by ALISON KERR
30 Nov 2009 – THE HERALD
5 STARS!
A touch of New York sparkle came to Glasgow when the vivacious pianist Judy Carmichael made her Scottish debut as part of Jazz International’s winter programme.
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Press
JUDY CARMICHAEL – STRIDE!, CITY HALLS, GLASGOW
Posted on November 30, 2009 by md in
Judy Carmichael: Come and Get It
Posted on November 29, 2009 by md in
Jazztimes – 11/29/09
By Harvey Siders
Just who is the real Judy Carmichael? The host of Public Radio’s “Jazz Inspired” for the past 15 years? The first jazz musician sent by our government to tour China? Grammy nominee? Author of two books on stride piano? The one Count Basie nicknamed “Stride?” Or is it the Judy Carmichael who finally, after seven instrumental CDs, makes her debut as a singer? Obviously all of the above, but let’s concentrate on her voice — a very pleasant surprise she has withheld from us for too many years.
She unveils it tentatively, singing on half of the dozen tracks, but enough to reveal a warm, intimate quality, particularly on ballads. Perhaps her most tentative effort, considering her desire to “channel my inner Peggy Lee:” the opener, “All The Cats,” an early Lee success. If the intent was to come on seductively, Judy only succeeded in sounding polite. The very next tune, “Love Is Just Around The Corner,” never knows when to turn that corner: over eight minutes of bland two-beat. It isn’t until the fourth track that Ms Carmichael finally reveals the true balladic beauty of her voice: “Gee, Baby,” accompanied by pianist Tony Monte. The only reason for mentioning the delay is that Judy was producer and executive producer; the decision was hers. Elsewhere, her decisions are as resolute as her amazing left hand. Her introspective, rubato solo on “Memories of You” is remarkable. There’s a bit of Dave Blenkhorn’s guitar towards the end, but his part could have been phoned in. Arranger Mike Hashim does a great job re-creating the sound and feel of of the Fats Waller combo, ca. mid-30s, with Judy capturing her major icon in her stride solo. She also contributes her own chart on another Waller classic, the title song. The writing highlight of the album is another Hashim re-creation, the Ellington chestnut, “Wanderlust,” preceded by a Monk-ish intro.
Vocal highlight: Carmichael’s plaintive reading of “You’re Driving Me Crazy,” accompanied effectively by guitarist Blenkhorn. Trombonist Dan Barnett takes a great “talking”/growling plunger solo, and Judy reveals a most pleasant vibrato when she sustains tones. If she was somewhat inhibited in her vocal debut, I believe there’s a true jazz singer waiting to emerge. So I’m looking forward to her ninth release.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT: JUDY CARMICHAEL
Posted on August 31, 2009 by md in
August 31, 2009 – Feinstein’s, New York City by Joe Lang
It is strange how years go by, and somehow you keep missing opportunities to catch jazz players who had always been among those that you had greatly enjoyed on those occasions when you had seen them in the past. (more…)
JUDY CARMICHAEL’S GLOBAL STRIDE
Posted on April 9, 2009 by md in
April 9, 2009, by Elise D’Haene
Come and Get It – Rating 4 /12 Stars
Click here to read article.
COME AND GET IT
Posted on April 4, 2009 by md in
April 2009, by Kevin Jones
Australian Broadcasting Company’s Limelight Magazine
Rating 4 1/2 Stars
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COME AND GET IT
Posted on April 1, 2009 by md in
April 2009, by Kevin Jones
Australian Broadcasting Company’s Limelight Magazine
Rating 4 1/2 Stars
Acclaimed as a polished exponent of stride piano with one of the most swinging left hands in jazz, Judy Carmichael shows she is a more than capable singer, as with her all-star septet she slinks through the Benny Goodman chestnut “All The Cats Join In” and teases playfully on the title track . Her group, all class London-based guitarist Dave Blenkhorn but none is more impressive than trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso. Except Judy, whose joyful solos capture the spirit of Fats Waller, especially on the inspired version of Christopher Columbus.
RAGTIME MUSIC REVIEWS
Posted on April 1, 2009 by md in
April 2009, by Jack Rummel
www.ragtimers.org
A leader on the stride piano scene for many years, Judy Carmichael walks that fine line between stride and jazz with a foot securely in either camp, depending on the mood and the tune. On this CD, she steps out to front a “big” band (her term) and, to top it off, debuts as a jazz singer.
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JERSEY JAZZ
Posted on March 1, 2009 by md in
March 2009, by Joseph Lang
With the release of Come and Get It, pianist JUDY CARMICHAEL can now be billed as a singer/pianist, for she has included six nifty vocals among the twelve selections. To support her on this new outing, she has recruited Mike Hashim on baritone, soprano and alto saxes, Jon-Erik Kellso on cornet, Nik Payton on clarinet and tenor sax, Dave Blenkhorn on guitar and Ed Ornowski on drums, with Tony Monte adding his piano on two of the vocal tracks.
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KEYBOARDING MAGAZINE
Posted on March 1, 2009 by md in
March 2009, by Jon Regen
Click here to download and read.
JAZZ PIANIST TO SING AT BAY STREET
Posted on September 30, 2008 by md in
By BRENDAN O’REILLY
The East Hampton Press and The Southampton Press, 9/30/2008
Jazz pianist Judy Carmichael has performed on nearly every continent, but her newest projects are keeping her close to home in Sag Harbor and making a couple of trips to Bay Street Theatre, where she will play a concert this Saturday and record her public radio program in November.
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