“A masterful ballad interpreter” (NYC Jazz Record) and semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition, Danielle Wertz (JONI) is an award-winning artist on the rise. The New York City-based singer and composer weaves together elements of jazz, folk, and the use of her voice as an instrumental texture to create an intimate and personal musical world. Described as, “untarnished by the politics of music” (Jazz Music Archives) and “at home alongside more contemporary exponents of improvised singing” (LoudMouth, AU) Danielle has rapidly gained national acclaim. A finalist in both the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Vocal Competition, Wertz released her 2017 debut album Intertwined in collaboration with pianist Tal Cohen — a sparkling collection of standards and newer compositions which was ranked #4 on Capital Bop’s list of “Best DC Jazz Albums of 2017.” In addition to her solo career, Wertz is an avid collaborator, featured on recording projects alongside Elena Pinderhughes, Braxton Cook, Justin Rock, and Ambrose Akinmusire, among others.

With her newest release, Other Side (2023), Wertz has made a quantum leap as a composer and conceptualist, braving essential questions of the human experience with nuanced expression and deep feeling. Born of the introspection and examination that the pandemic forced upon us all, the album pairs her own lyrical compositions based in personal stories with carefully chosen arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook like the Rodgers and Hart composition “Spring is Here,” imbued with the longing and anger created by a world in lockdown.