Turning Jade to Gold : With a Steady-Selling Album and Hit Single, the R&B; Trio Is Proving a Worthy Investment for Its Creator, Giant Records

Ever since En Vogue demonstrated there’s a market for female R&B; vocal groups, every record label wants a piece of the action. LaFace Records hit with TLC, RCA came up with SWV (Sisters With Voices), and now Giant Records appears to have a gem in Jade.

Rather than wasting time finding a group by scouring clubs and sifting through audition tapes, Giant did it the easy way--by creating its own group.

Cassandra Mills, president of the label’s black music division, got the idea to form a female group early last year and by that March, she had a trio--Joi Marshall, Tonya Kelly and Di Reed.

The first step for Jade was “I Wanna Love You,” a single from the soundtrack of last year’s movie “Class Act.” The record wasn’t a smash, but did generate a buzz about Jade in R&B; circles. The debut album, “Jade to the Max,” came out late last year and has been a steady seller in the R&B; market. Recently, album sales got a boost toward the half-million level from the bouncy single “Don’t Walk Away,” which is now in the pop Top 10.

“Being part of a created group isn’t a problem for us,” said Marshall during an interview in Giant’s Beverly Hills office recently. “But it may sound too much like a calculated thing and a marketing thing to some people because it didn’t start the old-fashioned way, with friends getting together.”

But even En Vogue, the spearhead of the female vocal group revival, was formed by record producers through auditions.

Jade’s creator, though, wasn’t looking for an En Vogue clone.

“My vision was to fill a void in the marketplace,” Mills explained in a separate interview. “En Vogue is the Supremes of the ‘90s--with the glamorous look and up on a pedestal. TLC is at the other end, with the street-oriented, hip-hop image and real down-to-earth.

“But there are no big groups in the middle, like the Emotions and the Vandellas--groups that represent things the Supremes don’t and aren’t totally hip-hop. What I wanted was a marriage between the glamour image and street image--with women who seem accessible to the urban community.”

After Mills put the word out that Giant was looking for candidates, she and Vassal Benford, who produced most of the album, talked to many hopefuls, following strict guidelines.

“We were set on a trio, because if a group is bigger it’s too complex,” Mills said. “We wanted women the same size and in their early to mid-20s. If they were a lot older and very experienced, they wouldn’t be as flexible and able to adapt to our concept.

“I had this image set, for them to wear dog tags and boots--a sign of discipline. The singers had to fit that image comfortably. Musically, we wanted women capable of singing lead. Finding women who fit into this package was a tall order.”

Mills and Benford found first-rate singers in Chicagoans Marshall and Kelly and Houston native Reed. All have session-singer experience and are equally adept at ballads and up-tempo songs.

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“We all bring something different to the sound,” explained Marshall. “I sing the high notes, Di sings the deep parts and Tonya sings the middle. Di is from gospel background and offers that kind of vocal strength. Tonya comes from a jazz background. My style is a variation of the two.”

Since they hadn’t worked together, getting the right vocal blend was tricky at first. “Vassal really helped guide us in creating the harmonies,” Marshall said.

Apparently, the three Jade members found blending their personalities much easier.

“It’s possible that we might not have liked each other,” Marshall said. “That would have been a disaster. But fortunately we get along well and didn’t have much trouble getting to know each other.”

Jade’s next hurdle is becoming a solid live act. So far they’ve had limited performing experience, but they’ll be veterans by the end of the summer after being part of the touring Budweiser R&B; festival.

“Getting our show to be really good is going to take some work,” Marshall said. “Usually, groups have experience working together in clubs before they get to this level. That’s one of the disadvantages of being in a group that was formed this way. You record first and learn to work together live after that--while you’re still adjusting to each other musically. We’ll probably take some hard knocks out there on the road--but not too many, I hope.”