Jazz, blues, ska singer Karina Denike embraces them all

"She's probably best known as a primary vocalist for Dance Hall Crashers, the popular Berkeley ska band that has toured and recorded intermittently since 1989. Most recently the group reunited last year for the first time in two decades to join the Vans Warped Tour. Denike spent a decade providing vocals and keyboard work for the Los Angeles punk band NOFX, and often joins the collective Red Room Orchestra for sumptuous soundtrack concerts."

"it's my main group who I do any type of jazz with, though we also do some jump blues, early Ruth Brown R&B from the 1950s, and even throw in a little 1960s ska every now and then. A gifted songwriter herself who released the critically hailed album Under Glass in 2015, she tends to focus on lessor known material from the American Songbook's back pages instead of the oft-interpreted standards."

"There are so many great, forgotten tunes. I'm always looking to early Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, looking for songs from different composers. Her San Jose Jazz mini-residency offers an unusual opportunity to get a deeper look at Denike's wide-angle sensibility."

Karina Denike demonstrates remarkable musical versatility across multiple genres and projects. She is known as a primary vocalist for Dance Hall Crashers, a Berkeley ska band active since 1989 that recently reunited for Warped Tour. She spent a decade with Los Angeles punk band NOFX and regularly performs with Red Room Orchestra for soundtrack concerts. In the Bay Area, she leads The Cottontails, performing pre-World War II popular songs, jump blues, and early R&B. As a songwriter who released the album Under Glass in 2015, Denike focuses on lesser-known American Songbook material rather than standards, drawing inspiration from Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. Her San Jose Jazz mini-residency provides an opportunity to showcase her wide-ranging musical sensibility.

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