About Judy
Judy Wexler is a Billboard and JazzWeek charting vocalist who, over the course of her 20-year career, has headlined at jazz festivals, performing arts centers and leading jazz clubs both nationally and internationally. JazzTimes Magazine called her “one of the most compelling jazz vocalists on the West Coast.” A sophisticated jazz and contemporary pop vocalist, she emerged in the early 2000s, showcasing her adept style inspired by artists like Shirley Horn, Annie Ross, and Irene Kral.
She has a pliably warm, lustrous sound and displays an unerring ear for underexposed gems. She began studying music at a very young age and spent her early years training in theater and performing in plays, musicals and television — skills which have helped make her a consummate interpreter of lyrics. All About Jazz says, “Judy Wexler is more than a mere singer of songs, she is an actress, mood painter, song archaeologist and vocalist par excellence.”
Her 7th album entitled No Wonder, released in early 2025 on Jewel City Jazz, hit #19 on JazzWeek’s national jazz radio chart and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. All of her previous albums charted on JazzWeek and were favorably received by the press, with critics highlighting her storytelling abilities.
Her 6th album, Back to the Garden (Jewel City Jazz, 2021), received critical praise in DownBeat, JazzTimes, Jazziz, and Music Connection Magazine, and JazzWax, the #1 jazz blog in the USA. Back To The Garden recasts classic songs of the 1960s as jazz/pop anthems that are as relevant today as they were over 50 years ago. All About Jazz says, “Back to the Garden is quite a recording. Judy Wexler—petite in stature, but tremendously talented and agile in artistry—delivers her finest performance and certainly most ambitious album to date. Wexler’s awesome vocal talent, dexterity, and expressive flair lavishly wash across the session.” Crowded Heart (Jewel City Jazz, 2019), a collaboration with piano great Alan Pasqua, presents “jazz standards for the 21st century,” an anthology of ten modern jazz compositions by contemporary songwriters. Ted Gioia, author of The Jazz Standards and The History of Jazz says, “What a joy to listen to this album, both for the exquisite music-making of Judy Wexler and Alan Pasqua, but also for their astuteness in finding and featuring outstanding songs by current-day jazz composers.” Judy’s other albums include What I See (2013), Under a Painted Sky (2011), Dreams & Shadows (2008), and her debut, Easy on the Heart (2005). Judy was profiled twice on NPR Weekend Edition with Susan Stamberg, who said, “From the evidence on her new second album, Dreams & Shadows, Judy Wexler can sing almost anything.”
Past performances include the Montreal Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, Dubai Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, Temecula Valley International Jazz Festival (opening for Mose Allison), Birdland, The Blue Note and Jazz at Kitano (New York City), Scullers (Boston), Chris’ Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia), Jazz Alley (Seattle), Yoshi’s (San Francisco), Blues Alley (Washington, D.C.), Nardis Jazz Club (Istanbul), and Upstairs Jazz Club (Montreal), among many others.