Carmichael and Stritch: The Time Has Come
Last September, when the pianist and vocalist Judy Carmichael spoke with The Star about her upcoming cabaret performance at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, she was already excited, though the show was still eight months in the future. “Billy Stritch is going to be my guest,” she said. “We will have two Steinways and will play duets, and I will interview him onstage. Bay Street is perfect for that.”
At last, the time has come: On Saturday at 8 p.m., Ms. Carmichael and Mr. Stritch, a Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist, composer, and vocalist, will take the stage in front of an audience as she both interviews and performs with him. The evening will be recorded for later broadcast on her radio show and podcast, “Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired.”
With Mr. Stritch, who appeared on a 2013 episode of “Jazz Inspired,” Ms. Carmichael will talk about their lives in music. On that 2013 show, she described her guest as a “rare performer who is a great musician and a great entertainer,” who “learned from the best, with long associations with Liza Minelli and Marilyn Maye.” This will be the first time they play and sing together.
The best part of “Jazz Inspired,” episodes of which are recorded both in the studio and onstage, is “getting to spend an hour with creative people I admire and hearing about their creative process and favorite jazz and how it’s inspired them,” Ms. Carmichael said last week, in the midst of a five-night engagement in London. “I always learn a tremendous amount from my guests.”
“I’ve been a fan of Billy Stritch for many years,” she said. “We met in the 1980s when we appeared on the same radio show, so it’s lovely to have him on my show so many years later.”
On the 2013 “Jazz Inspired” episode, Ms. Carmichael “asked the right questions and opened it up for really interesting stories,” said Mr. Stritch, who will conclude an engagement with Ms. Maye at Feinstein’s/54 Below in Manhattan tomorrow. “She really knows the art of leading, drawing out her guest, and is a lot of fun to converse with.” On Saturday, “I’ll play for her, she’ll play for me, and then we’ll do duets.”
The program is presented in a theatrical manner, Mr. Stritch said, and its improvisational aspect “appeals to me because it will be unique to the evening. Anything can happen — that’s what makes it very interesting. I’m trying not to over-rehearse and overthink it.”
Songs from Ms. Carmichael’s new album of original music, “Can You Love Once More? Judy & Harry play Carmichael & Allen,” will be featured, she said. “Billy’s a great pianist-singer in his own right, and a favorite accompanist for others, so it will be a thrill to play with him and have him play for me, which we plan to do,” she said. “Our Bay Street producer, Gary Hygom, is bringing two Steinway grands for the event, so it’s a big piano night!”
“Jazz Inspired” airs on WPPB Peconic Public Broadcasting on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. It can be downloaded in podcast form at the Apple iTunes store and TalkShoe.com, and downloaded or streamed from jazzinspired.com.
Tickets for Jazz Inspired with Judy Carmichael and Billy Stritch are $35, $50, $65, and $75.