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BioDescribed as, "untarnished by the politics of music" (Jazz Music Archives) and "at home alongside more contemporary exponents of improvised singing" (LoudMouth, AU) Danielle Wertz has rapidly gained national acclaim. An award-winning artist on the rise, Danielle's compositions and arrangements weave together elements of modern jazz, folk and the use of her voice as an instrumental texture to create an intimate and personal musical world.
After being named a 2015 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition semi-finalist, Danielle released her debut album, Intertwined. This collaboration with pianist Tal Cohen ranked #4 on Capital Bop's list of "Best DC Jazz Albums of 2017" and has continued to receive high praise. That same year Danielle placed 2nd in the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and 3rd in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Vocal Competition. After years of being an avid collaborator in the jazz world, in 2022 Danielle was asked to co-create and co-star in Signature Theatre’s production of Both Sides Now: The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. DC Theatre Arts called her performance “enchanting and reverent.” In March 2023 Danielle released her sophomore album, Other Side, via Outside in Music. With this project she made a quantum leap as a composer and conceptualist. Reimagined and rewritten during the pandemic, the album pairs her compositions with carefully crafted arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook. Jazziz called the album “expressive and polished” and Jazz Weekly noticed a “Joni Mitchell’d tenderness to her material.” Danielle was awarded a 2023 Jazz Road Tours grant from South Arts and self-produced a national album release tour spanning three months including venues such as Blues Alley Jazz in DC, Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, Sam First in Los Angeles and Sharp Nine Gallery in North Carolina. In 2025 Danielle continues to be an avid collaborator as a new member of the NYC jazz scene. She is featured on Remy LeBoeuf’s latest album, Heartland Radio, has headlined The Jazz Gallery, Soapbox Gallery and Room 623, and just returned from California with her newest collaborator, Tal Yahalom, where they toured down the coast including two sold-out shows at SFJAZZ in San Francisco. Danielle is looking forward to headlining her first European tour in September 2025. 
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Press Quotes“masterful [...] a singer worthy of wider recognition”
-Ken Dryden, New York City Jazz Record "Untarnished by the politics of music, what's brought forth is pure, innocent and simply beautiful." -Carmel DeSoto, Jazz Music Archives “a Joni Mitchell’d tenderness” -George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly "Wertz is operating with a literate and studious harmonic knowledge, and a refreshing clarity of sound free from the imitative mannerisms that dog many jazz vocalists." -Chris Hale, Glam Adelaide "Many of the jazz vocalists I listen to for review here have no idea about getting truly intimate with the listener, but Danielle has a talent like few others in this arena." -Dick Metcalf, Contemporary Fusion Reviews "Throughout the program, one can hear how much time the musicians spent exploring the songs, moving away from cliched performances into interpretations that are more personal. That's what audiences usually want [...] If the emotions are honest, the music has power." -Richard B. Kamins, Step Tempest | ||||||||||