Judy Niemack (born March 11, 1954) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalist.

Early life

Judy Niemack was born in Pasadena, California to a musical family. She began singing in a church choir from the age of seven.Judy Niemack biography at All About Jazz Niemack decided on a professional career in singing at age 17 and studied Bel canto singing with Primo Lino Puccinelli in Pasadena for 3 years. She studied classical voice and jazz improvisation with Gary Foster at Pasadena City College, and later attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

and the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

. After pursuing classical studies until 1975, she returned to California to study jazz improvisation with

Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

(who she had met early on). Niemack eventually moved to New York City in 1977, her first major engagement was a week at the Village Vanguard, singing in

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

's band.

Professional career

Her debut album, ''By Heart'' was recorded in New York City and released in 1977; since then she has recorded 12 albums under her own name in addition to working with

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

, James Moody, Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Kenny Barron, Fred Hersch,

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

and the

WDR Big Band WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalling ...

(among others). In 1987, while living in New York, Niemack met guitarist

Jeanfrançois Prins Jeanfrançois Prins (born February 18, 1967) is a Belgian jazz guitarist, composer, vocalist and record producer. He has spent many years between New York City and Berlin where he was leading the Jazz Guitar departments in both music universiti ...

; the two would eventually marry in 1998. In 1992 Niemack relocated to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and taught vocal jazz in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, and the

Royal Conservatory of the Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Nether ...

. The couple recorded several CDs together and performed together extensively.Jazz Times. Judy Niemack: Night and The Music, with Jeanfrancois Prins. NOVEMBER 1, 1997
/ref> In 1995 the couple moved to Berlin, where she became the first Professor of Jazz Voice in Germany, teaching at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

(later called Jazz Institut Berlin) and also establishing the vocal jazz program at Musikene, the Basque School of Higher Music, in San Sebastian, Spain (2003-2015). The couple eventually divorced in 2016.

Teaching

Niemack has written and published a set of three widely praised method books on jazz singing; the ''Hear It and Sing It!'' series. Since 1995, she has been a professor of vocal jazz studies at the JIB (Jazz Institute Berlin). Prominent vocal students of Niemack's include artists such as Dominique Lacasa, Marc Secara, Efrat Alony, Lucia Cadotsch and Erik Leuthäuser. Niemack has written lyrics for over 100 compositions by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, Bill Evans,

Richie Beirach Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist L ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

and Kenny Dorham (among others) which have been recorded on numerous albums.

Personal

Niemack currently lives in both

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Discography

* ''By Heart'' with Simon Wettenhall (Sea Breeze, 1978) * ''Blue Bop'' with Cedar Walton (Free Lance, 1989) * ''Long As You're Living'' (Free Lance, 1990) * ''Heart's Desire'' (Stash, 1992) * ''Beauty and the Prince'' with Jeanfrancois Prins (AMC, 1993) * ''Straight Up'' (Free Lance, 1993) * ''Mingus, Monk & Mal'' with Mal Waldron (Free Lance, 1995) * ''Night and the Music'' (Free Lance, 1997) * ''About Time'' (Sony, 2002) * ''Jazz Singer's Practice Session'' (GAM, 2004) * ''What's Goin' On?'' (Temps, 2005) * ''Blue Nights'' (Blujazz, 2007) * ''In the Sundance'' (Blujazz, 2009) * ''Listening to You'' with Dan Tepfer ( Sunnyside, 2017) – recorded in 2012 * ''New York Stories'' with

Jim McNeely Jim McNeely (born May 18, 1949) is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and faculty. Biography Jim McNeely was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and moved to New York City in 1975. ...

DR Big Band The Danish Radio Big Band (aka: DR Big Band), often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a radio ensemble and big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964 at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Band history Originally called the New Radio ...

(Sunnyside, 2018) * ''Sing Your Song'' with Wolfgang Koehler (Contemplate Music, 2019)

References

External links

Official website
* * *
Judy Niemack
at ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

''
Judy Niemack
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemack, Judy American jazz singers American women jazz singers Musicians from Los Angeles Cleveland Institute of Music alumni People from Pasadena, California Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin Living people 1954 births Singers from California Jazz musicians from California Widespread Depression Jazz Orchestra members American women academics 21st-century American women