bolton, Meat Loaf, Todd Rundgren).

The record also features : Marc Henderson on saxophone and flute, Dave Quackenbush on trumpet and flugelhorn, guitarists Dustin Hofsess, Pat Cashion and Joe Lindsay, cellist Evan Richey, bassist Tim Smith and pianist Paul Tillotson. Tim Cashion is featured on background vocals, percussion, mandolin, piano and drums.

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Jill began singing along with Manhattan Transfer records at the age of ten. She quickly progressed to Ella Fitzgerald, learning to scat, and moved on to absorb the styles of jazz greats such as Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Mark Murphy, and Mel Torme, as well as the contemporary pop/R&B music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder and Tower of Power. After singing professionally in the Portland area, she attended the University of Miami as a Jazz Vocal major.

Following college, Jill returned to Portland and, while still singing, worked as a jazz disc jockey at KMHD radio. This afforded her the luxury of meeting many of her idols and influences while staying up-to-date with current musical trends. Eventually, she settled in Seattle, taking a job outside of music and embarking on a twelve-year career as a very successful executive in the telecommunications industry. A chance meeting with college buddy Tim Cashion in 2002 presented an epiphany for Jill, and she attributes her decision to forego the corporate life in pursuit of her musical dream in part to their newly-rekindled friendship. Changing the entire direction of her lifeís path, Jill left her job to pursue making music as a full-time endeavor. She also dedicated herself to getting her personal life on a brand-new, revitalized, and healthy track (losing more than 130 pounds in the process!).

From the moment Jill and Tim first entered the studio, it was obvious that their collaboration would yield incredible results – a musical direction combining their strong jazz and pop influences with a lyrical point of view that connects directly with the adult listener. Wanting to bridge the gap between jazz and pop music, their vision was to create a "jazz-inspired" adult contemporary CD, fusing Jill's musical influences with Tim's songwriting background. A two-year project in the making, Jill recorded the CD at Cashion's Cottage Lake Studio in North Carolina, with some additional sessions in New York City. When Jill arrived at the sessions, most of the songs (all but two were written by Cashion) were new to Jill, which allowed her to approach the recording with a very fresh and uninhibited manner.

"Jill has the ability to pull the listener into the song with her unique tone and vocal range," says Cashion, "For me, as a writer, her extensive background in Jazz Vocals gave me the freedom to explore all types of harmonic and melodic structures that cover a wide range of musical styles – from Smooth Jazz to AC to R & B to Fusion. Her emotion in terms of interpretation is truly amazing." In addition to writing most of the material and producing the entire recording, Cashion's talents as multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and arranger contribute considerably to JILL JENSON.

After recording about seventy-five percent of the record, Jill sent some rough mixes to veteran music producer Matt Pierson, and the rest, as they say, is history. "I remember hearing Jill back when we both attended the University of Miami. She was a standout jazz vocalist. I had thought of her often, and assumed that she must have settled into a successful career as a singer somewhere. It was a terrific surprise to hear from her, and once I heard the strength and maturity of her voice and Tim's excellent production and songwriting, I jumped at the chance to get involved."

JILL JENSON is a person you know; your friend, your sister, your co-worker, perhaps even yourself, addressing issues that you can genuinely connect with. It is a pleasure to introduce you to Jill Jenson. More than just a singer with a rich and wonderfully compelling voice, Jill's musical message and inspiring life story set her apart from the pack




Tim was born into a musical family in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father played guitar and sang during live radio broadcasts and wrote and recorded several 78rpm records. His mother was a full time pianist for the church. Tim is the fourth child of four, and it was his brother closest in age, also a guitarist/singer, who really encouraged him. At age five, he began playing drums.

At nine he was introduced to the piano, which quickly became his instrument for writing and composing. He studied piano through high school and was offered a scholarship to the University of Miami School of Music where he graduated with a Bachelor and Masters of Music degree in Studio Music and Jazz with Vocal emphasis.

Upon graduating, Tim was offered a job by Emilio Estafan replacing Jon Secada (then unknown) as lead/background vocalist, percussionist with Japanese artist TAKANAKA. Shortly thereafter, he joined Robert Palmer's European/US Tour as background vocalist. A year later, good friend and college alumni, Jon Secada, asked Tim to join him on his debut World Tour. In 1996 Tim joined Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band for their US Tour, and in 1999 he reunited with Robert Palmer for a performance on the Letterman Show and a US Tour. Tim appeared on the MTV ICON show singing backup with Shakira and Steven Tyler.

Tim joined the revamped Grand Funk Railroad in 2000 and has been touring with them since then. When not touring, Tim writes for and produces regional artists, and he has recently released his first solo CD, "Wake On Up".