Just Smile

Singer/Actress Leslie Hyland Rodgers had an absolute ball venturing into jazz with the production of 'Just Smile'. With the encouragement of friends, family members and music coaches, Leslie finally decided to venture out of her comfort zone with Classical and Musical Theatre. Leslie tiptoed into jazz while performing with her band at various performances and social occasions and found that everyone wanted more. In an attempt to honor the requests for recordings, Leslie headed into the Gary Powell Studio and got to work. Gary, a composer and arranger for Disney for more than twenty years, encouraged Leslie to delve deeply into jazz. With his coaching and outstanding recording studio, Leslie had a rewarding time recording this album with the wonderful musicians Alex Coke, Rich Harney, Mark Lewis, Russell K. Shores and The Brothers - Phil Chidester, Paul Haake, Dave Evertson and Mike Kosacek. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leslie graduated from the Hockaday School with honors in music and majored in Vocal Performance at the University of Texas in Austin. Over the years, Leslie worked and trained for many more years as an actress and singer in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas while working in theatre, film, soaps, commercials and modeling. A few career highlights include performances in various theatres, such as The Long Beach Civic Light Opera, the Laguna Playhouse and the Odyssey Theatre; speaking roles in the soaps One Life to Live, Another World and The Bold & Beautiful; a supporting role in the independent film Loving Deadly (shown at the Cannes Film Festival); and several months as Andie MacDowell's stand-in on the film Multiplicity under the direction of Harold Ramis. Leslie had the privilege of rehearsing opposite Ms. MacDowell's co-star Michael Keaton. Leslie enjoyed filming NeTune's Big Adventure, an experimental film short directed by Academy Award Winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter of the movie Titanic. Filmed at the Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles in conjunction with 20th Century Fox, NeTune was shown in all the major film studios in Hollywood. In Texas, Leslie has enjoyed participating in some independent films and videos. Recently, she enjoyed playing the role of a pastor for ABC Family TV's The Lying Game. Leslie worked with Broadway directors and composers Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse of Annie fame and had leading roles in two of their projects: a revival of Two by Two slated for Broadway and Nightingale which intended to tour in China and then open Off-Broadway. Both projects had a nice run Off-Off Broadway in New York but were scrapped when the funding fell through. Leslie has appeared in national television commercials for various products, as well as print and runway modeling in everything from sleepwear to bridal gowns. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA. In May of 2000, Leslie's mother was diagnosed with cancer and was treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Her mother was terrified and asked Leslie to sing to help calm her nerves. Heartbroken to hear such fear in her mother's voice, Leslie sat at her mother's bedside and with her eyes closed, softly sang prayerful words and melodies to help her mother relax. Because her eyes were closed and her back was to the door, Leslie didn't realize that the nurse had opened the door to the room and the other cancer patients on the ward had gotten out of their beds and were gathered around listening. In that moment, Symphony of Soul was born. Leslie settled in Austin and founded Symphony of Soul, a nonprofit organization based in Austin that takes live music to people who are confined and facing challenging circumstances. With 75 professional musicians of all genres - classical, jazz, rock, blues and more - Symphony of Soul provides live music to people that are confined in hospitals, shelters, rehab centers and retirement homes. Though Leslie's mother survived the cancer and they had several wonderful and joyful years together, her mother later developed Alzheimer's. Leslie wa