Winner of vocalist of the year at the Jazz FM awards in 2020, Judi Jackson grew up in Virginia, playing piano and singing in the church choir. Inspired by the greats – Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone – her career started to take shape in her teens.
She was just 16 when she opened for the legendary Mavis Staples, and has since performed with jazz legend Guy Barker and performed on Later… with Jools Holland.
Judi's live shows include her own interpretations of songs from jazz greats such as Simone, Holiday and Fitzgerald along with her original music. She will be performing at the West Wicklow Festival next month and she joined Sean on RTÉ Arena to talk about her life and career to date - listen above.
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