Sweet Jazz

About the Artist
Leonie Smith is an Australian jazz Vocalist, with a smooth sophisticated style, who has been working as a singer for over 10 years in Jazz Clubs, Restaurants, Function Centers and for Corporate Events.

''The past ten years have been a journey, through gigs in small jazz cafes to performances in front of thousands at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. I have sung to tourists, shoppers, diners, conventioneers, drunks and jazz aficionados", says Leonie Smith, "and each performance has played its part in the evolution of Sweet Jazz".

Leonie's singing career started in drama school at Sydney's Ensemble Studio's three-year acting course, where she was taught by method actor the late Hayes Gordon, who had starred in many musicals both here and in America. In the final days of the course, Gordon saw her auditioning a song from Chess for the graduating showcase and encouraged her to take up singing as a career. That was, in fact, the first time she had sung in front of an audience.

"I'm not sure that I could have taken that first step, to seriously consider singing as a career, if Hayes hadn't been so supportive of my first terrified attempts. Singing was supposed to be just another feather in my cap to support my acting career." It turned out to be her forte - and the start of her love affair with the world of jazz.

Further training included: three years of classical singing training from Allan Hendrie, director of the Australian Young Opera Co, and Steven Yalouris from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Opera faculty; and also jazz vocalisation with Anne Marie Wiltshire, and the renowned jazz pianist Bobby Gebbert. She also completed a Musical Theatre Course at the Actors Centre with esteemed musical director, Max Lambert.

Leonie's early experience was gained through live performances at Kate Dunbar's open mike sessions and with the Freddy Willson Jazz workshops and it was not long before she was singing regularly at the Rocks Markets on Sydney Harbour, with her band "The Cats Whiskers", and at other venues around town. These gigs developed into nights at premier jazz venues The Basement and Soup Plus in Sydney, as well as five star hotels and resorts. With the support of some of the venues, which gave her residencies (permanent bookings), she was able to perform with some of the finest musicians this country has to offer, including Bobby Gebbert, Peter Zog, John Morrison, Matt Baker, and Michael Bartolomi.

For a change of pace, In 1994 Leonie joined the very popular Andrew Sisters Sisters - a tribute group to the famous wartime entertainers. The group won a Mo award in her first year with them and were nominated again in the second year. Leonie performed the role of Patty: "She was the blonde, cheeky one who got to flirt with the audience, usually perched on some man's lap. I had a ball! The wigs and the costumes meant we could get away with things we would never normally attempt and no one recognised us afterwards. I loved it.''

Performing with the tribute group meant that Leonie also had to master very tight harmonies and dance choreography and the Andrew Sisters Sisters shows appeared at clubs, function centres for corporate events, the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and many other venues. "It was great to be able to really ham it up and it was wonderful to work with some other women for a change''.

Now back to her first love, why jazz? "It was the soundtrack to my childhood on Sydneys northern beaches. I stole my parents entire jazz record collection when I moved out of home and I was already captivated by the old black and white movies of the jazz age on Bill Collins Golden Age of Hollywood. It was the torch singing, the outpouring of emotion through song and, most of all, it was the beautiful music. The smoky dens, the glamour, sultry heroines and the smooth, cool sound. Through the music of jazz, I could tell stories: moving tales, beautifully-written lyrics put to entrancing m

Product Description
12 fabulous jazz standards. From one of Australia's up and coming jazz vocalists, featuring 6 of Australia's top young and veteran jazz musicians.

Sweet Jazz,Leonie Smith,The Orchard,Jazz,Pop

Jazz Music: