5/5 Stars - The Australian, Oct 2025

A high-flyer in Sydney's jazz scene, Bonnie J Jensen is justly celebrated for her spirit and daring. With her deep, powerfully athletic vocals and true gift of songwriting, she is a class live act. Being handy on piano helps as well. Jensen's fifth album showcases all of this in ample measure. Her newly penned Hughes' Blues and Spend a Little Time with Me celebrate the Big Band era with infectious swing and cruisy style. There is wonderful bite in her singing, and she is joined by a dozen of Sydney's most accomplished jazz instrumentalists in a highly eclectic song-list. Graeham Goble's Reminiscing, Nitin Sawhney's Immigrant and Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island each really catch fire. All the arrangements - written by Jensen alongside Andrew Robertson and Graham Jesse - are excellent. Curtis Reginald Lewis's The Great City and Chick Corea's Spain are two other standouts that keep the mood kicking along very nicely. Terrific solo performances grace this whole collection. Driven by passion, RISE has all the sweaty intimacy of a live show, and comes highly recommended."

Graham Strahle - THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER REVIEW SECTION - 18-19 OCTOBER 2025


Veteran jazz vocalist Bonnie J Jensen makes a long-overdue comeback with “RISE”, her fifth solo album and her first since 2010’s “SHIMMER.” Consisting of some classic jazz standards mixed in with reinterpretations of music from other genres, RISE is the work of a jazz vocalist entirely at ease with her craft, yet eager to stretch her artistry in new directions.

The album’s repertoire is as eclectic as it is cohesive, as Jensen kicks things off by bringing some swing and breathing life into The Stylistics’ 1971 soul hit “People Make the World go Round.” She moves fluidly between intriguing reinterpretations and paying homage to great modern jazz composers with her takes on Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly” and “Cantaloupe Island.”

Even among the jazz standards, Jensen keeps things fresh by blending in unique singles like Chick Corea’s “Spain,” which serves as an epic centrepiece. With a runtime exceeding seven minutes, this is a great track to showcase her lyrical agility and musicianship.
One of the highlights on this album is Jensen’s smooth jazz cover of Sting’s “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets.” Her soft vocals add a level of depth and dimension that transcends the original, while the sax solos are a tasteful addition that elevate the atmosphere.

The album closes out with an incredible rendition of James Taylor’s “Don’t Let me Be Lonely Tonight.” matching the emotional impact of the original is a tough ask, but Jensen proves she’s up to the task with a powerful performance that brings tears to your eyes.

In these twelve tracks, Jensen draws on a handpicked roster of Australia’s finest jazz musicians; Matt McMahon on piano, Geoff Hughes on guitar, Ray Cassar on trumpet, Graham Jesse on saxophone and flute, Brett Hirst on bass, and Nicholas McBride on drums. Together, they craft a record of remarkable polish, depth, and variety.

Jensen produces this album herself, and it’s clear she knows exactly how to frame her instrument. The ensemble shifts from dining-room intimacy to full big-band punch without losing the album’s through-line of elegance. There’s an unhurried confidence in the way the record unfolds, with the musicians giving each song the space it needs.

“RISE” is a record steeped in tradition yet unafraid to take detours. It’s a collection that rewards close listening as much as it works as a late-night companion. In her return to the studio, Bonnie J Jensen hasn’t just picked up where she left off. She’s delivered one of her most accomplished statements to date."

Michael Friedman - SKOPE MAGAZINE, USA


"Bonnie J Jensen is a familiar singer on the Australian scene with the cred to pull together some of the country’s best jazz musicians for her records. Her fifth, RISE has a mixture of small combos and a big band, some originals, and an imaginative selection of covers.
Jensen doesn’t scat. Instead, she emphasizes storytelling and accentuates the rhythms embedded in the melodies without any excessive theatrics. She is also a fine composer and arranger with an ear for colours and a feel for the blues. It’s not an ambitious album destined to be a ground-breaking classic, but it sticks to your ribs.

I especially liked the selection of covers. The album opens with a slinky vamp version of Stylistics’ “People Make the World Go Round,” a song jazzed by Freddie Hubbard and Milt Jackson. There’s also a sleepy take on James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” Jensen lets the strength of the composition do its magic. The cover of Sting’s “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets” (thank you for not choosing one of Sting’s overplayed songs) is a mid-tempo samba.

