Judy Carmichael’s Global Stride
 Michael Brian |
(04/07/2009) Since January, Judy Carmichael, a Grammy-nominated pianist and Sag Harbor resident who hosts the weekly National Public Radio show “Jazz Inspired,” has been on the road. Maybe “on the globe” is more apt, as she has made stops from Melbourne to Mumbai with gigs also in Tasmania, Switzerland, London, Qatar, and Stateside in Louisiana and at the Carlyle Hotel in New York.
“I was out of town 230 days last year,” Ms. Carmichael said, “and it will be more this year. Sag Harbor is my favorite place in the world, so it kills me to be gone so much, but I’m fortunate to be this busy.”
At home with a few days’ respite from her tour, Ms. Carmichael will host a CD release party tonight at 6 at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, where she will play a few selections from “Come and Get It,” which came out last year. In it, Ms. Carmichael makes her singing debut on Peggy Lee-inspired standards, and also applies her signature technique to bring humor to her takes on Fats Waller tunes.
On Monday she will celebrate with her band, which she had toured with in Brazil before recording the CD, at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Then she is off to Europe and back to Australia.
Known as one of the leading interpreters of stride piano and swing, Ms. Carmichael has received high praise from critics and fellow musicians. “If anyone can keep this music going after I’m gone, it’s Judy Carmichael,” said the one and only Count Basie, who nicknamed her Stride.
Then there are East Enders like Milton Glaser, who asked, “How can this slender and elegant woman play with the strength of a truck driver?” and E.L. Doctorow, who knows a thing or two about jazz, who opined that her “witty, ebullient pianism recalls us to the joy of spirit of classical jazz.”
When asked about highlights of her recent tour, Ms. Carmichael said, “Tasmania is always a highlight. I performed in a stone barn that was built in the mid-1800s.” Music aside, “the real highlight was playing tennis in the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne,” the self-confessed tennis fanatic said. “This was huge.”
When in Sag Harbor, Ms. Carmichael enjoys dining out at the American Hotel, playing tennis, and is “crazy about body surfing late in the day. Unfortunately, that’s when I hear the sharks also like to body surf. So far we haven’t bumped into each other.”
After several appearances in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and India, she is looking forward to a scheduled trip next year during which she will spend two weeks in the Alps at various ski resorts performing and skiing with other musicians who ski. “This makes the entire experience more fun and not just music-focused,” she said. “Even musicians need a break.”
More information on Ms. Carmichael’s schedule and CD can be found at her Web site, judycarmichael. com.