Got the Bug is one of France’s earliest Jazz compositions, which was inspired by Thelonious Monk.

Composed during her student days, this Boogie Woogie piano piece pays homage to the early Jazz piano style. Depending on the ability of the performer, the piece can be played as is, or embellished and extended through improvisation.

A standard 12-bar blues in F that lands frequently on the #4 and flat 7, this tune uses eighth and quarter note triplets to create a melodic and quirky melody.

The Three Faces of Eve: The Child is a work that forms part of a larger Suite composed by three women composers; France, Sue Bluck and Cathy Travers, from Perth, Western Australia, in 1994. It was commissioned by the Western Australian Jazz society, and was a collaborative work featuring three female Jazz artists and a number of Jazz and Classical musicians from Perth.  The Three Faces of Eve is an exploration into three stages of a woman’s life, with each composer creating a suite to represent a different stage.

The Child is composed for Jazz rhythm section plus two violins, oboe, saxophone and trombone.  France tried to capture the playfulness and innocence of childhood by drawing on energetic rhythms and quoting nursery rhymes.

Flight Memory, libretto by Alana Valentine, is a Jazz lyric suite that tells the story of Australian inventor, David Warren. Through song, his genius is remembered, his suffering and ridicule felt and his contribution to aviation safety honoured.  A staged work with spoken word and narration, “Flight Memory” comprises 10 discrete songs:

• Crystal Set
• That’s Not Why
• Beginnings
• Fatal Fog
• Stones to Bread
• The Family Jewels
• Corner of Hell
• Negativity Rap
• Whispered Truth
• Red Tape Reg
• Voices of the Dead

Directed by Caroline Stacey, The Street Theatre, Canberra, Flight Memory received its world premiere in 2019. The multi-award nominated Jazz song suite featured renowned vocalists Liam Budge, Leisa Keen and award-winning Michelle Nicolle.

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