Taking Judy Carmichael In Stride
By Joan Baum,
Ph.D.
Count
Basie is said to have called her “Stride” because of
her command of this incredibly difficult technique of fast
left-hand syncopated jumps that beat out rhythms against right-hand
melodies. Although the term “stride piano” goes
back to the days of the fabled James P. Johnson, “Fats” Waller
and Willie “The Lion” Smith, Judy Carmichael gave
this distinctive way of playing jazz piano her own signature
touch when she was barely out of her teens, which, to judge
by appearances, was only yesterday. Vivacious, full of bubbly
enthusiasm, especially for Jazz Inspired, her weekly radio
show which airs on NPR stations across the country, she surely
must still turn heads when she enters concert halls and visits
schools to perform and talk about stride piano, the history
of jazz, music and the joys of being creative. A slim woman
with an infectious smile and a cascade of shoulder-length blonde
ringlets, Judy Carmichael is at the top of her form as a pianist
and entertainer, but she is particularly proud of being told
that she’s also a good ambassador for music and an inspiring
teacher.
Indeed,
teaching is her love, and though she does give master classes,
she especially likes going into grade schools and making
contact with youngsters, most of whom have never heard of
her or know little or nothing about jazz. No problem. “Know your audience, involve
them,” she says, and so when she visits classes, adjusting
her presentations according to age, she tries to feel her way
by beginning where the students are. And so she might start
with references to a popular teenage music video or hip hop
celebrity and then move out, demonstrating. She also likes
to tell stories that she believes resonate with young audiences—describing,
for example, her early years taking piano lessons from a teacher
who actually discouraged her and told her she had no ability,
or noting that she wanted to be an actress and tried the beauty-pageant
route in California, where she was born and went to school,
not to mention how she felt as a minority in a school system
where the overwhelming population was Latino and Asian. There
were also early professional gigs at Disneyland—“five
years, seven hours a day” for little money. By the time
she got to college, she was thinking of another kind of career—Foreign
Service, and so she majored in German, and actually, later
on, did get to go abroad playing piano for the State Department,
thus proving that you can have it all, even benefits from challenging
times. Because music, jazz, was always her main passion, however,
she starting playing the clubs in L.A. but had an identity
problem. She was seen only as a “cute blonde chick, who
had a gimmick, playing piano,” and no, she is not related
to Hoagy Carmichael. Some big names nonetheless got to see
and hear her and urged her on her musical way. These included
Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and a host of well known jazz
artists who insisted she come to New York.
Judy
Carmichael is the sole producer of Jazz Inspired. “The bad news
is you have to do it all, the good news, however, is that no
one can tell you what to do.” Her take on the show—and
website—is a broad one. She focuses on how her guests—not
all jazz artists, not all even musicians—have been inspired
by jazz and how it has made them happier, feeling more connected
to their community. She believes that this kind of emphasis
on creativity is often missing in schools and certainly from
radio and tv, though it’s what performers and audiences
can share—an appreciation for the arts that can make
for a better sense of self and for a better world. Mark January
23rd on your calendar for a special appearance on behalf of
Jazz Inspired at Steinway Hall and visit the website: www.judycarmichael.com.#
