CARRIAGE, Leigh

Leigh Carriage is an Australian composer, singer-songwriter, jazz vocalist and educator. She holds a PhD in composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has taught songwriting, arranging, vocal studies and ensemble performance at Southern Cross University. Her work as an educator has particularly supported women and young musicians in regional communities.
Carriage’s compositions combine jazz, contemporary song and vocal improvisation. They are primarily written for voice with jazz ensemble, commonly including piano, guitar, double bass, drums and wind instruments. She has performed at numerous Australian and international jazz festivals, including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival.
Her album Mandarin Skyline (2013), consisting of original songs, was nominated for an Australian Jazz Bell Award. The album Weave (2016) received the North Coast Entertainment Industry Award for Album of the Year. Piano-and-vocal editions of the songs from both albums have also been published. In 2022, she received the Australian Women in Music Humanitarian Award.