DAN'S PAPERS, July 11, 2008 Page 37 www.danshamptons.com
Who’s Here By Tiffany Razzano With her music, her radio show and any other number of projects she might have going on, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Judy Carmichael has a lot on her plate — and she likes it that way. Even though she’s just gotten off a plane from Switzerland, where she performed at a music festival last week, and is operating on European time (about seven hours ahead of the rest of us) she’s still planning on staying up to get work done. “I don’t really have down time. I’m not a sit-still kind of person,” Carmichael said. “I don’t ever get bored. I’m very active. I love to read, but even that’s usually when I’m on a plane or something.” Carmichael is a Sag Harbor resident and pianist who’s made a name for herself around the world playing stride — better known as swing, the type of jazz popularized by Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Spending much of her time on the road, Carmichael was away from home 230 days last year. And while she’s away, she still lugs her recording equipment around with her to keep up on her weekly radio show, “Jazz Inspired.” Now that she’s back in New York, Carmichael is busy preparing for the upcoming release party for her live album, Southern Swing, at the Romany Kramoris Gallery on July 18. On the heels of that CD, she’ll be touring Brazil with a sextet in September, and then coming home to record her next album with them, Come and Get It. This CD will also see her singing for the first time on a record. “It’s a huge leap for me,” she said. “I’m known as an instrumentalist. I’m really jumping off a cliff.” She also recently began writing her own music — with lyrics — for the first time in her life, and is already planning future albums to showcase some of these songs. The East End will be seeing a lot of Carmichael this summer, as she also has several other upcoming events, including the Bay Street Theatre benefit on July 19 and Jazz at the Beach, a benefit for the Southampton Historical Society on July 27. On September 21, she’ll perform at a champagne luncheon at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor as a benefit for her radio show. The proceeds will fund the show, as well as music education programs for local schools. Originally from Los Angeles, Carmichael initially thought she would go into theater, but instead studied languages (predominantly
Judy Carmichael Jazz Pianist German and French) in college. Then, she heard a Count Basie record for the first time while at school. “I loved it,” she said. “It inspired me.” After college, she got a job performing at Disneyland, in the late 1970s/early 1980s, where, of all places, she was discovered by mem-
you’re young and play music to have a chance. It’s a great opportunity.” Basie would eventually become a mentor to her, encouraging her to make the move to New York, where there was a thriving jazz scene. Sarah Vaughn would hear about her and become a mentor as well, convincing her to record an ensemble album. “I was so young they couldn’t believe I was playing this music,” Carmichael said. “One of the great things about jazz is that it’s something you really can’t fake. You either do it, and you do it well, or you don’t. So even though I was so young, it’s a very small club. They embrace you. Male or female, young or old, it’s very encouraging. They knew I wasn’t in it for the money. I was dedicated because I love the music.” She came to New York for the first time in 1982, bouncing back and forth between the two states before moving here permanently in 1985. Now, with “Jazz Inspired,” the radio show she started 12 years ago, Carmichael is able to return the favor to fledgling musicians and artists of other genres — actors, writers, directors and dancers. “It’s about creative people who are inspired by jazz, but not necessarily jazz musicians — the people that feel jazz inspires them. We talk about the creative process and weave in their favorite music,” she said. Her show can be heard on Sirius Radio and iTunes, as well as 170 NPR stations across the country, including WLIU, 88.3. She added, “I like the creative process. I think everyone can be creative, not just professional artists. Everybody’s life would improve if they were creative, even just for themselves.” Throughout the years, she’s also published a couple of music books about stride piano, which, she says, if not for her publisher, she wouldn’t have written. “It was important to get down,” she said. “It’s an historic style and the book was so popular. But I thought not that many people would be interested. It’s so esoteric. How many people would buy books on stride piano? But the second book sold thousands of copies.” Though Carmichael is primarily a jazz musician, she keeps herself busy by involving herself in other mediums. “Some musicians are just about playing,” she said. “I was a language major. I was always more interested in communication. I was interested in a bigger subject than just music. All these things are interesting and keep me fired up creatively.” For more information about Carmichael and her upcoming events, go to judycarmichael.com.
“I like the creative process. Everbody’s life would improve if they were creative, even just for themselves.” bers of Basie’s band who were playing there. They told him about the talent they had discovered. “I don’t think it’s a particularly hip place to be discovered,” Carmichael said. “But a lot of great musicians started at Disney, arrangers and studio musicians. It’s a great place when