Leigh Jones 'Music in My Soul' album

Peak Records presents the release of Leigh Jones’ debut album Music in My Soul on September 9th. Blue-Eyed Soul Songstress Leigh Jones is described as a natural soulful white female R&B singer. Groomed for her debut CD by legendary Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Stax Records executive Al Bell; Leigh has recorded an assured and semi-autobiographical gem.

Only once in an era does a young performer come along who is so dazzling, so captivating and so undeniable in their talent that they gather the gale force of the most respected icons in the business beneath their wings. Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Leigh Jones is that amazing once in a lifetime artist. Having made passionate believers and hands-on supporters out of both Motown Records founder Berry Gordy AND Stax Records maverick Al Bell, Leigh Jones is fortified to take on the international pop music marketplace with her powerful debut album, "Music in My Soul".

Destined to be heralded as possibly the most naturally soulful white female R&B singer since Teena Marie, Leigh (pronounced lee) has recorded an assured and semi-autobiographical gem of a debut. The 12-song album literally swings from the mission statement title track (complete with scat lines and lusciously layered backgrounds) to a contemporary spin on the DeBarge classic “All This Love” specially produced for her by smooth jazz giant Wayman Tisdale. Pop production great Walter Afanasieff (along with Clark Anderson) got behind Leigh with the bittersweet funk of “Freefall” while songwriting legend Bruce Fisher (composer of “You Are So Beautiful,” among scores of other classics) worked with Leigh on nearly half of the album’s songs. Fisher states, “Leigh Jones is a pleasure to work with, a delight to listen to and a joy to behold.”

Compositionally, Leigh turns in a finger-snappin’ piano jazz rave up titled “Cain’t Get Enough of Your Love” as well as the lowdown backbeat blues “I’m Leavin’ You.” And in what is the coup of the year, she inspired the legendary Berry Gordy to come out of retirement to produce the song “Cold in L.A.,” an introspective meditation on the façade of phoniness that naïve hopefuls find when they first arrive in Hollywood. It’s a story Leigh knows all to well as she has been diligently honing her chops and taking her knocks on the scene for a few years now.

The daughter of a prolific Hollywood session singer/former Berklee School of Music instructor and the graduate of a Los Angeles County High School for The Arts (Josh Groban was a classmate), Leigh Jones has been developing a steady buzz ever since she was taken under the wing of industry veteran Kerry Gordy. “I had a concept for an idea unique to the marketplace,” he states. “I told my staff to find me a beautiful young girl who had soul at the very core of her being. They brought me over a 100 girls to audition, but when Leigh sat next to me - before she even opened her mouth - I knew she was the girl. And when I got her in the studio, she was even better than I could have imagined.” After Leigh and Kerry matched wits on Billie Holiday’s proverbial “God Bless the Child,” they’ve been sworn and loyal partners in creative crime ever since.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to be a singer,” says Leigh who first sang in public performing the Pointer Sisters’ “American Music” at a first grade talent show. “I loved R&B from the very beginning. My family had a lot of jazz around the house. And my father worked closely with the great Clare Fischer, so we had lots of great musicians coming through our home. I’d accompany my dad to sessions, soaking up the vibe, and even got to sing on a Power Rangers clip.” Leigh gravitated toward songwriting at a young age and has been working diligently at it ever since.

Leigh has held her own on the exclusive late night jam scene of the session musician elite at Studio City spots such as Cozy’s, showcased all over Southern California from Hollywood’s The Knitting Factory to Santa Monica’s Temple Bar, shared stages with legends such as the Temptations and Thelma Houston, and opened for stars such as Brian McKnight and John Legend. That she is an artist with instincts beyond her young years is also evident in the jazzier standout Quiet Storm album tracks “Same Game” (on which – over muted trumpet, brushed drums and reverent organ - she warns a lover that while he’s out creepin’, she can do the same things, too) and the galvanizing “Words You Never Say” (an eleventh hour love confession of dreamy, celestial wizardry).