The best of the pop covers is the Little River Band’s “Reminiscing". It makes you wonder why this one hasn’t been covered by jazz musicians many times before. It’s a lovely melody with a built-in relaxed swing, and the lyrics are charming (complete with a shout-out to the Glenn Miller band). The arrangement here adds some rich harmonies, but nothing is done to mess with the simple appeal of the original. Jensen doesn’t sound like a young girl with a bird-like voice who wouldn’t be able to sell a song like this.
You’ll find other covers from Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Michael Franks on this fine release from an up-and-comer from down under."

Allen Michie - THE ARTS FUSE - Aug 2025 - BOSTON'S PREMIER ONLINE ARTS MAGAZINE, USA


"Singer Bonnie J Jensen has cast her net widely with fifth outing RISE. New Zealand born, but Sydney-based, her work stands out – over and above her vocal prowess – for the calibre of musicians she’s routinely mustered to enrich her records, including Alister Spence, Miroslav Bukovsky, James Morrison, Jonathan Zwartz, James Muller, Phil Stack. RISE continues the tradition, boasting standout contributions from pianist Matt McMahon, guitarist Geoff Hughes, bassist Brett Hirst, drummer Nicholas McBride, among others.
From the get-go, there’s a carefree, relaxed flow about this music, highlighting Jensen’s sultry vocals, and her capacity for putting a new spin on well-trod standards. These strengths come to the fore on the album’s penultimate track, Herbie Hancock’s ‘Butterfly’ (with lyrics by his sister Jean). McMahon’s lush piano, overlaid by Graham Jesse’s flute, manifests a neo soul vibe, with Jensen’s voice, smooth as silk, drifting and gliding across the song’s melancholic undercurrent. She further expands the Hancock tie-in with a rendition of his classic ‘Cantaloupe Island’, featuring lyrics by Mark Murphy. Vaunting a full band arrangement, Graham Jesse’s ‘in the pocket’ arrangement is elevated by McMahon’s laconic piano vamp, and Simon Ferenci’s smouldering trumpet.
Jensen proves herself amenable to injecting a touch of swing to proceedings, heard to best effect on Curtis Lewis’s ‘The Great City’, which conjures Joni Mitchell’s spirited and playful cover of the Wardell Gray/Annie Ross vocalese ‘Twisted’, replete with Jensen’s sassy vocals, and Ray Cassar’s muted trumpet. She reprises the mood on her own composition ‘Spend a Little Time with Me’, wrapping her vocals around the song’s brassy theme, as she stretches and collapses the song’s lyrics. Sting’s ‘La Belle Dame Sans Regret’, on the other hand, with its hip Latin backbeat, is given a chanteuse makeover that could have been lifted straight from a nouvelle vague sixties film.

Arguably the pick-of-the-bunch is Jensen’s seven-minute take on Chick Corea’s ‘Spain’, a rollercoaster ride that finds her trickily navigating the song’s complex rhythms, which careen wildly between plaintive and ebullient. The album closes with James Taylor’s ‘Don’t Let Me be Lonely Tonight’, with Jensen proffering a mellow and cruisy reading that amplifies the song’s late-night, sad-eyed wistfulness.

While RISE is enhanced by cool and snazzy arrangements, Jensen is first and foremost a singer and interpreter. Steering clear of the pyrotechnic scatting of traditional jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, her approach is foregrounded in the art of song-craft, mining a rich seam of jazz vocals embodied by the likes of Holly Cole, Claire Martin, Diana Krall, and Patricia Barber. On the evidence of Rise, Jensen warrants being cited in their company."

Des Cowley - RHYTHMS MAGAZINE, AUSTRALIA


A sultry, multi-genre talent whose sense of invention knows few bounds and gleefully hops barriers between pop, jazz, Latin and soul, Australian songstress, premier, vocal interpreter and songwriter Bonnie J Jensen has a curious discography. After gracing the world with four acclaimed album in the 2000s, she stayed silent on the recording front for nearly 15 years – then unleashed an incredible, wildly eclectic flurry of eight lead singles leading up to her grand comeback album with the resurrection-appropriate title Rise.

