Born and raised in Bloomington, IN, Janiece Jaffe is an obscure but talented jazz singer with a subtle, sweetly vulnerable approach. Jaffe is far from a belter or a screamer; her interpretations of standards tend to favor softness, restraint, and gentle introspection. The Midwesterner was 19 when she started singing jazz, but she didn't pursue a career in music right away. At 19, she felt that she still had some growing to do, so she put her career as a singer on hold and spent the next 15 years working in child care. After that, Jaffe finally recorded her first album, 1995's Keep the Flame Alive. The following year, she recorded her sophomore effort, It Takes Two, which came out on Catalyst in 2000. ~ Alex Henderson