Kelley Johnson was twice selected to be a musical ambassador in foreign countries. Her quartet auditioned for Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center in order to tour the US State Department for long tours in 2004 and 2008. She has been critically acclaimed for every record since her debut album “Make Someone Happy” featuring Fred Hersch. “Music is the Magic”, from which “Tea for Two” won her First-Place at the 2003 International Jazzconnect Vocal Competition, was recorded in Brooklyn by Brian Lynch in 2002. The Jazz Education Journal named the resulting “Live at Birdland”, which was taped at the iconic New York City club in one night, as a Blue Chip Jazz Vocal Album of 2004. Ingrid Jensen was a well-known trumpeter. John Hansen was a stellar player. Ugonna Okegwo was effervescent. The songs ranged from intimate intimacy to streetcorner jive and sophisticatedly reorganized Americana. All signs that Kelley is unique. I was stunned when Kelley Johnson performed live in NYC. The CD was a perfect confirmation of my impressions about this talented singer and her warm, glistening voice. Kelley is a constant innovator, always improvising in unique ways. Sometimes she sounds like an instrument and other times she plays with lyrics. Her unerring sense of rhythm is enhanced by her outstanding arrangements. She is a fantastic singer and should be known by anyone who is interested in vocal jazz.” – Audrey Silver review of CD Baby. Johnson’s most recent album, “Home,” was released recently by Christopher Loudon. He says that Johnson’s style is “distinctly McRae-esque, just as commanding and as commanding as ever, but with added touches of Sheila Jordan shadowiness, Lena Horne plucks through. Johnson also describes “The Sweetest Sounds” as a dreamy, li, a portrait, a a a touching, a blending, a a powerful, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a s, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a tor, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Doug Ramsey said that Johnson shines in her singing and composition on “Home”, which is a fully realized record, which is a balanced mixture of the familiar with the adventurous. Kelley Johnson was raised in the Midwest, where her mother built and maintained houses to support her career as an artist. Kelley considered home a temporary thing. Her mother, a painter, was always surrounded by music and filled her studio with music from the 60s, 70s and R.