A premier showcase for Jensen’s effortless soulful delivery, colorful phrasing and equal aplomb for hushed intimacy and lively swing, the collection featuring two compelling originals and hip and stylish, artfully arranged re-imaginings of classics by everyone from Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Sting to Little River Band, James Taylor, Michael Franks and The Stylistics. On the strictly jazz side, the highlights are an expansive, mood swinging 7-minute romp through Corea’s “Spain,” highlighted by her peppy, whimsical duet with flutist/multi-instrumentalist Graham Jesse on the percussive passages; and a dreamy swirl through Hancock’s “Butterfly,” which eases  effortlessly from punchy to soothing, with ample time for snazzy solo improvisations by Jesse (on alto flute) and pianist Matt McMahon.

On the pop/soul side, Jensen turns familiar tunes like “People Make the World Go Round,” “Reminiscing” and “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” into fresh social and romantic revelations while also tackling the intoxicating Sting deep cut “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets” to share her facility for French language singing. In addition to her stirring and seductive original “Hughes’ Blues,” the album’s greatest strength is the cool yet empowering way she brings lesser known gems like the Nancy Wilson chestnut “The Great City” and Nitin Sawhney’s “Immigrant” to brilliant life, sharing timeless messages that resonate even more now."

Jonathan Widran - THE JW VIBE, USA


"Reading the titles on Bonnie J Jensen’s fifth recording RISE (Metropolitan Groove Merchants), reveals much about the Australian singer’s tastes and influences. Included are interpretations of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” and “Butterfly”, as well as reads of “The Great City” (from Nancy Wilson’s catalogue), Michael Franks’ “Jive” and The Stylisitics’ “People Make The Word Go Round”.

Jensen also dives into the Chick Corea songbook with her version of one of the pianist’s most celebrated compositions, “Spain”, which features Al Jarreau’s wistful lyric. Apty, Jensen begins in deep reverie, with sensitive accompaniment from Pianist Matt mcMahon, flutist Graham Jesse, Bassist Brett Hirst and drummer/percussionist Nicholas McBride. As devotees of the tune know full well, it’s just a prelude to an impassioned reminiscence of happier days when romance was in full bloom.

Jensen and her musicians pick up their heels and dance to the brisk rhythms and the memories of when “our love was a Spanish fiesta/the bright lights and songs were our joy each day/and the nights were the head of yearning”. Solos by Jesse and McMahon perfectly capture the conflicting emotions, their exuberance tempered by longing and perfectly underlining Jensen’s own nuanced performance. It’s a fine tribute to Corea and Jarreau."

JAZZIZ Magazine, USA - September Issue 2025


"The 1978 hit "Reminiscing" is one of the eclectic choices on Rise, the new collection by Australian vocalist Bonnie J Jensen. Also on the subject of reminiscing is "Spain," with its sections that begin with the words "I can remember" or "I can recall" (the latter phrase used as the alternate title when the lyrics were later added). They're tied to the quick, tricky tempo in parts of Chick Corea's composition, and the performer navigates and nails the music's shifts and staccato punches with aplomb and delivers the words with precision. (The booklet's track list doesn't credit singer Al Jarreau and Artie Maren, who wrote the lyrics sung here, but gives the name of "Spain"'s composer Joaquín Rodrigo, whose classical guitar concerto melody was used as part of Corea's original instrumental recording.)

Throughout the set, the versatile vocalist sounds confident and in the groove. Versatility is shown when she unveils vulnerability in full on the moody final track, mining James Taylor's classic plea, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," for neediness and confessions. Singing in French, she takes on "La Belle Dame Sans Regrets" by Sting and Dominic Miller.

Bonnie J Jensen has sole credit for four of the 12 arrangements and collaborated on five others with sax player/flautist Graham Jesse. The two co-wrote the assertive "Spend a Little Time with Me," which also appears on Shimmer, her earlier release. Miss Jensen's own writing and arrangement of "Hughes' Blues" is (I'm assuming) a nod to guitarist Geoff Hughes who's featured on it. The album feels very much like a team effort, as the singer (who, in other ventures, has sometimes been her own pianist) surrounds herself with a solid group of musicians who dynamically do some of the heavy lifting. A prime example of the spotlight-sharing showcases is "Cantaloupe Island," arranged by jazzy Jesse alone and timed at five minutes and 19 seconds. The vocal, employing Mark Murphy's lyric for Herbie Hancock's melody, does not come in for a full minute and then, before we get to the two-minute mark, there's another swinging swath of instrumental playing that goes on for two more minutes before the singer re-enters. A co-composition with Bernie Maupin, Hancock is favored also with "Butterfly," which has a lyric by his sister, Jean Hancock. Like "Cantaloupe Island" and "Spain," it started off life as an instrumental.

