Jennifer Grassman is a Texas based recording artist who lives in Houston with her husband, Jason Greenberg, and two cats, Agatha Mittens and Mr. Charles Bingley.

Grassman composes original piano and vocal songs which embody her own haunting and idiosyncratic style. She likes to call her genre “Arabesque,” because her songs are typified by ornate, serpentine melodies, with heavy classical and theatrical elements. Her vocals are graceful and nimble, and her piano accompaniments are passionate and fanciful. Indeed, her lyrics are often derived from classical literature, and inspired by authors including William Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Lewis Carol, J.R.R. Tolkien, and George MacDonald.

The media has compared Grassman’s music to that of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Loreena McKennitt, and Enya, while fans have compared her to the likes of Sarah Brightman. But nothing quite sums up the music of Jennifer Grassman better then the songs themselves.

Born in Austin, Texas, in 1984, Grassman grew up with an avid love for music. A rather odd child, she was more interested in reading books and absorbing herself in music then collecting dolls or talking on the phone with friends. In fact, her piano was often her best friend, and she would daily spend hours obsessing over a new Chopin or Debussy piece or an Agatha Christie murder mystery. She particularly appreciated minor melodies from the romantic period, although she tributes Handel's Messiah as being her favorite work of all time.

In addition to Jennifer's strong classical influences, she also holds an affinity for U2, the Irish rebel band headed by social activist, Bono.

"I was obsessed with Boy, War, and Unforgettable Fire when I was in my early teens," Jennifer reminisced smiling. "Besides the fact that they were my first introduction to rock music, I was enthralled by their passion for a cause. There was always something just nauseating about the millions of pop songs revolving around boyfriends and cattiness. I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. I needed something to latch onto and believe in. I had no idea of the cultural or historical background behind U2’s convictions, but I got the anti-violence message loud and clear. I’ve always believed that it is important for us as individual human beings to have a cause. We need something worth dying for. Otherwise, merely living is so hollow."

In the past and present, Jennifer has devoted her music to the promotion of various causes. In 2003 and 2005 she hosted fundraising concerts for Crime Stoppers (one of which took place at Six Flags Astroworld), in honor of her late high-school friend, Rachael Koloroutis. In 2007 she hosted several benefit concerts for Houston area no-kill animal shelters including SMART and Adopt-A-Cat. In 2008 she organized a campaign of events to raise funds for The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and bring awareness to the anti-abuse cause. She also works fervently to promote local abuse victim’s resources such as HAWC, The Women’s Home, and The Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Grassman met her husband, Jason Greenberg, on a cool September morning in 2003 while she was attending The University Of Houston, Moores School of Music. Having canvassed school message boards for performance opportunities, Greenberg was the one and only musician who responded to an ad Grassman had posted for band members, reading, "got a band?" They met at a stone bench in front of The Moores School of Music, dated for three years, and were finally married on Saturday, September 30, 2006.

Since their marriage, Jennifer and Jason have been collaborating on several musical projects, including Jennifer's upcoming album (June, 2009), and Jason's progressive metal project, Orisonata, which is comparable to the music of Dream Theater, Nightwish, Suspyre, Blind Guardian, and Falconer.

Grassman's debut album, At The Back Of The North Wind, was a 17-song CD produced by MD Thompston for Ivory Tower Realizations. Shortly therafter Grassman was signed to TLM Productions, and independent record label founded by Andrew Amelang and Dan Workman.  Like Jennifer's Christmas CD, Keep Silent, A Collection of Ancient Carols (November, 2007), Jennifer's next CD will be produced at Sugarhill Recording Studios by Dan Workman.

Jennifer's recent projects also include a music video for the At The Back Of The North Wind song Pretty Girls, which was created by ZenFilm. The video will be released in early December, 2008 - just in time for Jennifer's birthday on December 8th.

With a new album in the works, a music video anticipated to launch her career onto the main stage, a slew of upcoming concerts and tours, and new songs popping sporadically into her head at a prolific rate, Grassman is thrilled that her musical career is now on the verge of blossoming into something truly phenomenal.

"I've worked so hard for the past six years to develop my song writing style and hone my performance abilities. I feel as if it is time. So many doors are opening for me, before I even knock. So many things are happening so very quickly, and I can't wait to see what the next couple years hold."

• September, 2008: "There's something pure and ultimate about Handel's Messiah. It's also very nostalgic for me. Every year as soon as Thanksgiving was past, my family would listen to Handel's Messiah over and over again on my dad's vinyl record player until New Years rolled around ... or sometimes Easter depending. When I hear it played now, I can feel the cold winter draft creeping through the windows of our house in Memphis, Tennessee, smell the cinnamon and the pine ... it just transports me to the happiest moments of my childhood - in addition to being an impeccable work of art."


• October, 2008 Interview with Val Clifton of The Sun: “I was trying to twist [Tori Amos'] arm into coming and performing at [RAINN Over Houston]. She’s got a pretty crazy 2009 schedule, so initially she said no, but I’m still planning on bugging her.”

• December, 2007, Interview with Joey Guerra of The Houston Chronicle: (On how she mentally prepared herself for recording a Christmas album in July). "My tree was up 'til August, 'and my husband finally made me take it down. He was like, 'this is just unacceptable.' I would basically turn all the lights off, and I had a little cinnamon-apple scented candle that I would light and to me that smelled like Christmas because my Mom would always bake apple pie."

• December, 2007, Interview with Joey Guerra of The Houston Chronicle: (On her most memorable Christmas gift). "Well you know men right? They never listen, OK, we'll just start out like that. I was dating my husband, so this is before we got married, and we were exchanging gifts. Jason got me a bottle of perfume that — get this — I asked him for three months earlier. He remembered the name of it! I couldn't believe it; was shocked! It was Clinique Happy."