Judy Chamberlain is an eloquent interpreter of The Great American Songbook; the swing tunes, love songs, torch songs and saloon songs first heard on Broadway and in the movies during the Golden Age of American popular music.
A New York City native who started singing professionally at the age of 13, Judy doesn’t use set lists, preferring to stay in the moment. It helps that, as jazz critic Don Heckman has said, “she knows more songs than anyone who has ever lived.”
Her repertoire includes the beloved tunes of Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Richard Whiting, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Gus Kahn, Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, Harold Rome, Hoagy Carmichael, Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz, Alec Wilder, Vernon Duke, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Fain, Sammy Cahn, Jule Stein, Lerner & Loewe, Frank Loesser, Jimmy McHugh, Vincent Youmans, Victor Young, Gordon Jenkins, Neil Hefti, Cy Coleman, Michel Legrand, Johnny Mandel, Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Henry Mancini, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Webb, Paul Anka, Carole King, Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller, Papa John Phillips and other iconic Twentieth Century composers.
During a thirty-year career in Los Angeles, Chamberlain worked with, performed for and collaborated with many of the musical icons who wrote, arranged and/or recorded the definitive versions of the songs she sings.
As off-site concert producer for an influential West Coast FM jazz station and artistic director for a roster of high-profile performance venues, she was a major force in keeping jazz alive in Southern California during the 1990’s and 2000’s before relocating to her current home base of North Texas in 2011.
“Jazz singer Judy Chamberlain solidly affirms the music’s far-reaching, continuing vitality.” Don Heckman, L.A. Times
“One of the first things you notice about singer Judy Chamberlain is the breadth of material she has at her disposal.” Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles City Beat
“Judy Chamberlain is a singer who’s always a pleasure to hear. In part, because her astonishing repertoire makes every performance a fascinating journey through a century of song. But even more so because she brings such care, authenticity and musicality to everything she touches.” Don Heckman, The International Review of Music
“Name a song, and she’ll sing it.” The Dallas Morning News
“Judy Chamberlain is a walking encyclopedia of The Great American Songbook.” Chuck Niles, Pacific Public Radio, Los Angeles
“I LOVE YOU JUDY CHAMBERLAIN!” Jonne-Marie Switzler, Manager/Playboy Jazz Festivals
“You’re just like ‘the Old Man,’ cookie,” guitarist Al Viola
Legendary guitarist Al Viola (that’s his mandolin you hear when you’re watching the “Godfather” movies), a veteran of more than 500 studio albums and a quarter-century of touring and recording with Frank Sinatra, was fond of comparing Judy to the legendary icon, whom he affectionately called “the old man.”
“Judy takes care of business and sings the hell out of a tune the way Sinatra did,” said Viola. “She can come out of nowhere and take the pickup on the song and the band is instantly with her because she gives great signals. Like Sinatra, she’s always in the moment and never does anything the same way twice. Her timing and phrasing are impeccable. I love working with her, because I’m never bored.”
“Look at all these people, having the time of their lives,” Viola would say to Judy from their perch on the bandstand.
“And you were here, cookie.”