[Dixielandjazz] Judy Carmichael interviewed -- New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 1, 2014

[Robert Ringwald]

Pianist, NPR Host Judy Carmichael Talks About Jazz and... Seth MacFarlane?
by Kara Martinez Bachman
New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 1, 2014
As host of the NPR radio show "Judy Carmichael's Jazz Inspired," pianist Judy Carmichael
has probably met more jazz aficionados than she can count. In advance of an upcoming
show at Mandeville's Dew Drop Jazz Hall on Saturday (April 5), Carmichael spoke about
her radio interviews with the likes of Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, Allen Toussaint
and... Seth MacFarlane?
"People will get interested if they find out Seth MacFarlane or Robert Redford like
jazz," said Carmichael, of the genre which was born in -- and has been polished,
revised, and kept alive in -- the Crescent City. "Jazz Inspired" seeks to explore
how the improvisation and syncopation and solo riffs of the genre influence the singular
visions of so many creators in our popular culture.
Carmichael liked featuring "Family Guy" creator MacFarlane -- a wholly unexpected
choice of guest for a program about jazz -- as an example for listeners.
"He's one of the rare ones (whose appeal) reaches across a wide range," said Carmichael,
who has welcomed a wide assortment of jazz fans to her program, including scientist
Neal deGrasse Tyson, actor John Lithgow, director Christopher Guest, actress Blythe
Danner, and renowned architect Frank Gehry.
Unlike many radio hosts, Carmichael insists she meet with her subjects face-to-face.
"I always do the interviews in person," Carmichael said. "It changes things radically.
I think it's really important. I mean, I was sitting in Seth MacFarlane's living
room."
"I talk to creative artists who were inspired by jazz," she said. "It's really a
love letter to jazz."
Carmichael delivers her "love letter" in person as well when she's tickling the keys.
The pianist -- widely recognized as an expert in "stride"-style jazz technique --
said her shows include educating audiences about the music she plays.
"I always talk about the music," she said. "I think everyone should do it. Most people
don't know about music."
The upcoming show at the historic Dew Drop came about because Carmichael -- originally
from California but now living in New York -- literally just "passed by" the old
wooden building while visiting a good friend who lives in Mandeville.
"I've been there," Carmichael said. "We were taking a bike ride and we went by and
I said, 'I want to play there.'"
The small, un-air-conditioned circa 1895 building is recognized as the "world's oldest
virtually unaltered rural jazz dance hall." At the beginning of the jazz age, the
Dew Drop hosted luminaries, such as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Bunk Johnson, and Buddie
Petit.
Also on the agenda for Carmichael's visit is a private educational session with music
students from Mandeville High School. Carmichael will "teach piano stylings" to the
young musicians as part of the Dew Drop's "mission statement to expose the young
to rudiments of traditional jazz to help keep the music alive," said Dew Drop volunteer
Richard Boyd.
Carmichael believes the art form is sustained and enhanced over the years by bringing
new talent into the fold.
"One of the really special things about jazz is it's reinvigorated by people who
play it," said Carmichael, explaining how the genre continues to evolve and grow
over time.
As a contributor to that herself, the pianist attempts to explain what the "stride"
style is all about.
"This is a vocabulary of jazz that everyone used in the '20s and '30s... everybody
did this, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Jelly Roll Morton... The word 'stride' is referring
to the way the bass is played," Carmichael said, of a style that involves "hitting
the low notes with a little finger and then playing the bass and the chords, so you
don't need a bass player."
"It's essentially swing," she said.
The Grammy-nominated pianist and radio personality has written two books and numerous
articles on stride piano, has participated in panels for the National Endowment for
the Arts, and has been featured on television and radio programs, including Garrison
Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." In 1992, the performer was the first jazz musician
sponsored by the U.S. Government to tour in China.
Carmichael has produced and hosted the public radio show for over 20 years, and it
is broadcast on over 170 stations in the United States and abroad as well as on Sirius/XM
Satellite Radio's NPR NOW Channel 122.
Jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones is among the New Orleanians who have been interviewed
on "Jazz Inspired." He said Carmichael has an "infectious personality" and a "charisma"
that serves her well.
"Judy Carmichael is a master of the stride piano style, a superb jazz musician and
vocalist who possesses that rare quality of being able to combine art with entertainment
in a way that serves both elements peerlessly and on a high level," Jones said.
As for now, between show tapings and tour dates, Carmichael is exploring new musical
directions.
"I'm going to do a Brazilian album, which is different for me. That's a radical shift
for me. I won't play piano, I'll just sing," said Carmichael, whose most recent CD
-- "I Love Being Here with You," released in 2013 -- was her first "all-vocal" work.
She's also working on new song lyrics.
"I see more writing in my future," Carmichael said, "...and more gigs in Louisiana."
Part of the Dew Drop's spring concert series, the first of those future Louisiana
gigs will take place on Saturday (April 5) at 6:30 p.m. at the Dew Drop Jazz and
Social Hall, at 430 Lamarque St. in Mandeville. Carmichael will be followed from
7:45 to 9 p.m. by the Creole jazz artist and Covington resident Don Vappie, who will
lead a trio that includes Leah Chase and Mike Esneault.
Admission is $10 at the door and beverages, CDs, and souvenirs are available for
a donation. Food prepared by members of the First Free Mission Baptist Church will
also be sold next door. For more information, visit Dewdropjazzhall.com.
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-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551
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