Bio

New Zealand musician and songwriter Jaqualyn Taimana Williams is a self-describes Polynesian Asian Caucasian multi-racial person a mother of four and a registered early childhood teacher.

At age 50, Jaqi released her powerful, exhilarating and engaging 16 track rock/pop album Statues Of Liberty in October 2019. Recorded at Kog Recording Studio with the track production expertise of Tim Skedden (The Feelers, Babysitters Circus) and the mastering skills of Chris Chetland, this collection of songs represents the best and most popular works emerging over decades of songwriting and performing.

A gutsy artist whose lyrics track her inter-human battles and emotional depths over many years, Jaqi says: “It’s a triumph for me, a body of work that is truly dynamic and diverse and plays through beautifully as a whole album.”

In 2015, Jaqi recovered from a partial mastectomy at North Shore hospital and went on to create the eight-song bilingual children’s album Waiata Tamariki with Ian Rushton at Blacksands Studio. In this album, Jaqi combines her professional teaching skills and knowledge with her natural songwriting talents to create a teaching resource for language learners in Aotearoa.

Tracks from the children’s album are getting radio airplay in NZ, Australia and the USA mainly. There are constant heartwarming compliments from teachers and parents who have the Waiata Tamariki CD and booklet. In 2020, Jaqi performed live at Urban Flava, a Music For Parks event in South Auckland just before the first lockdown.

Working with music education experts, ONZA and mentored by Senior Auckland University lecturer Robyn Trinick, Jaqi is delivering teacher workshops based on retelling Maori legends through sound and movement. The bilingual songs are especially useful in this context and as a result, the next children’s album will feature a track called Te Ika a Maui co-written by kindergarten children and recorded to extend their musical learning journey.

“I do this as a language learner as much as a teacher. I was not brought up in a Maori-speaking home and I’m far from a te reo expert. What I am is a good learner of language. I create these songs to help myself and others learn te reo. With short, repeated simple phrases and words and the English translation already within the song, I can help listeners (children, teachers, parents) to say/sing and understand the Maori words. Research shows that using the medium of song to help people learn te reo actually works.”

Even though she wrote her first “real” song at age 7, Jaqi’s professional music career began at age 18 at the Arts Centre in Christchurch fronting a covers band formed by University students. She ended up playing keyboard, vocals and guitar professionally in Christchurch’s top hotel bands and duos. Over the years Jaqi has gradually stockpiled an extensive range of catchy and punchy original very Kiwi songs, comedy songs, songs written in te reo Maaori and bilingual songs for children.

As a student of performing arts at Hagley Theatre Co in 1995, Jaqi began to be hired as a singing jester on bus trips. This led on to the development of stand-up comedy routines and a context to perform comedy songs. She has performed at iconic historical bars Kitty O’Brien’s and The Temple in Auckland, Bath St Bar in Dunedin and the Wunderbar and Dux Lux in Christchurch alongside Rhys Darby, Guy Williams and Grant Lobban (Damo from Shortland Street).

In the female acoustic duo The Mona Lisas, she toured Germany in 1998 with a collection of original folk/country/rock recordings. Her rock-style band Mothership was played regularly on Cry music TV, and later her multi-cultural line-up Manu Taniwha was aired on TV2’s Ground Zero music show in 1999.

In 2005 Jaqi’s electronica/country song Buying Heaven was included on an NZ Music Month CD sent out free with The Christchurch Press. Five years later, Jaqi celebrated the production of a homemade compilation of her recordings over two decades, Crowning Jewels with a live show at Fat Eddie’s. Her final performance as a Christchurch resident was Lunchtime in The Square, Christchurch 2011.

Following the earthquakes, Jaqi moved to Southland and won the Female Solo section of the 2011 Glen Country Music Club’s annual Talent quest. She played at Speight’s Alehouse and Waxy O’Shea’s Irish Bar and opened the Queens Park Waitangi Day concert in Invercargill. Like any true humanitarian Aquarius, Jaqi has performed to raise funds to help relief efforts in the Philippines and at the 2013 Relay For Life Cancer Society event. Jaqi performed an acoustic originals show at The Church in Dunedin as part of the 2011 Fringe Festival.
In 2021 Jaqi moved to Kirikiriroa Hamilton and performed a family-friendly set at the Hamilton Garden Arts Festival and at the Turangawaewae Regatta before the Maori King. In June 2022 Jaqi & Jade hit the stage for Matariki at Hamilton Lake Domain and at Puketepapa Manu Aute Kite Day atop Mt Roskill.

Links

• Artist Website
• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Youtube Page
• Instagram Page
• SoundCloud Page
• Spotify Page
• Apple Music Page