Hello, I’m Jess.

I wear two hats in my professional life: musician and copywriter.

I’m driven by my passion for connection and communication. I explore this through the creation and sharing of music, and through writing; from poetic paragraphs to longer, more formal pieces of expository, descriptive and persuasive writing.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Communications, which I pursued to feed my curiosity for language. That journey saw me pursue a career in Operations and Communications and eventually I started my own business - which helps to pay the bills - called Deacon Rd.

In 2018 I walked away from the comforts of a full time job and answered the universe’s call for me to go back to study, and I spent two and a half years studying Jazz Performance at the New Zealand School of Music. This allowed me to find confidence and purpose to support my longstanding love affair with music, and helped me start to build a musical network.

I am also a mother of two amazing boys, Jack and Ollie, and partner to a beautiful man who shares my love of music.

I come from a musical family, and I am very proud of that. My Nanna - Irene Lamb - started the Playhouse Theatre in Glen Eden and was heavily involved in Auckland’s Children Light Opera. My mum - Margaret Medlyn - is an opera singer, and the Head of Classical Voice at NZSM. My aunty - Helen Medlyn - had a colourful career as a jazz and classical singer, too.

My parents and step-parents have done a fabulous job of introducing me to all kinds of music. My first albums - on cassette tape - were Bob Marley’s Legend, and Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road. Dad’s record and CD collection was (is!) extensive, eclectic and labelled in exacting detail.

I’ve always had a great ear and an OK voice but it’s not until I started really understanding how to use my voice, how to condition those muscles, and how to practise for improvement’s sake, that I became confident in telling people that I am in fact a singer. A vocalist. It’s a musical craft like any other, requiring dedication, great technique and regular practise.

I love what I do and I do what I love. Every day is interesting and invigorating, and it really feeds the soul. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I am Jess. Musician. Writer. Mother. Adventurer. Logophile. Grammar pedant. Eternal optimist. Risk-taker. Life-lover.

With an ear for music that speaks to the soul, Jess Deacon is a vocalist and composer whose musicianship is shared in varying forms. Taking technical craft from her opera singing mother, and having honed her jazz improvisation style while studying at the New Zealand School of Music, Jess’s vocals are resonant, controlled and emotive. As a composer and songwriter her sound and style is a blend of her most present influences: jazz, folk, choral and classic rock.

Jess’s love affair with music began while exploring her parents’ eclectic CD collection. As the daughter of opera singer Margaret Medlyn and niece of jazz singer Helen Medlyn, the music she was listening to was soul-stirring and captivating. Too young to understand the depth of this music at the time, Jess believes that music such as this plays an important part in the development of a person’s emotional intelligence and awareness.

Growing up Jess learned to play piano, cello and guitar, exploring music of all genres and writing some of her own songs when she was still at school. But it wasn’t until she was studying composition with John Psathas in 2004 that she was fully introduced to the breadth of possibility as a writer of music.

At that point life had other plans for Jess, and music became a part-time pursuit as she embraced new roles as a wife and a mother of two boys. During this time she gained a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Communication, held roles in Communications for some well-known New Zealand brands, and embarked on her profession as a writer.

After spending years as a wistful onlooker, and exploring her musical talents in solidarity, in 2018 Jess gave up the comforts of a full-time job and returned to New Zealand School of Music to study Jazz.

Being selected as the vocalist for the university’s Big Band - led by Rodger Fox - in 2019 and 2020, saw her perform on stage at some high profile events and venues, and take part in some recording projects.

As part of her final assessment at NZSM, Jess wrote original lyrics to the Herbie Hancock jazz standard, Dolphin Dance, which earned her great praise. This exploration of joining words and music underpins Jess’s ambitions as a songwriter.

For Wellington Jazz Festival 2021, Kāpiti-based Jess brought together an all-female ensemble for a performance at Paraparaumu’s renowned venue Te Raukura ki Kāpiti. Selling 238 tickets, fetching attention from local news outlets and radio and presenting a lineup of outstanding music - including original music - was an exciting addition to Kāpiti’s event calendar.

In July 2022 Jess presented a new work as part of Classical on Cuba - blending her musical influences; folk, classical and jazz - to challenge people’s perceptions of what musical elements can seamlessly traverse between traditional genres.

In 2023 Jess has been invited back to NZSM as a guest lecturer as part of the newly established songwriters course, and she is releasing her debut EP, “Lost in Love”. The EP will be performed at St Peters Hall, Paekākāriki with an eight-strong ensemble including three vocalists, strings, guitars and percussion. Along with curated lighting and sound design, and an unexpectedly delightful addition of ambient fragrance, the performance is set to be a truly sensory experience.

Regularly performing with ensembles across Kāpiti and Wellington, Jess is led by a love of music that stirs the soul, connects us as humans, and challenges the expectations of the modern musician.