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Janiva Magness
Biography
Blues vocalist Janiva Magness walked away from music a few times before she was able to accept it as her calling. Her support system of family and friends turned out to be not so supportive when it came to her career choice, and numerous discouraging comments chipped away at Magness' confidence. During one of these dark periods when she'd given up on pursuing a career in the blues, she shut herself away for 40 hours a week in an office for an entire year, plugging away at a regular job with a construction company, refusing to even enter a nightclub in the evenings. She would later describe her estrangement from music as "torture," and it was enough to convince her that she needed to persevere in her uphill struggle to claim the career she realized she wanted and needed. Her strength and perseverance paid off and she has gone on to win raves from fans and critics. Among the awards she has received are the B.B. King Award for Musical Excellence, which is conferred by Soundboard Magazine; the Jim Croce Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rhythm and Blues; and from New Times Magazine, the designation of Blues Band of the Year in the Arizona publication's Critics Choice Awards.
Selected Discography
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