Prudence Johnson
Prudence Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | Moose Lake, Minnesota, U.S. |
Genres | Folk, jazz |
Occupation | Singer |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | Red House |
Website | www |
Prudence Johnson is an American folk and jazz singer.
Biography
Prudence Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim Sparks of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.[1][2]
After her time with Rio Nido, she recorded three solo albums for Red House Records: Vocals, Songs of Greg Brown, and Little Dreamer, the latter a collection of children's lullabyes from around the world which earned Johnson a 1992 Grammy Award nomination.[2]
She was awarded a McKnight Fellowship to record Moon Country, a collection of Hoagy Carmichael songs. She has collaborated with four Minnesota composers to create A Girl Named Vincent, a presentation of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay set to music.[3]
In 2005, Johnson produced, directed, and performed in a musical production about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald titled Ten November. The production featured Claudia Schmidt, Ruth McKenzie, Kevin Kling and Peter Ostroushko. She produced the album.[4] The production tells the story of the sinking of the ship from the point of view of crew members, local sailors, and the wives of crew members.
She is a long-time guest on Garrison Keillor's radio program, A Prairie Home Companion.
With the re-release on CD of Hi Fly and I Like to Riff in 2007 by the Japanese label Bittersweet America, the original Rio Nido lineup of Johnson, Sparks, and Tom Lieberman performed a number of reunion shows. Rio Nido was inducted into the Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame in April 2007.[5]
Films
Johnson's film credits include Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in a role as a singer and Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion as herself.
Discography
Solo
- Little Dreamer (Red House, 1984)
- Vocals (Red House, 1987)
- Dick King Classic Swing and Prudence Johnson: King Swings, Pru Sings (1998)
- Songs of Greg Brown (Red House, 1991)
- Moon Country (Sleeper)
- S' Gershwin with Dan Chouinard (Sleeper, 2004)
- Gales of November (Sleeper, 2005)
- Peru (Sleeper 2006)
With Rio Nido
- I Like to Riff (1978)
- Hi Fly (1983)
- Voicings (1986)
References
- ^ Matt Peiken journalism website.
- ^ a b Canter, Andrea (February 2005). "Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard: February 3rd at the Dakota". Jazz Police. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ Homestead Community Concerts.
- ^ New Music Arts. Archived 2006-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ City Pages. Accessed on January 30, 2008.