artist info

Sista Janiva’s robust and soulful voice is showering each cut with determination to make us all fall in love. Her delivery is as always, sincere and straight from the heart. Sweet soul music is alive and kickin’. – Mavis Staples

2015 Blues Music Award Nominee

Song of the year “Let me Breathe” from her album Original

Contemporary Blues Album: Original

Contemporary Blues Female Artist

Janiva’s latest album of entirely original material (aptly titled Original) pushes the roots, rock, and soul envelope. Magness brings her songwriting skills and stunning range to the fore, with help from Grammy-nominated producer Dave Darling. The album’s 11 songs seamlessly weave all three genres into a highly original approach defined by nakedly honest storytelling and the live-wire emotionalism of Magness’s two-and-a-half octave range, buoyed by arrangements that effortlessly blend traditional sounds with the edge of experimentation.

In 2013, Janiva Magness received 2 awards from The Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN-- Song of the Year for "I Won't Cry" and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year. She was also 2012’s recipient of The Blues Foundation’s prestigious awards for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year.

Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. Her streak of nominations for Blues Music Awards continues this year in the category of Best Contemporary Female Artist. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.” Billboard writes, “Magness carves out a niche by singing the blues with maturity and sophistication.” Singer Magazine writes, “Her voice is sultry, smoky and strong with jazz, blues, and soul textures enveloping it.”