Vocalist Judith Murray performs jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, the 1930s’ and 40s’ and 50s’ genre. This is the music that is classy, sultry, fine and mellow; and sometimes swinging! Judith’s sounds have a sophisticated, sassy, smooth and stunning quality; her interpretations often compared to the late Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington by the patrons and media alike. She sings from her soul and brings that soulfulness to each song’s interpretation. A reviewer has said of the vocalist, “Murray is a consummate professional, in the Billie Holiday tradition, who gets inside the lyrics of a song………….” When you listen to Judith, and the extremely talented musicians she works with, you are taken back to the days of lounges and supper clubs of years past.
Growing up in her native Philadelphia, Judith’s childhood voice lessons found her in the presence of an extraordinary vocal coach who used a piano accompanist who was the yet to be discovered Nina Simone. Judith’s further life’s experiences found her under the tutelage of such jazz greats as Dr. Billy Taylor and the legendary Max Roach when Judith studied jazz improvisation as part of the “Jazz in July” series at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Max Roach said after her performance, “Honey you’ve been there!”