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Judy Carmichael
Judy Carmichael (born Judith Lea Hohenstein, November 27, 1957) is a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and vocalist who specializes in a form of early jazz called "Stride Piano". She has been honored as a Steinway Artist. In 1992, Carmichael became the first jazz musician sponsored by the United States Government to tour China.
Carmichael was born Judith Lea Hohenstein in suburban Southern California on November 27, 1957. She was taught piano by her mother from around age 4, and had two years of formal piano training. Her first public performance on piano, at the age of 17, was at UCLA's Royce Hall, sharing billing with Edgar Bergen, Jo Stafford and Paul Weston.
She shared a bill with Eubie Blake in a performance for the Los Angeles ragtime association, The Maple Leaf Club. Carmichael has said her love of ragtime began when her grandfather offered $50 to his first grandchild who could play "Maple Leaf Rag". She taught herself to play it "note by note".
My grandfather said he'd give $50 to any of his grandchildren who could play "Maple Leaf Rag" [...] I told my piano teacher that I wanted to learn it, but she refused to teach it to me. She said I wasn't good enough. So I taught myself. I learned it note by note. As soon as I'd learned it, I played it for my grandfather, took the $50 and quit taking lessons.
Carmichael attended California State University, Fullerton as a German Major and later Cal State Long Beach as a Communications Major. She continued to work as a professional ragtime pianist in her early 20s, eventually shifting to jazz. She performed ragtime and stride at Disneyland for five years. There she met trumpeter Jackie Coon, a Los Angeles studio musician, who encouraged her and pointed Basie drummer Harold Jones her way when he was substituting at Disneyland. Through Jones she met guitarist Freddie Green and vocalist Sarah Vaughan, and all of them, Vaughan in particular, encouraged her to make a record.
While seeking a recording session with a label in New York City, Carmichael sat in at a Roy Eldridge concert. After hearing her play, Eldridge recommended her to Dick Wellstood and to Tommy Flanagan. Eldridge remained a supporter of Carmichael and sent her music to play.
In the early 1980s Carmichael lived in New York and California, keeping the Disney gig and working in Los Angeles and Manhattan clubs and European festivals. She moved to New York full-time in 1985.
Carmichael tried to break into the jazz scene in Los Angeles, but she found most of the jazz clubs were male-dominated and intimidating. She was the first female instrumentalist[citation needed] to be hired by Disneyland and she had to share a dressing room with 10 men. No other female instrumentalist was hired during Carmichael's five years at Disney, and she was always the only woman instrumentalist at jazz festivals.[citation needed] She shared the stage with Marian McPartland on McPartland's Piano Jazz in 1988.
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Judy Carmichael
Judy Carmichael (born Judith Lea Hohenstein, November 27, 1957) is a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and vocalist who specializes in a form of early jazz called "Stride Piano". She has been honored as a Steinway Artist. In 1992, Carmichael became the first jazz musician sponsored by the United States Government to tour China.
Carmichael was born Judith Lea Hohenstein in suburban Southern California on November 27, 1957. She was taught piano by her mother from around age 4, and had two years of formal piano training. Her first public performance on piano, at the age of 17, was at UCLA's Royce Hall, sharing billing with Edgar Bergen, Jo Stafford and Paul Weston.
She shared a bill with Eubie Blake in a performance for the Los Angeles ragtime association, The Maple Leaf Club. Carmichael has said her love of ragtime began when her grandfather offered $50 to his first grandchild who could play "Maple Leaf Rag". She taught herself to play it "note by note".
My grandfather said he'd give $50 to any of his grandchildren who could play "Maple Leaf Rag" [...] I told my piano teacher that I wanted to learn it, but she refused to teach it to me. She said I wasn't good enough. So I taught myself. I learned it note by note. As soon as I'd learned it, I played it for my grandfather, took the $50 and quit taking lessons.
Carmichael attended California State University, Fullerton as a German Major and later Cal State Long Beach as a Communications Major. She continued to work as a professional ragtime pianist in her early 20s, eventually shifting to jazz. She performed ragtime and stride at Disneyland for five years. There she met trumpeter Jackie Coon, a Los Angeles studio musician, who encouraged her and pointed Basie drummer Harold Jones her way when he was substituting at Disneyland. Through Jones she met guitarist Freddie Green and vocalist Sarah Vaughan, and all of them, Vaughan in particular, encouraged her to make a record.
While seeking a recording session with a label in New York City, Carmichael sat in at a Roy Eldridge concert. After hearing her play, Eldridge recommended her to Dick Wellstood and to Tommy Flanagan. Eldridge remained a supporter of Carmichael and sent her music to play.
In the early 1980s Carmichael lived in New York and California, keeping the Disney gig and working in Los Angeles and Manhattan clubs and European festivals. She moved to New York full-time in 1985.
Carmichael tried to break into the jazz scene in Los Angeles, but she found most of the jazz clubs were male-dominated and intimidating. She was the first female instrumentalist[citation needed] to be hired by Disneyland and she had to share a dressing room with 10 men. No other female instrumentalist was hired during Carmichael's five years at Disney, and she was always the only woman instrumentalist at jazz festivals.[citation needed] She shared the stage with Marian McPartland on McPartland's Piano Jazz in 1988.