Bennie Jaye

Bennie Jaye, a musician based in Rochester, NY, sings original songs set to poems written by her late partner, Martha A. Kelch (1963-2020).

Martha wrote more than 500 poems, between 1998 and 2005, that explore sex, religion, death, lost love, and mental illness, always with a distinct voice and often with humor. Bennie wrote several songs while Martha was still writing, but when Martha found herself unable to write and sunk into depression, she found it painful to be reminded that she could no longer write and the song project was shelved. Three years after Martha’s passing in 2020, Bennie revived the project and started to transform more poems into songs with an additional focus on performing, arranging and recording.

Bennie accompanies herself on ukulele and pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine), bringing melody, emotion, and her own interpretations to Martha’s work.