Prudence Johnson
Encyclopedia
Prudence Johnson is an American
jazz
and folk
vocalist.
of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido
. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis, Minnesota
area.
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.
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.
In 2005, Johnson produced, directed and performed in a musical stage production about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
titled Gales of November. The production featured Claudia Schmidt
, Ruth McKenzie, Kevin Kling and Peter Ostroushko
. She also produced the CD release. The production tells the story of the sinking of this ore ship from the point of view of the wives of several crew members.
She is a long-time and regular guest performer 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.
's A River Runs Through It
in a role as a singer and Robert Altman
's A Prairie Home Companion
as herself.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
vocalist.
Biography
Prudence Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim SparksTim Sparks
Tim Sparks is an American acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer.- Biography:Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year...
of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido
Rio Nido
-Band history:Rio Nido was a jazz vocal trio that began as part of the Minneapolis West Bank music scene in the early 1970s. The first incarnation of the group consisted of Prudence Johnson on vocals, Tim Sparks on vocals and guitar, and Tom Lieberman on guitar and vocals...
. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
area.
After her time with Rio Nido, she recorded three solo albums for Red House Records
Red House Records
Red House Records is an American independent record label specializing in folk music and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.The label was originally created in 1981 by Greg Brown as a method to distribute his own music, and is named for a farmhouse in Iowa where he was living...
- Vocals, Songs of Greg Brown, and Little Dreamer, the latter a collection of children's lullabyes from around the world.
She was awarded a McKnight Fellowship to record Moon Country, a collection of Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
songs. She has collaborated with four Minnesota composers to create A Girl Named Vincent, a presentation of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyrical poet, playwright and feminist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and was known for her activism and her many love affairs. She used the pseudonym Nancy Boyd for her prose work...
set to music.
In 2005, Johnson produced, directed and performed in a musical stage production about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald may refer to:*SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter that sank on Lake Superior in 1975 with all hands aboard**"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", a song about the shipwreck by Gordon Lightfoot...
titled Gales of November. The production featured Claudia Schmidt
Claudia Schmidt
Claudia Schmidt is a musician, originally from New Baltimore, Michigan, who has recorded folk, jazz, blues, and spoken word albums. She plays guitar and Appalachian dulcimer and sings. She has appeared numerous times on the radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. She has recorded with Paul...
, Ruth McKenzie, Kevin Kling and Peter Ostroushko
Peter Ostroushko
Peter Ostroushko is an American violinist and mandolinist.-Background and career:Of Ukrainian ancestry, Ostroushko grew up in northeast Minneapolis...
. She also produced the CD release. The production tells the story of the sinking of this ore ship from the point of view of the wives of several crew members.
She is a long-time and regular guest performer on Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
's radio program, A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
.
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.
Films
Johnson's film credits include Robert RedfordRobert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
's A River Runs Through It
A River Runs Through It (film)
A River Runs Through It is an Academy Award winning 1992 American film directed by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn, and Emily Lloyd...
in a role as a singer and Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion (film)
A Prairie Home Companion is a 2006 ensemble comedy elegy directed by Robert Altman, and was his final film, released just five months before his death...
as herself.
Solo
- Vocals (1987)
- Dick King Classic Swing and Prudence Johnson: King Swings, Pru Sings (1998)
- Songs of Greg Brown (1991)
- Little Dreamer
- Moon Country
- s'Gershwin (2004)
- PeRu (2006)
With Rio Nido
- I Like to RiffI Like to RiffI Like to Riff was the first recording by the Minneapolis jazz vocal trio Rio Nido. The original LP was long out-of-print until re-released on CD in 2007 by the Japanese label, Bittersweet America.-Track listing:...
(1978) - Hi FlyHi Fly (Rio Nido album)Hi Fly was the second recording by the Minneapolis jazz vocal group Rio Nido. The group changed from a trio to a quartet with the departure of Tom Lieberman and the addition of Roger Hernandez and Dave Maslow. With this release, Rio Nido focused on the vocalese style...
(1983) - VoicingsVoicingsVoicings was the last recording by the Minneapolis jazz vocal group Rio Nido. The album was one of the early recordings to feature live "direct to digital" recording techniques.-Track listing:# "Northern Lights"...
(1986)