Jazz Curtis

Jazz Curtis
Home and Away character
Portrayed by	Rachel Gordon
Duration	2007-08
First appearance	18 June 2007
Last appearance	21 May 2008
Introduced by	Julie McGauran
Classification	Former; recurring
Profile
Occupation	Secretary
Home	Sydney
Family Husband Kevin Freeman Sons Drew Curtis Stepdaughters Bree Freeman Essie Freeman

Jacinta "Jazz" Curtis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Rachel Gordon.^[1] She made her first on-screen appearance on 18 June 2007, and left on 3 October the same year. She returned on 27 February 2008^[2] before leaving again on 21 May of that year.

Character development

Rachel Gordon said of her portrayal of Jazz Curtis, "I’ve actually really enjoyed this role on Home and Away. It’s been a lot of fun and very glamorous because the role’s shiny on the outside but gritty underneath...It was suitably humbling when I found out I was being cast for the role of a mother to a guy in his 20s! But it actually really works for the character that I’m playing, although the mother-son relationship is reversed. He’s more the parent and she’s the irresponsible one. They’re more like buddies than mother and son. But I’ve loved all the roles I’ve played."^[3]

Storylines

Jazz arrives in the bay to try to make amends with her son Drew Curtis (Bobby Morley), who she had sent to boarding school when he was only young. He rejects her at first, but he moves in with her after he uses her cheque book to buy himself a car. She begins a brief relationship with Tony Holden (Jon Sivewright). During this time she exposes the fact that Drew's friend, Jules Munroe (Joel Phillips) made a pass at her when he was younger, prompting Jules to leave.

Jazz contacts her solicitor Dane Jordans (Myles Pollard) and later tries to seduce Dane into withholding her mother's inheritance from Drew. Morag Bellingham (Cornelia Frances) discovers Jazz had seduced a member of staff from her mother's care home and Dane refuses to support her in this legal battle.

Jazz is also involved in a divorce case with her husband Kevin Freeman, who wants to reconcile with her. However, this falls through when Drew exposes Jazz's affair with Tony to him, and Kevin leaves taking his daughters, Bree and Essie with him.

Drew tries to drive Jazz away from town after faking a powercut at her home, but it backfires when a fire starts, nearly killing Jazz. Drew agrees to give Jazz his inheritance, on the condition she leaves Summer Bay. Jazz takes the money and departs.

Several months later, following the death of Drew's uncle, Dan Baker (Tim Campbell) Jazz returns for his funeral and begins arguing with Dan's ex-wife Amanda Vale (Holly Brisley) much to the chagrin of Dan's widow, Leah Patterson-Baker (Ada Nicodemou). She tries restart her relationship with Tony but he tells her he is now involved with Rachel Armstrong (Amy Mathews). Jazz then takes a job at Summer Bay High working for Martin Bartlett (Bob Baines) as his secretary and begins dating Miles Copeland (Josh Quong Tart). In order to keep her job, She blackmails Martin when she spots him an underground fight. However, Miles finds out and dumps her.

Jazz later gets into a fight with Christine Jones (Elizabeth Alexander) at Jack Holden (Paul O'Brien) and Martha MacKenzie's (Jodi Gordon) engagement party. She confides in Tony that she still loves him and wants to change. He suggests she leaves Summer Bay to start a new life in the city near Drew, which she does.

Reception

For her portrayal of Jazz, Gordon received a nomination for "Best Newcomer" at the first Digital Spy Soap Awards.^[4]

References

1. Curtis, Jacinta - Character Biographies - Home and Away
2. Rachel Gordon
3. "RACHEL Gordon is bidding farewell to the fictitious beachside enclave of Summer Bay and going global," AdelaideNow (September 09, 2007).
4. Green, Kris (21 March 2008). "Digital Spy Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 27 March 2009.