Shenel Johns is a native of Hartford, CT. She received a B.A. in Music Management and Jazz Studies at the Hartt School of Music where she studied Jazz voice and Music Management with legends such as Rene McLean, Shawnn Monteiro, Nat Reeves, and Steve Davis. Her major influences to date are Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Betty Carter. This song bird has been performing across the New England area since the age of 14 and has opened up for recording artists Sheila Jordan, Hank Jones, and Harold Mabern to name a few.
Shenel's ambitions are not only to be among the most successful Crossover Jazz musicians of her generation but to keep the world of Jazz alive.
About her residency @ the cell, Shenel stated, "I have had the greatest pleasure of playing in venues around New York since my residency. the cell is by far a platform unlike any other I've experienced. With a comfortable and intimate set up and staff that is more like family: this venue will be the space that I create without inhibitions, where the stage extends into audience, and where my rawest and purest material will be first received by like minded enthusiasts!
