About Janis

Janis entered the music business as a hit songwriter for such artists as Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Steve Wariner, The Whites and others.

Even though Janis' success has been primarily in country music, she has always had a deep connection with jazz and swing music. One of the key hits she wrote (with Rick Carnes and Chip Hardy) was ''Hangin' Around,'' a bluegrass-swing song recorded by The Whites and Dean Martin. The song helped bring mainstream awareness to the jazz-influenced style.

After forming a duo with husband and fellow songwriter, Rick Carnes, Janis was signed as an artist to Elektra Asylum by the Jimmy Bowen (one of the most influential figures in the Nashville music scene). The duo followed Bowen to Warner Brothers and then to MCA Records, having success with self-penned singles like,''Poor Girl,'' and, ''Does He Ever Mention My Name.'' She returned to writing songs for others, and found herself penning more and more jazz tunes - until she could no longer deny the lifelong desire to write and sing jazz like her favorite composers and singers of old.

PeerMusic's Digital Pressure label offered Janis the opportunity to sing from the catalogue of the mighty Hoagy Carmichael. And, for her, the project was too good to let pass. The project blended some of Hoagy's finest jazz compositions with some of the finest jazz tunes Janis had worked on. "It was like a dream come true," said Janis about the project.

''Hoagy 'n Me'' is brought to life by Janis' pure sultry voice that is seemingly made to sing jazz. Her style is at one moment soft and sensual and, the next, thick and powerful. Each of the original compositions matches the impact and beauty of the Carmichael standards.

Hoagy 'n Me celebrates standards that are part of the backbone of jazz and evolves with new songs that yearn to bring the craft of the past into the modern day.