Sydney jazz singer-songwriter Frances Madden is set to showcase her raw talent with a string of east-coast shows on the 'Feeling Good' tour.
The shows will combine her own, original compositions (Frances has two releases: a studio album 'If This Were A Dream'; and a live album 'Live At The Basement & Foundry 616') mixed with her interpretations of well-known classics. “I'm really excited about the tour, it's our debut show in Brisbane and it's a brand new club so we're very excited,” Frances says.
“We've played at the Paris Cat before in Melbourne, which is a lovely club and then we're ending it at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, which I think it's one of the top two festivals for jazz in Australia.
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“[But] I'm most excited to kick it off in Sydney, that's our home ground and The Basement has a great ambience. It's always nice to play at your home ground because you know they love you and you've got support,” she says.
Frances says music has always been a part of her life from her early years onwards; after graduating high school, she studied at the Australian Institute Of Music. “I've been playing classical piano since the age of six. And I've been doing music full-time to make a living for the past six years, writing songs for the same amount of time,” Frances says.
“After graduating I started working full-time in a cover bands and cut my chops doing gigs and stuff like that, and through that I saved up enough money to fund my first album.”
Frances has recently returned home from a trip to Nashville, Tennessee in America. “I spent ten days there to do some work with some professional songwriters and producers, working on material for my next recording which will either be an EP or a full album” Frances says.
“I also went to meet a manager I've just started working with, Joe Lamont. It's a fairly recent thing working with him, so it was great to go over and plan for the next few months.”
New music is always in the works with Frances already planning another album next year. “The new album is coming along well. I'm hoping early next year we will have started recording and then release it mid next year. It's just a matter of continuing to write and putting [songs] together”, she says.
Described as 'one to watch' and a 'rising star of blues and jazz' by ABC Jazz's Mal Stanley, Frances wants to establish her name. “My main dream is to be a performing, recording artist. I love performing in Australia, but I feel like I'd love to be travelling internationally and be reaching the markets that are in the US because I know it's a lot bigger than here.
“I think with time, and maybe with the next recording, I'll be able to establish my sound more and more with each recording that we do. "I won't necessarily be calling myself a jazz artist, but I'll be able to establish a sound that hopefully people can recognised as the 'Frances Madden sound'.”
Frances Madden Shows
Sat 23 Sep - The Basement (Sydney)6-7 Oct - The Timeless Way Cafe (Hobart)
13-14 Oct - Paris Cat Jazz Club (Melbourne)
27-28 Oct - Doo-bop Jazz Bar (Brisbane)
Sun 5 Nov - Wangaratta Jazz Festival
