Biography
Not to be mistaken for the British hard rock guitarist Kelly Johnson who performed with the all-female band Girlschool during the late 1970s and early 1980s, this Kelley Johnson is a U.S. jazz singer who has worked in Seattle from the late 1980s onward. She employs a clear, direct, and unadorned approach to phrasing that has drawn numerous stylistic parallels. Warm and personal delivery echoes Carmen McRae, while her restrained subtlety recalls cool-school figures such as Chris Connor, June Christy, Julie London, and Anita O'Day. Additional likenesses have been noted to the late Irene Kral and, at times, Peggy Lee, though Johnson differs from Lee by functioning as a true jazz improviser for whom spontaneity remains essential. She is also an accomplished arranger and lyricist, having supplied words to Joe Henderson’s “Recorda Me” and other bop or post-bop instrumentals; those “Recorda Me” lyrics have been adopted by fellow vocalist Tierney Sutton. Originally from the Midwest rather than the Pacific Northwest, Johnson was born and raised there, spent time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and earned a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. During her Milwaukee years she drew notice from hard-bop trumpeter Brian Lynch, a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers between 1988 and 1990, as well as organist Melvin Rhyne and others. A late-1980s trip to Seattle gave her the opportunity to perform with bassist Buddy Catlett’s group, prompting her relocation to the Emerald City. There she encountered singer Mark Murphy, who had come to the region to instruct at Bud Shank’s Jazz Workshop, the educational program run by the veteran alto saxophonist in Port Townsend, Washington. Johnson studied under Murphy and regards him as a mentor. Following his example, she later began teaching herself and received an invitation in 1998 to join the faculty at Shank’s workshop. The same year saw the release of her first album, Make Someone Happy, produced by pianist Fred Hersch and issued on the Los Angeles-based Chartmaker label; by straight-ahead jazz standards it performed solidly, moving at least 4,500 copies. In the early 2000s Johnson, now married to Seattle pianist John Hansen, taught at the Cornish College of the Arts while maintaining an active performance schedule throughout the city. She recorded her second studio album, Music Is the Magic, in 2003, and her debut live recording, Live at Birdland, was scheduled for March 2004 on the Jazzconnect label.
Albums