Judy Carmichael at Bay Street
Coming home takes on greater significance when you spend a majority of your life on the road. For Judy Carmichael, a renowned stride pianist and, more recently, vocalist, coming home is particularly sweet when it affords an opportunity to perform at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.
Ms. Carmichael, who lives in Sag Harbor, will return to Bay Street on Saturday at 8 p.m. to perform her “This Is My Lucky Day!” cabaret show. The show’s title is from a new song of the same name and will showcase not only Ms. Carmichael’s vocal abilities but also her more recent foray into lyric writing.
“This Is My Lucky Day,” Ms. Carmichael said last week, “is sort of a metaphor.” Recently, Harry Allen, a saxophonist who performs with her, asked if she had ever considered writing lyrics. “I had admired Harry’s music for years before we started working together steadily,” she said. “He thought I would have a knack for it. In my head I was thinking, I’d love it if Harry gave me some of his music, but wouldn’t want to presume, so I said, ‘If the right person came along and gave me some music. . . .’ ”
As with singing, “it was a total surprise that I adore it so much,” she said. “I do consider it my lucky day when he asked me.”
Mr. Allen’s broad musical background, the artist said, was essential to her lyric writing. “My musical focus, in terms of what I play, is fairly narrow: boogie, stride, swing,” she said. Together, “we’re writing bossa nova, jazz waltzes, everything, not just swing.”
Another resident of Sag Harbor, the late author E.L. Doctorow, who died in July, was also an inspiration, Ms. Carmichael said. One of the first guests on “Jazz Inspired,” her radio program and podcast, Mr. Doctorow “talked about how much he admired lyricists,” she said. “He talked about the fact that, in usually 32 measures, they take you on a journey and tell a whole story. We had that conversation 16 years ago. I think back to that while I’m trying to take people on a long journey in 32 bars.”
Now writing with Mr. Allen, Ms. Carmichael’s new life as a lyricist is taking off. In a few months, she will record an album of original songs. And, she said, “Someone in England has approached me about writing for a stage show. It was something I had thought of for a long time, doing a jazz score for a stage show. It was one of those great moments — I said ‘Of course,’ as if I’d been doing it forever. I had written about two tunes at that point!”
“I come at this as telling a story,” Ms. Carmichael said. “When I was a kid, what first got me interested were 1930s and ’40s musicals. That’s why it was great that somebody asked if I ever thought about writing for the stage. I’m picturing someone telling a story on stage, as if acting it out. That’s the inspiration for me, that musical theater focus.”
The challenge of writing lyrics followed what was perhaps a greater test: to sing. Ms. Carmichael’s vocal cords hemorrhaged when she was in high school, and a few nodules were removed during college. “I never even tried to sing,” she told The Star in 2013. “I didn’t think I could.” It was not until seven years ago that she began singing, privately. Her 2008 album “Come and Get It” featured her vocals on three tracks, and she sang on all 11 selections of 2013’s “I Love Being Here With You.”
That said, Ms. Carmichael will continue to perform jazz standards and other music from the great American songbook, for which she is known. Along with Mr. Allen, the guitarist Chris Flory and the bassist Pat O’Leary will accompany her at Bay Street.
Saturday’s performance will be followed, on Oct. 25 at noon, by her annual champagne luncheon and performance at the American Hotel, also in Sag Harbor. The event is a fund-raiser for Jazz Inspired, Inc., Ms. Carmichael’s foundation, which supports educational programs as well as her radio show.
Ms. Carmichael also plans to record “Jazz Inspired” on stages around the country, including a May 21, 2016, date at Bay Street with the composer and pianist Billy Stritch. “There will be a performance element, because I’ll be performing with the guest,” she said. “We will have two Steinways and will play duets. Bay Street is perfect for that.”
Such are the pleasures of coming home. “I’m excited about the show, because I’ve played Bay Street a number of times,” Ms. Carmichael said. “I love it here. I want to perform here more, because I am traveling over 200 days per year. It’s so touching, when I do something at Bay Street, to see not only a lot of new people but also personal friends, my landscaper, my plumber. It really feels like something, like our local place.”
Tickets for “This Is My Lucky Day!” are $45, $55, and $75 and are available by calling the Bay Street Theater box office or at baystreet.org.