Photos: Ben Hamilton (colour); James Robertshaw (black and white)
About Tazina
"Her smooth, seductive, yet powerful and rich voice lures listeners in..." The Mercury, Hobart Read reviews.
Hello, and thank you for visiting my site. For news about what I'm currently doing, click here. To find out a bit about me, read on….
Well, for as long as I can recall, I’ve sung. I remember as a child, pinning family visitors to the couch and making them listen to me perform something, anything! There’s nothing quite like a captive audience!
With people like Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and the like as backdrops to my young ears, I guess they kind of got under my skin and influenced my voice and writings.
Somehow, I then discovered ballads, jazz ballads, and fell in love with bringing their stories to life. Naturally, this lead me on to interpreting classic swing and bossa tunes too.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, I’ve sung jazz in London, Hastings, Brighton, Rye, Lewes (UK); in Sydney and Hobart (Australia); and at jazz festivals in Schleswig Holstein (Germany) and Whangarei (New Zealand).
In that time, I’ve recorded two jazz CDs:
“Tazina in concert Watch What Happens" - a live recording with a 4 piece band; and
"Pieces of Dreams" – a studio recording with vocals and piano, that also includes a few contemporary ballads.
While singing jazz has been at the forefront of my career for over 35 years, since a young teenager I’ve also been writing my own songs, my own stories. These are more earthy-acoustic in style and are my emotional responses to matters of the heart and situations of the world. In recent years, my songs have started to find a voice of their own as I’ve begun performing them accompanying myself on acoustic guitar and sometimes joined by musicians playing cello and muted trumpet adding colour to their moods.
"What struck me was not just the beauty of her voice... but the warmth and creativity of both her music and her lyrics..." GETOUT Magazine, Hobart. Read reviews.
After living in England for 13 years, I moved to South-West France in 2020 where I have started to record my own songs. The first of these, “Who Are You”, I released as a single in 2022. It is a chant-like song that I wrote in protest to the war in Ukraine. It's equally about all acts of political dominance at the sacrifice of people's safety and peace.
I don’t think I fit into any particular style and I don’t really want to. What’s important to me is that a song moves me and, whatever I sing, I simply hope that I bring its story to life for you.
Reviews
Reviews of Tazina's jazz album "Tazina in concert Watch What Happens":
"In this album, Tazina has burrowed down deep to find new ways to reveal the essence of each of these songs. Here she makes them her own.....The dynamic capacity of Tazina’s voice mirrors her message; she is able to enchant and engage us with her chameleon-like subtlety. Throughout the album she unashamedly reveals all the power she possesses yet also shows us the delicate, almost fragile quality of her voice."
Jody Kingston, Hobart, Statement from CD album sleeve
"Singer/composer Tazina Frank's debut CD is a reflection of the passion and energy she puts in to life and music-making. Watch What Happens showcases the expanse of Frank's sublime and powerful voice. Recorded from a recent live performance, the CD captures some wonderful moments and, in typical Frank style, the emotions run the full gamut during the performance. Her smooth, seductive, yet powerful and rich voice lures listeners in to a 72-minute journey through songs of love, life, hopes and dreams.....My Funny Valentine is an exceptional choice for Frank as it takes her voice through the full repertoire and exposes not one failing."
Louise North, The Mercury, Hobart, Australia
Review of a concert of Tazina's original songs:
"Tazina may already be a well-known singer to those jazz fans out there. At is@backspace on 27 March where she performed as part of 'Is Theatre Ltd's' launch week she told her audience that she rarely gets the opportunity to perform her original songs in Hobart. More often she'll be invited to venues to do covers. The covers are still her own soulful re-interpretations and no doubt special, but to my mind (and ear) she'd be hard-pressed to outdo her own original compositions, performed solo and acoustic, as witnessed at is@backspace.
What struck me was not just the beauty of her voice, which was at once strictly controlled and tenderly spontaneous, but the warmth and creativity of both her music and her lyrics. The lyrics were suggestive of fairytale and myth, being deeply symbolic reflections on often very personal experiences.
The music was varied, but accessible. There was extreme vocal power and there was the kind lull of a bedtime story. Tazina herself seemed comfortable amongst what was an intimate gathering. The venue resonated, the audience sat spellbound, quietly rocking with the music or just smiling. Warm applause greeted every song. Tazina is a self-proclaimed 'passionate voice' and I couldn't agree more. I highly recommend all getout readers keep an eye out in the gig guides for Tazina whether it be covers or original compositions, solo or accompanied. She will delight and move you."
Angela Warren - GETOUT Magazine, Hobart