Jude Johnson

Johnson, Jude

Jude (Judith Marian) Johnson. Jazz singer, songwriter, children's entertainer, b Hamilton 6 Jan 1954. Jude Johnson attended the Sheridan College School of Design in Oakville and briefly studied with Lee Hepner at McMaster University, before embarking on a successful career as a jazz and blues singer based in Hamilton, Ont. A full-time musician since 1980, Johnson has sung on over 50 recordings as back-up to such artists as Raffi and Stan Rogers, and has released eight solo recordings including Reflected Space (1981, North Track NT-05), Flirtin' (1984, Cole Harbour CHM-002), and Jazz & Blues Straightup (1989, Straight Up SU-001). Diversifying in 1983 to entertain children, in 1985 she founded the MAD Creative Arts School. She has performed as far afield as the Frostbite Festival in Whitehorse, YT, and sang in Hamilton in 1999 with the National Academy Orchestra under Howard Cable. In 1992 Johnson received the Canada 125 medal and was named Hamilton's Woman of the Year in the Arts; the following year she was honoured with the Hamilton Arts Award. She is the daughter of the baritone Bernard Johnson.