Composing music career balance: Jessica Stuart on scoring a viral doc soundtrack, songwriters’ series, confident competence

Jessica Stuart is a multi-instrumentalist and an acclaimed songwriter with an international fan base. Not only taking the lead on stage, she’s also a skilled producer and in-demand side person working across genres. I've known Jessica for over a decade and have been inspired by her since our collaborations on stage as performing songwriters.

I was especially moved when I saw  a documentary she both stars in and composed the soundtrack for. The CBC documentary, spearheaded by Oscar winning director Daniel Roher, follows Jessica’s decades-later return to Japan to look for her childhood friend who had mysteriously disappeared. In our chat, she talks about the shock of the film's viral, worldwide reach with millions watching the most intimate moments in her search for someone she thought she’d lost forever.

We had so much to catch up on and I was eager to ask Jessica about what she has learned on her way to becoming a top-tier musician, touring internationally and earning big stage opportunities with major musical theatre productions. We talk about what is worth working towards- like better conditions for musicians to be appreciated. 

Beyond her creative projects, Jessica opens up about going to therapy and changing her perspective on making confident choices. She told me about how deepening her focus by refusing to compromise on quality has led to both better work life balance and more exciting career opportunities. 

We dive into an ongoing success first born from a rejection: her songwriters’ residency “JS Presents”, held monthly at Toronto’s treasured haven for musicians, the Tranzac Club. She has created a reflective space of her own for her and other songwriters to perform in an intimate “listening room” setting, where artists are given the respect and compensation they deserve- along with the opportunity to world debut a new composition! 

Jessica’s dedication to building spaces for musicians to feel safe in experimenting and creating shines through wherever she goes. This episode brought back so many music making memories for me, and even if you aren’t a musician yourself, I know you’ll connect with Jessica’s story.

- - -

When Vancouver-born, guitarist, koto player, vocalist and songwriter Jessica Stuart moved to Toronto, quitting work as vintage clothing buyer for a career in music, her goals were simple – release an album of original songs, hear her music on the radio, and satisfy her wanderlust on tour around the world. Stuart’s trio The Jessica Stuart Few checked the final box with their first Asian tour (and Top 40 single in Japan) in 2013, and since then, have played music festivals and been heard on airwaves from Australia to Germany and beyond.

Having made a name for herself through signature rhythmic and harmonically adventurous jazzy art pop, Jessica has tapped into a new creative stream under artist name, JESSA, smashing layers of playful guitars, koto and vocals into an indie-jazz-pop package, singing about trying to keep the joy in everyday life while navigating this weird world and all of its curve-balls.

Also an in-demand side player, Stuart can be found on stage supporting original artists’ projects (i.e. Fefe Dobson; Wild Black; WiztheMC), as member of popular tribute acts (i.e. Idioteque; UK Calling), and as sub guitarist for Mirvish Productions’ production of SIX.

If you hadn’t yet heard Jessica’s music through her Best Album win at the Independent Music Awards, her five songs in the finals of the Canadian Songwriting Competition, or the record crushing, tear-jerking CBC documentary about her time living in Japan as a child directed by Academy Award winner Daniel Roher (Finding Fukue, Nov 2018, 14 million + views, featuring Stuart’s musical score), then you’ll get to know her through her latest full-length album, Simple Songs and newest single, Give It Back, It’s Mine.