It's Jazz. It's Joy. It's Judy at 54 Below

Judy Wexler: It’s Jazz. It’s Joy. It’s Judy.

April 28, 2026
One show at 9:30pm

“IT’S JAZZ. IT’S JOY. IT’S JUDY… This lady can swing, put across a yearning ballad, get into a groove, and have fun with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.” –Stage & Cinema, NYC

Praised by JazzTimes Magazine as “one of the most compelling vocalists on the West Coast,” Judy Wexler makes her debut at 54 Below in It's Joy. It's Jazz. It's Judy, an evening showcasing striking arrangements from her seven Billboard and JazzWeek charting albums. Known for a repertoire that surprises, charms, and sidesteps the predictable, Judy brings a deeply personal sensibility to songs by a wide-ranging group of jazz and pop composers, from Carole King, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan to Harold Rome, Michel Legrand, and the Gershwins. She will be joined by acclaimed NYC jazz players—pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Bill Moring, and drummer Tim Horner.

Over her 20-year career, Judy has headlined jazz festivals, performing arts centers, and premier jazz clubs in the U.S. and internationally. Her seventh album, No Wonder (2025), received widespread acclaim, with critics praising her gift for storytelling and the UK’s Bebop Spoken Here hailing it as “an overall bravura performance.” The album enjoyed extensive national jazz radio airplay, reaching #19 on the JazzWeek chart and earning a place on JazzWeek’s Top 100 Albums of 2025.

Judy has been profiled twice on NPR’s Weekend Edition with Susan Stamberg, who observed, “Based on the evidence, Judy Wexler can sing almost anything.” She was featured in The Absolute Sound’s cover story, “13 Female Jazz Vocalists You Need to Hear,” and was the subject of a DownBeat Magazine feature titled “Judy Wexler Goes Back to the Garden.”

“West Coast jazz vocalist Judy Wexler not only knows her way around a bop tune, fluidly negotiating angular intervals and racing tempos, she knows how to personalize a pop tune, no matter how familiar or faded.”
— The Washington Post

"Wexler reminds us what makes her special—phrasing, dynamics, and subtle melodic shifts are her tools, and she wields them effortlessly… she shapes the dynamics like the artist she is. Judy Wexler continues to be a storyteller above all else." -- Jazz Views (UK)

“Judy Wexler is more than a mere singer of songs. She’s an actress, mood painter, song archaeologist, and vocalist par excellence.” — All About Jazz

website: www.judywexler.com
Instagram: @judywexler
Facebook: Facebook.com/judywexler.music