The release of Rise should be a welcome surprise for her fans as this collection is her first issue since 2010; a string of singles from the collection preceded the whole album's August appearance. Unlike some singers who are basically ensconced in Golden Age standards for years and then suddenly switch to more contemporary fare fairly late in their careers–or vice-versa–the four earlier albums in Bonnie J Jensen's discography show that she typically mixed Great American Songbook classics with later pop and jazz. That explains why she seems so comfortable with these diverse diversions."

Rob Lester - TALKIN' BROADWAY, USA


New Zealand-born, but now Sydney resident, vocalist Bonnie J Jensen has released her fifth album entitled RISE. It has 12 tracks: three tunes recorded with members of the Dan Barnett big band in May 2024, and nine others recorded with a sextet over two days in January 2025 at Rancom St Studios in Sydney. It would take up too much space to list in full the roll-up of excellent musicians who played on this beautiful album but, in a recent interview with Fine Music broadcaster Barry O’Sullivan, Jensen nominated the following musicians who can be regarded as key to the album’s success: Brett Hirst (bass), Graham Jesse (flutes and saxes), Matt McMahon (piano and keyboards), Nick McBride (drums and percussion), Ray Cassar (trumpet and flugelhorn) and the great guitarist Geoff Hughes. Those names amply indicate how well-chosen the musicians were for this outstanding album. Much work and thought have palpably gone into this ambitious work. The arrangements are liberally shared around: four by Jensen & Graham Jesse; four by Jensen on her own; two from Jesse on his own; one by Jensen & Brett Hirst; and one by Andrew Robertson.

Listening to this album on rotation in my car I’ve tended to think of the album as three bundles of four tracks each. The four opening tracks establish Jensen’s interest in what one might call better quality pop songs: Tom Bell & Linda Creed’s People Make The World Go Round (heralding Jensen’s liking for songs with a social message); Graham Goble’s classic Reminiscing; Curtis Reginald Lewis’s The Great City (a tune in four which reveals Jensen’s ability as a swinging singer, and features biting accompaniment and a great solo from trumpeter Cassar, using the Harmon mute); and Nitin Sawhney’s moving song Immigrant.

The second bundle of four sees Jensen in what one might call more hard-core jazz territory: Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island, with lyrics by the late great Mark Murphy; Michael Franks’s lovely tune in 5/4 Jive, which was first heard on his 1975 debut album The Art of Tea; the Chick Corea classic Spain, where Jensen bravely takes on a difficult version which requires spot-on vocal technique and brings it off well); and her own composition Hughes’ Blues, where Geoff Hughes’s blues-drenched guitar fills and three superb choruses are one of the album’s highlights.

The last bundle of four sees Jensen singing in French La Belle Dame Sans Regrets, a song from the repertoire of the pop singer Sting, featuring a lovely solo from Jesse on soprano sax, and a splendid scat chorus from Jensen, which is doubled in unison by Hughes on guitar, just another example of the attention to detail which characterises this album, and Jensen’s versatility; Spend a Little Time With Me, an excellent original in 5/4 written by Jensen and Graham Jesse, recorded with the big band and featuring splendid solos from Jesse on tenor sax and Ray Cassar on trumpet; the song Butterfly, which sees Jensen returning to the music of Herbie Hancock, featuring splendid solos from Jesse on flute this time, and from Matt McMahon on acoustic piano; and the closing track on the album James Taylor’s lovely song Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, in which Jensen’s smokey voice is heard to best advantage, and McMahon plays another brief, memorable solo on piano.

I feel that RISE is an album with real substance, from a singer who’s not afraid of complicated time signatures, and who’s willing to take on what some might consider a repertoire with overall a substantial degree of difficulty. In the process Jensen has provided the backing musicians with compositions that are great to play on, and which bring out the best from some of the finest musicians in the country. There are beautiful improvisations from various players on virtually every track. A lot of work and thought, much more than usual, has gone into this album, in terms of repertoire, arrangements, and improvisations. The result is an outstanding product which I feel should find overwhelming favour with the discriminating jazz audience.