Inspired by a combination of Mariah Carey’s dynamic vocal gifts, the jazz essence of Ella Fitzgerald, the boundary crossing sensibilities of both Nat and Natalie Cole, and the burning fire of Chaka Khan, Leigh Jones is a full-package prodigy of beauty, talent and drive. Billy Meshel, a key consultant on the project and the gentleman who assisted Clive Davis in the founding of Arista Records, states, “Leigh Jones’ vocal instrument is fantastic! Her style is fluid, sexy and refreshing…unlike many of the generic songstresses of today. This young woman is a star!” Seconding that emotion, Kerry Gordy adds, “Leigh Jones has that ‘It’ factor. She’s cool, she’s gorgeous and she’s real. Leigh is incredibly talented – a singer’s singer, a good songwriter and a producer’s dream. I am privileged and proud that we are partners.”

With Music in My Soul finally completed and its release eminent, Leigh can’t wait to hit the road with her hand-picked band to share her music with the world and make believers out of more soul fans like she did with legendary former Stax Records President Al Bell.

Mr. Bell, who personally screened every song choice and performance of Leigh’s before it made the album, observes, “Leigh Jones is an extremely talented and rare young singer who is uniquely gifted musically. She blends all of the elements of pop, R&B, Jazz and Blues, and brings them all masterfully into the ‘now.’ Throughout my career I have never seen or heard of anyone like Leigh Jones. She’s authentic and she can do it all!”

“Throughout my career I have been blessed to discover many great musical talents. I feel Leigh Jones is destined to be one of the next great stars. She can do it all – Pop, R&B, Jazz and Blues. She’s awesome!” – Berry Gordy

biography
"Now that we're vibing right / I feel it's o.k. for me to open up myself for everyone to see / Tell my story in three-part harmony / Every chord reflecting the heart of me / So many things are going on / I find the answers in my song / So I'm-a sing until the daybreak comes / So y'all can understand where I'm coming from." - Leigh Jones (from "Music in My Soul")

Rare is the artist with the gift to so naturally convey musical artistry direct from the soul and also be a striking eyeful of beauty that shines from the inside out. With her passion for authentic bedrock styles of R&B, Jazz, Blues and Pop, Los Angeles native Leigh Jones is just the artist to make you a believer. She's already done so with luminaries that stretch from Motown Records founder Berry Gordy to former Stax Records executive Al Bell - men who have seen, groomed and launched the very best and are rolling up their sleeves once again to support the blooming, once in a lifetime talent possessed by Leigh Jones.

Leigh Jones is making her long overdue debut with her exquisite and perfectly titled album Music in My Soul on Peak Records. Working with seasoned and knowing veterans that include manager Kerry Gordy, songwriter Bruce Fisher, music consultant Billy Meshel, and a team of songwriter friends who know the lady oh so well, Leigh Jones has slow cooked a feast of eclectic and soulful songs that speak directly from her heart and soul to yours.

"These are my songs," shares Leigh who also co-wrote two of the twelve numbers and made the very unusual, artistically mature decision to have a couple of other songs she wrote removed because she felt they could be done better at a later time. "You can't place these songs with anybody else. We made every effort for me to not come across as a cookie cutter singer trying to sound like whoever is all over the radio at the moment. I'm recording music that's very me and totally different. When we came to Andi Howard at Peak, without any solicitation from Kerry or I, she picked every song that we preferred. She truly understood the best part of my artistry that I've been shooting for - my jazzier R&B oriented stuff."

We're talking songs from a woman who can't stay away from a hot, on-and-poppin' late night jam session as depicted in the CD's opening title track, the sexy, finger-snappin' piano rave "Cain't Get Enough of Your Love" and the lowdown backbeat blues of "I'm Leavin' You." Leigh also traveled to Oklahoma to hang with bassist/producer Wayman Tisdale for a delicious cover of DeBarge’s `80s classic "All This Love" then got with pop guru Walter Afanasieff for the bittersweet funk of "Freefall." Pure soul just oozes from every pore of this richly gifted artist.

Leigh Jones has always known that she wanted to be a singer. And the first music she gravitated to as a child was soul music, singing the Pointer Sisters' "American Music" in her first grade talent show. The daughter of Gary & Annie Jones - both singers and pianists in their own right - Leigh grew up surrounded by many of L.A.'s finest session musicians and attended many of her father's gigs as a studio singer. Around the house, there was plenty of classic vocal jazz by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole that Leigh soaked up like a sponge. The gritty blues of Etta James set her soul on fire, and on the more contemporary side, Leigh also had a major thing for Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and the dynamic vocal range of Mariah Carey. Leigh brought all of these influences to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where her raw talent first began to be buffed to a finer polish.

