Judy Roberts

Judy Roberts is Chicago's favorite jazz woman, a Grammy-nominated pianist and singer who's lit up stages worldwide with her fun-loving vibe, hard-swinging keys, and a voice that flips from breathy and delicate to sultry and scat-happy. Dubbed a worldwide jazz star by the Chicago Tribune, she's dropped over 20 albums, including hits like *The Other World* (with its chart-topping "Señor Blues"), *Nights in Brazil* from 1981, and *The Judy Roberts Band*, plus collabs with legends like Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, and Marian McPartland on tunes like "Twilight World."

You'll catch her joy radiating from the piano—think influences from Bill Evans and George Shearing mixed with her own hip, audience-connecting magic—at spots like the Chicago Jazz Festival, North Sea Fest, or Joe Segal's jazz cruises. She's held court at iconic Chicago venues like the Back Room on Rush Street and the Intercontinental Hotel since the '70s, backed by top players, and even winters in Arizona for gigs in Phoenix and Tucson. Today, she teaches at Roosevelt University and writes for Chicago Jazz Magazine while keeping the global jazz scene swinging.