Melissa Lesnie & Jean-Baptiste Franc
Biography Melissa Lesnie & Jean-Baptiste Franc
Melissa Lesnie
Born in Australia, Mélissa studied Musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium before moving to Paris. She has performed at many of the iconic jazz venues in the French capital, including Le Petit Journal, Le Bal Blomet, Le Piano Vache, 38 Riv and Le Barbizon. She also sings at restaurants and hotels including Les Deux Magots, Le Crowne Plaza and Lutetia Hotel’s Bar Josephine. She has paid tribute to Josephine Baker in official events organised by the Mairie of the 13th arrondissement (inauguration of a sculpture in Josephine Baker’s honour) and at Mme Baker’s former residence at Le Vésinet for the Journées du Patrimoine. With the jazz collective Octave et Anatole, she sang for the 2022 ceremony honouring recipients of the Legion of Honour. Overseas concerts have brought Melissa to Croatia and to Cambodia (where she has sang at the Raffles hotels in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and at the famed Knai Bang Chatt resort in Kep).
Melissa has recorded four albums, including two projects with the pianist Jean-Baptiste Franc (Stride Piano Champion of the world, 2018). She has collaborated closely with the composer JC Hopkins (Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux). She relishes the Great American Songbook and swing repertoire, connecting with her audience through good old-fashioned storytelling and a delicately spun musical phrase. She sings Billie Holiday with fresh ears… and fresh heartache. Melissa also secretly plays theremin.