Interestingly, the way the music industry works, Leigh found herself initially battling producers for the right to do the music she felt most comfortable singing. "My first producer had me cut three songs in more of an alternative rock vein," she says, "but it just didn't feel right. When he shopped them but nothing happened, I was actually relieved. But this was also the time when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were just coming out, so every other producer I met wanted to turn me into one of them - showing my mid-drift and dancing! I knew I had to work on myself to show who I really am. That involved me doing more of my own writing, finding the strongest part of my vocal register, as well as figuring out what I was going to wear. It's hard for people to look beyond those kinds of things."

Things brightened considerably when her friend Lorenzo Pryor introduced her to Kerry Gordy who was looking for a fresh and unique new soul singer to work with. "When I met with Kerry, I had no idea I was going for some kind of 'audition.' He's kind of sneaky like that. That first day in his living room I sang "Smile" (the Charlie Chaplin standard) a cappella. Then, with Kerry at the piano, we did Billie Holiday’s 'God Bless the Child' impromptu. We’ve bonded ever since."

That bond led to them meticulously crafting the wonderful selection of songs on Music in My Soul. Among the highlights are the clever Quiet Storm-ready "Words You Never Say" (produced by Carl McGregor who also contributed the tight bass line) and the cautionary fable "Same Game." "I actually thought that might be too jazzy for me when I first heard it,” Leigh confesses. "Kerry listened to my complaint...then told me to do it anyway! As I got into it, I found that the lyrics were so dead on. I don't think women say this as often as they should. 'Look, I'm not gonna sit here and cry. You can creep on me if you want to, but I'll be doing it, too. I'm not as meek as you think I am!' I thought it was refreshing to sing a song like this with that attitude."

Perhaps most special of all is one of the CD's earliest recordings "Cold in L.A.," a song about the phoniness naive newcomers find when they come to the big city. "That song means a lot to me," Leigh says, "having gone through so much here myself. I grew up in L.A., so I really understood it. I don't think there has been a song that's pinpointed and told that story so well." The other sweet thing about that particular song is that Berry Gordy himself came out of retirement to help her complete it to perfection. "At first he was directing Kerry from the outside but every time we thought we'd gotten it right, he kept saying, 'You've almost got it!' Finally Kerry just said, 'Please come to the studio for just a couple of hours' because something was being lost in the translation. It turns out there was this one note he needed me to nail. Kerry had asked me about it before and I told him I couldn't do it. But when Mr. Berry Gordy asked me to do it, I got in that vocal booth and he scared it out of me on the first take! Actually it was just his presence that scared me because for all the warnings I got from people, he really was the sweetest man I've ever met."

Reflecting on the magic of Leigh Jones, Berry Gordy says, "Throughout my career I have been blessed to discover many great musical talents. I feel Leigh Jones is destined to be on of the next big stars. She's awesome!" Seconding that emotion, his son Kerry Gordy adds, "Leigh Jones has that 'It' factor. She's cool, she's gorgeous and she's real. Leigh is incredibly talented - a singer's singer, a good songwriter and a producer's dream. I am privileged and proud that we are partners." Taking in all the accolades, Leigh humbly states, "It's so flattering to have all these people behind me but it's also a little embarrassing. These are men who have worked with the very best. Not to take anything away from me, but sometimes it surprises me. It makes me want to work even harder."

It’s hard to imagine Leigh Jones working any harder, as driven as she is. It's taken her quite some time to arrive at this magical time when her debut album is about to be released. To keep her chops up, she sung on rap hooks for projects by the friends of her younger brothers. And to pay the bills, she sometimes fell back on her session experience to sing for movie trailers. "Going through the hard times really kept me in check," she shares, "made me hungry. Now all I want to do is gig every night for two shows a night. I'm willing to give this all I’ve got because it's all I’ve wanted to do."

Al Bell, who consulted with Kerry Gordy every step of the way in developing Leigh Jones and approved every final master, sums her up best:

"The two most important things I look for in an artist is that they be unique and that they have genuine, God-given talent. Leigh can deal with R&B, Pop, Jazz and Blues - and quite frankly, you would not expect that from a white female artist. Very few have been able to pull that off except maybe Bonnie Raitt...and even she could take it just so far. I really feel Leigh Jones. She's got my undivided attention. And the best is yet to come."

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Leigh Jones - Music in My Soul