THE JAZZ SINGER SONGBIRD JULIE JOHNSON SOARS
By Lance Scott Walker | Photography by Anthony Rathbun
In the 1980s , JULIE JOHNSON moved from her native Chicago , where she ’ d been singing , to Houston , where she stopped . Music took a backseat while she raised a family , attending soccer games and Boy Scout events instead of going into jazz clubs , and she focused on her career .
“ My husband wanted to come here to get on the police force ,” she said . “ I was already with my cosmetic company , Mahogany Image , as a sales rep . I let them know I was going to be moving to Houston and they were like , ‘ Perfect ! We need an account exec in the Houston area .’ So , we moved here and have been here for 32 years . Along the way , I worked at Neiman ’ s as a rep for jeweler Michael Dawkins for seven years , and I still freelance for Guerlain and Chanel cosmetics . I left Chicago as an adult , but I really grew up in Houston .”
Julie found her way back into music in the ’ 90s , building a new repertoire of jazz standards and selections from the contemporary American songbook . But it was a different atmosphere . In Chicago , she ’ d sung with Bill McFarland & The Chicago Horns , playing the jazz clubs on North Michigan Avenue , and there was a lot of improvisation . In Houston , she found musicians who played by the book .
“ Wait a minute ,” she said . “ Where is all the ad-lib ? Where is the spontaneity of it , where is the creativity ?”
But she did work out her own sound , incorporating songs from ANITA BAKER (“ I do ‘ Rapture ’ as a salsa ”), THE POLICE (“ A lot of room in that one ,” she says of “ Every Breath You Take ”) and even GLORIA GAYNOR ’ S “ I Will Survive .”
“ You know it ’ s totally disco , right ? Everybody does it . The Women ’ s National Anthem . They all do it disco . Well , I do it like a swing , and I ’ ve also done it with a big band . It ’ s still got good drive and it ’ s still got a dance in it , but it ’ s a different kind of vibe because there ’ s a swing to it .”
In 2005 , she released an album of jazz standards called Simply Julie , and has since been performing with a dance band called Spellbound and her own contemporary jazz ensemble , gracing the stages at jazz clubs , parties and private events . As for filling out her bands with members of Houston ’ s jazz community , she says , “ I try to stay in a circle , a network of musicians that I work with that know my material or that are so professional and so strong with music that they can pick it up really quick . So far I ’ ve been really lucky . Great musicians here .”
Julie is putting the finishing touches on her second album , Julie II , and hopes to get out on the road . Her career path has already taken her through Japan , where she sang Beyoncé ’ s “ Crazy in Love ,” and both last year and in 2006 , she went to Paris : “ I sang in some of the clubs there , and when you perform , you can drop a pin . They actually appreciate really good artists . They appreciate the arts , period .” She sees this album taking her back through Chicago . “ And hopefully I ’ ll make some noise in the places where people want to see and hear me .”
P . S . If you don ’ t have New Year ’ s Eve plans , you can catch Julie at Tony ’ s for the 14th consecutive year . www . juliejohnsonlive . com
40 LOCAL | november 16