Jade Leonard Launching New TV Series: The Musician Speaks

Jade Leonard Launching New TV Series: The Musician Speaks

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Posted 2014-10-24 by Leona (Devaz) Fensomefollow

Sun 02 Nov 2014



It's true. Singers do get a fair amount of time on telly. With the popularity of reality shows like X Factor, The Voice, Australian Idol and Australia's Got Talent, audiences are well-tuned to the rise and fall of undiscovered vocal talent. But what about the unsung heroes, musicians that don't sing? Enter Jade Leonard , creator of The Musician Speaks – a new television show dedicated to uncovering great Australian musicians. "I didn't want to create a TV show for pop singers … what about the guys and girls in the band? They are incredible musicians, they need to be at the front."

Filming of the Channel 31 television show will commence on Sunday 2 November, to an intimate Melbourne audience of 30 guests , who will be treated to a live performance of two artists. The first is Doug DeVries , renowned for his Brazilian guitar repertoire and secondly Joe Chindamo . an extraordinary jazz pianist. "I wanted to talk to people like Doug and Joe who don't have a voice. They don't sing, it is just this music they create and it is phenomenal. It should be listened to, and if they cant listen to it for that long (television audiences), well shame on I don't know who ... for not educating us."



A jazz singer and pianist, Jade is incredibly passionate about creating a platform for people to learn and appreciate Australian artists. With a classical pianist mother and father a contemporary pianist (both parents are also organists), music is in her blood. She laughs heartily when asked if she thinks the organ will make a comeback, "God I would love it! Literally, when I was in the womb, my mum and dad were recording for EMI on the Hammond organ. That is just my music."

Singing now for close to 20 years, she explains that "it just kind of happened, I was singing a lot of classical and choral work all through primary school". Her parents separated when she was young, and trips to her dads home in Brisbane helped discover a new love – jazz music. "He had a small recording studio and one day he was like 'listen to these albums; Ella Fitzgerald and Natalie Cole, choose some songs and we'll record some of them'." She carefully explains that this is when her love of jazz started, "I found a style of music that suited my voice. Although I love classical music, I was never cut out for it – it's just the tone and tamper of my voice."

One thing Jade is cut out for, is the production of the series. She's put her life savings into six pilot episodes of 30 minutes each. It will enable her to "try it on for size and see how audiences feel". She bursts into laughter at the thought of 12 episodes, "I was going to, before I realised how much it was going to cost! As I am self-producing, it is going to come in under $30,000, it is entirely self-funded." When asked if this is typical of costs, Jade confides, "that sounds like a lot of money, but my last album (Glitterwood) cost me $10, 000, from writing to musicians fees, mixing ... mastering artwork." She reveals the figure is quite normal for something of that standard, "yes, you can pump out a demo for under $500. It depends, you get what you pay for."



She reveals there are two states of play in Australian music. Firstly, the arts & culture funding cuts from government, and secondly, the money artists 'aren't' making. She does still feel lucky there's a certain degree of freedom with Channel 31, but understands the reality of the station shutting up shop in 12 months and converting to digital. "The government has withdrawn the funding to broadcast - Digital 44 is their band on TV. They are going to sell that, so it is going to be another informercial station and they did it without any consultation with anyone." Whilst this move is exasperating for artists like Jade , she mockingly shakes her head and asks, "where do you even start? It is not like the government said right, we are going to keep you guys in telly and redistribute those funds over three years into helping you guys get on." But, there's still an optimism when she thinks of future options.

Bursting into laughter, she gleefully exclaims, "I look at Oprah and think, I could have my own network!" She does however, realise that TV in its current format is dying. "When was the last time you sat down and watched a show? Mine isn't even plugged in, how ironic is that!" There's a delightful spirit that exudes from Jade , it's a combination of her radio training at Joy FM and unwavering ability to laugh in the face of adversity, constantly thinking of ways keep moving forward. "I haven't really thought so broadly about (pauses) making a profit or breaking even. But audiovisual is the way to go, I am not in a game playing position to fight that."

When asked about Australian artists earning an income from album sales, she exclaims, "I ain't making any money out of that! It's like 0.0002c per play, unless I get exposure – then it starts to convert ... it is negligible the money you make." She tells me on a lighter note that one of Daft Punk's albums only made $16,000 from Spotify streams, "it just makes you want to weep!"



Amidst the challenges, Jade is determined to bring The Musician Speaks to audiences and follow her passion to promote brilliant talent, "I want to find who is pushing the boundaries and who is doing stuff, I want to learn." With her main aim being to secure high calibre guests for her show, she is busy going to lots of shows at the moment – scouring for artists to fit her multi-genre program. "I'm approaching a couple of hip hop artists, R&B, soul, electronic, classical, contemporary ... all musicians." Melbourne audiences can book tickets for this exclusive show , it'll be an experience worth every minute of the 24 minute segment. "I've got a really big vision with this … I just gotta keep pushing. My vision is not going to be thwarted because my government is short-sighted," she laughs, "especially artistically and creatively."

#art
#burwood
#classical_music
#jazz
#music
#november
!date 02/11/2014 -- 02/11/2014
%wnmelbourne
110905 - 2023-06-12 15:22:51

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