Jaynee

Jaynee is the performer, the band and the music all combined into one small, yet strikingly beautiful package.
Jaynee, real name Jane Mina Burns, is the product of a mixed heritage marriage between a Filipina and a Scotsman; such a rare combination was sure to produce a unique individual with eclectic tastes that permeates all the way through to her music.

Her parents, both from musical families full of guitarists, singers and percussionists, had the suspicion that their daughter would have performing aspirations as from the age of 4 she used to stand up on top of her toy box in the living room and sing and dance to Whitney Houston's Dance With Somebody before slowing it down with Greatest Love of All. At that moment they knew that they would have to harness these gifts and promptly enrolled her at Sylvia Youngs Theatre School where she would walk the same path as other London performers such as The Saturdays Vanessa White, Sugababes Jade Ewen and Leona Lewis.

At SYTS, she studied Dance, Drama and most importantly, Singing in order to develop the naturally emotive voice that she had been given. She won parts in various commercials, films and television programmes but The Saint and Harry Potter (and the Chamber of Secrets) were most memorable for the young performer.

As well as being involved in the performance side of the showbiz scene, she also made sure that music, as an academic subject, was taken seriously. She was actively involved in school choirs and orchestras, right through from Primary to Secondary school culminating in performances with the Gospel Choir at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Fairfield Halls, Croydon. Jaynee also took the opportunities to perform solos within these choirs as often as possible, showcasing her skills as a budding vocalist.

She also took piano lessons while at school, and was keen to take music as a GCSE option. Receiving an A grade for music GCSE was one of my greatest achievements at school. (She also received 9 other GCSEs graded A-B)

After completing secondary school, Jaynee knew that she had to pursue her musical ambitions further, with the intention of developing her voice, and did this by winning a place at the renowned BRIT School (British Recording Industry Trust) in Croydon, South London were artists such as Amy Winehouse, Jessie J and Adele had studied. It was here that Jaynee began to develop her talent for songwriting and began to collaborate with other young musicians, feeding her taste for live music and performance.

Jaynee has said: The BRIT School was an amazing experience. Being immersed in such a creative environment with other people like me really showed me that this [performing] is what I want to do with my life. I loved it! If I could do it all over again, I would!

After finishing at BRIT, she decided to continue her musical education by studying for a degree in Popular Music Performance at the Tech Music Schools where the keep music live ethos was most prevalent. It is here where she met some of the people who constitute the Jaynee band today. Weekly performance helped her to cultivate the individual stage presence that audiences can see today but it was the demand for different styles that really opened Jaynee up to the diversity that now envelops her music. Each semester would focus on a new genre such as Rock, Funk, Blues, Folk, Country, Soul, Jazz and R'n'B.

This course also allowed Jaynee to understand the science behind recording music whilst taking modules in sequencing and live sound; enabling Jaynee to become familiar with Pro Tools which would be the destination platform for laying down her songs.

 

www.jaynee.net

Jaynee