Early life

Carmichael was born Judith Lea Hohenstein in suburban Southern California on November 27, 1957.^[11] She was taught piano by her mother beginning around age 4 and continued with two years of formal piano training. Her first public performance on piano, when she was 17, was at UCLA's Royce Hall, sharing billing with Edgar Bergen, Jo Stafford and Paul Weston. Shortly afterwards, she shared a bill with Eubie Blake at a performance for the Los Angeles ragtime association, The Maple Leaf Club.^[11]

Carmichael has said her love of ragtime began when her grandfather offered $50 to his first grandchild who could play "Maple Leaf Rag".

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.^[12]

Professional career

Carmichael attended California State University, Fullerton as a German Major and later Cal State Long Beach as a Communications Major. She continued as a professional ragtime pianist in her early 20s, eventually shifting to jazz. She performed ragtime and stride at Disneyland for five years.^[12][13][14]

There she met trumpeter Jackie Coon, a Los Angeles studio musician who encouraged her and then pointed Basie drummer Harold Jones her way when Jones was substituting at Disneyland. Through Jones, she met guitarist Freddie Green and vocalist Sarah Vaughan. She joined their golf foursome, and all of them, Vaughan in particular, encouraged her to make a record.^[12]

While seeking a recording session with a label in New York City, Carmichael sat in at a Roy Eldridge concert at his request. After hearing her play, Eldridge recommended her to Dick Wellstood and to Tommy Flanagan so they could hear her play. Eldridge remained a supporter of Carmichael, periodically sending her music he wanted her to play.

Carmichael lived in New York and California in the early 1980s, keeping the Disney gig and working L.A. and Manhattan clubs and European festivals, eventually moving to New York full-time in 1985.

Carmichael tried to break into the jazz scene in Los Angeles, but most of the jazz clubs she found were male-dominated, intimidating, and unsafe to be a female musician. Carmichael was the first female instrumentalist to be hired by Disneyland (and shared 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. She finally shared the stage with Marian McPartland on McPartland's Piano Jazz in 1988.

Festivals and concerts

Carmichael has played major festivals and concert halls internationally. She has toured for United States State Department in Australia, India, Portugal, Brazil, Morocco and Singapore. In 1992, she was the first jazz musician sponsored by the United States Government tour to China.^[6]

Her performances include Carnegie Hall, Jazz Festival 2008 Brazil,^[15] Jazz at Lincoln Center's Fats Waller Festival^[15] Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Tanglewood Jazz Festival,^[15] and 92d Street Y's Jazz in July.^[16]

She made her debut as a vocalist on September 10, 1996, at the Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York City with Steve Ross.^[5]

Carmichael, particularly as ambassador and revivalist of a form of jazz that peaked many decades ago, is known for being one of the most accessible jazz pianists in the business.

I pride myself in making my concerts user-friendly, [...] I want to make the concert seem like I'm playing in their living room. I don't think welcoming means a smoky club atmosphere with dishes crashing in the background and musicians with an off-putting attitude.

— Wise, Brian. (2005-08-14), As an Ambassador for Stride Piano, She's Spreading Rhythm Around, New York Times

Recording

In 1980, Carmichael made her recording debut on Progressive and has gone on to record 13 albums to date. Two have been for larger labels. The majority are released on her label, C&D Productions. Her debut album, Two Handed Stride was recorded with Basie sidemen Marshal Royal, Freddie Green, Red Callender, and Harold Jones, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The compilation of this album and her second, Jazz Piano, were rereleased on a CD compilation on C&D Productions label. Her album Southern Swing (2008) was recorded live at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz.[18] Her first all vocal CD I Love Being Here With You, released in 2013, was the first where she ceded piano duties to someone else, in this case Mike Renzi (formerly music director for Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé, Tony Bennett and Sesame Street). Carmichael followed with her first CD of originals (music Harry Allen, lyrics Judy Carmichael) Can You Love Once More? Judy & Harry play Carmichael & Allen.