Many developments in contemporary music draw attention to blending different styles, particularly when artists find ways to incorporate multiple influences into their work. Across various genres, performers and songwriters occasionally venture into unfamiliar territory to reshape existing categories. These endeavors can create distinctive contributions that encourage new audiences to explore traditions rooted in jazz, gospel, and soul. Such explorations have gained traction in Australia, where musicians balance innovation with long-standing practices. It is in this shifting context that Simone Waddell’s career is set.
Simone Waddell is a jazz singer, songwriter, and vocal instructor born in Sydney, Australia, on December 16, 1975. She has a career across various regions of the international music scene that centers on the interconnection of jazz with multiple genres. Some commentators point to her presence in the Australian music scene, where she has participated in local and foreign performances, instructed vocalists, and collaborated on projects. She has gained recognition in various fields, such as traditional jazz communities, soul-based groups, and music education projects. We can understand her influence on Australian and international music forums by studying her background and progress.
Waddell was first exposed to music by her father, Graham, who played the piano in church and introduced her to gospel at a young age. In Sydney, she also heard a variety of styles in school and in residential settings, which complemented her early keyboard and vocal training and arrangement efforts. Waddell studied classical piano and voice while being involved in contemporary genres simultaneously. She also trained in dance and drama during her youth. Early training included attending and later working at McDonald College High School of the Performing Arts, where she explored performing possibilities that eventually led to more stable foundational skills.
Waddell was the first Australian to receive a scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1995 as part of a bilateral agreement between Southern Cross University and Berklee. Berklee’s Dean, Warwick Carter, visited Australia, heard her perform an audition, and invited her to study. Waddell studied at Berklee with Dennis Montgomery, Maggi Scott, and other highly proficient instructors. In 1997, she combined her American studies with her Southern Cross University credits to achieve a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Music.
Waddell later attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, also on scholarship, to seek a Master’s Degree in Performance, which she eventually earned in 2018. She received academic and vocal instruction from Australian jazz vocalist Kerrie Biddell at the time. In 2017, the University of Auckland organized the 40th Australian and New Zealand Musicological Society Conference, where she presented her research thanks to an academic grant.
Waddell won the Nescafé Big Break in 1995, marking her first significant professional achievement. She used the prize money and motivation from the win to create and release new art. During those years, she performed in various venues while touring the US, Japan, and China. Take My Love and Make It Happen (1996), her first full-length album, set the stage for her later jazz, soul, and gospel experiments and succeeding works.
She also collaborated with several tribute bands, such as The Marvin Gaye Experience, Elvis to the Max, and The Adele Experience. While these acts demonstrated Waddell’s skill in performing popular work, they also placed her among a group of musicians who have branched from mainstream music to jazz and other modern genres. Apart from these musical endeavors, she was also elected as a judge for the Nescafé Big Break competition as a jazz and blues expert, and also served on the grand final selection panel, following her victory in that same competition, thus establishing her as a mentor to other emerging Australian artists.
Waddell’s music is jazz, gospel, and soul-influenced but also draws from funk, pop, rhythm, and blues. As she continued advancing in her career, she experimented with the limits of vocal phrasing and harmonic concepts, often combining traditional jazz progressions with more contemporary sounds. Numerous Australian jazz vocalists have attempted this fusion. Waddell’s work fits into that spectrum by introducing consistent themes and melodic structures that reflect a background in church music and broader pop culture.
Her academic interest in interpreting jazz standards and her collaboration with professionals in different genres helped form a particular approach to vocal technique. She has been known to emphasize lyrical context, expressive timing, and controlled intonation, though these observations typically come from analysts who examine her live concerts or recorded material. The result is a musical direction that resonates with a range of listeners, bridging pockets of the jazz audience with those who align more closely with gospel or pop.
Waddell released her third album in 2015, My Romance, a jazz record, and her fourth album in 2016, Surrender, an originals record, launching these albums to sold-out live audiences in Sydney, Australia.
A notable endeavor in Waddell’s discography arrived in 2022 when she released The Art of Collaboration, her fifth studio album. The album contained music performances by more than 60 Australian jazz musicians, including James Morrison, Tommy Emmanuel, and Paul Grabowsky. The project included her new compositions and well-known Australian hits transcribed in varied ensemble configurations. Industry observers referred to the significance of the release, which was entered into four categories in the 2023 Grammy Awards. It was also the best-selling Australian jazz record of 2022, a measure of the interest in multi-artist, large-scale cooperative projects in the domestic music industry.
Waddell has performed in clubs, theatres, festivals, and events in China, Japan, the US, and Australia. She has entertained at events attended by national leaders in Sydney, Australia, at Parliament House. Waddell has toured across Australia with Grammy-nominated artist Taylor Dayne, singing backing vocals and playing keyboard, and has performed on upscale cruise ships such as Sydney’s Captain Cook Cruises and Boston’s Odyssey Cruise. She performed for audiences more receptive to mainstream jazz offerings at festivals, including Sydney’s Manly Jazz Festival, and various dedicated jazz venues.
These appearances often brought Waddell into contact with other professional musicians, expanding her network and enabling further collaborations. In addition, she has recorded in numerous studios where technical staff from different backgrounds contributed expertise on production techniques. Her catalog, comprising five studio albums to date, three EPs, and multiple singles, appears on numerous platforms, including music services in China, which presented her with additional pathways to international audiences.
Apart from recording and live performances, Waddell has devoted part of her career to coaching and mentoring through the You Have a Voice organization. She started voice coaching at age 16 and later formalized her methods when she founded You Have a Voice in 2008. For skill development and personal improvement, this organization conducts seminars, provides private sessions, and occasionally organizes natural creative retreats. Waddell’s activism for social and legal reforms related to sexual assault, domestic violence, and other types of abuse intersects with her work in these areas. Her quest for safer surroundings and more awareness for survivors was aided by documented events in her personal life, such as a court action against a former spouse, who was arrested and criminally charged for crimes against her.
In 2022, Waddell released The Art of Collaboration through Ambition Music, a division of Ambition Entertainment. Her self-produced theatrical presentation, The Great Ladies of Jazz, was launched to enthusiastic audiences in 2024, and Unforgettable, another self-produced show based on the American Songbook, has been announced for performances in 2025 and beyond, suggesting continuing engagement with performance projects with Ambition Entertainment. Observers note that these ventures may expand her influence among new audiences and support ongoing dialogue about the place of jazz in Australia’s cultural discourse. Many of her future goals are rooted in reaching additional listeners through reimagined songs from jazz history and potential collaborative efforts with peers in music education.
Waddell’s position in Australian jazz is connected to several factors, including her early introduction to gospel, her Berklee College scholarship, and her experiences leading international performances. Her musical output reflects traditional elements and broader contemporary interests, while her instructional platform demonstrates a commitment to cultivating vocal and creative talent at different levels of expertise. Looking ahead, she appears poised to continue exploring new directions in jazz performance, recording, and mentorship, contributing to an ongoing exchange of ideas about how jazz can evolve within changing cultural contexts.
