the way you make me feel

"Sadly, Julia Rich has not been singing around Nashville much any more. Her gig with the Glenn Miller Orchestra keeps her away most of the time, and it's a shame there aren't more places for musicians of her caliber (and Beegie [Adair]'s) to work their magic. Her voice has a bit of a little girl quality (she even does Ella Fitzgerald's 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket') with a gentle lower register and a silvery upper register that becomes crystal clear on the ballads, like Ellington's 'In A Sentimental Mood.'

"This album offers 8 classic standards and 7 originals like 'The Irises,' a gentle waltz with a definite folk flavor, and 'Raining in Rio' is a lovely pop bossa nova (poppa nova?) written with Benita Hill. 'Only Because It's You' has a clever lyric and a kind of Tuck & Patty feel, only she does it as a duet with the bass. Lennon/McCartney's 'Here, There, and Everywhere' is done as a romantic ballad duet with the piano. I've been in the music business for 40 years, and I don't think I ever heard the verse to 'But Beautiful.'

"The musicians on the album should be familiar to most of you: Bob Mater on drums; Jim Ferguson, bass; Gary Weaver or Tony Migliore on piano; George Tidwell on trumpet; with special guest Rickey Woodard on tenor sax. When 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' gets rolling, it turns into a feature for trumpet and tenor. An old show tune 'You Hit The Spot' is fun, a quick little up tempo romp between Julia and Bob Mater on brushes. A lovely project, very nicely done."
Jazz and Blues News - Tennessee Jazz & Blues Society, Inc.

"Pure class! Julia's singing matches her great choice of relaxing and intimate material and her originals fit well with the other classics. Julia sings tunes that she loves and you will love too."
Dr. Paul Tanner
Trombonist with Original Glenn Miller Orchestra

"Julia's sophomore album features eight standards and seven originals. Her voice is delicate, well articulated and fully complimentary with the band. The program gets stronger with each song highlighted by 'The Second Time Around,' 'The Irises,' and 'But Beautiful.'"
D. Oscar Groomes
O's Place Jazz Newsletter
Maplewood, NJ

"Your new CD is FABULOUS! As soon as I received it, it went into rotation. We are playing 10 of the 15 cuts. I like your duet ['Only Because It's You'], vocal & bass, with Jim Ferguson. Keep up the good work, Julia. Both CDs are superb and we are still playing 'I'll Take Romance.'"
Jim Stone
"Big Band Swing" - FM 89.7/WNLZ - Lansing, MI

"We have come to expect perfection from anyone associated with the Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Larry O'Brien. Long time Miller Band vocalist Julia Rich certainly does not disappoint with the release of her latest CD effort, 'The Way You Make Me Feel' on the Cardinal label.

"Not only does Rich include a variety of standards on this, her second CD, but the talented songstress also delivers seven of her own compositions, including the title tune. Other originals include 'The Irises,' 'The Moon Song,' and 'Gardenia.' Among the standards are 'Cheek to Cheek,' 'The Second Time Around,' and 'I'll Remember April.' Great listening!

"Rich's first CD release received a big 'thumbs up' from critics and record buyers alike. We feel confident that her newest should be received as well or better. We say that Julia possesses one of the best sets of pipes in the business!"
condensed from Jack Lebo's Big Band Report
The American Rag, Dancing USA, and Music & Dance News

"I have to admit that I am very discriminating about singers (the consequence of growing up on Sinatra and Ella, I guess) as I feel that too many singers from other genres are walking around today thinking that they can all of a sudden decide that they want to do a 'Standards' album and make it come off effectively. Please excuse my pretentious stance, but I don't believe it works that way. Your album reflects the respect, experience, attention to detail and internalization of this music as you live it, not just deciding one day to 'dabble.' That is what sets your album above the many new albums 'out there.' Plus the setting of a smaller group allows you to do different things in more intimate ways than in your role of song stylist with the Glenn Miller band. I think your version of 'Here, There and Everywhere' is the best interpretation of this song anywhere outside of Beatleland. Of your personal compositions I prefer 'The Irises.' Your twist on 'The Second Time Around' is interesting as it gives us a version from the female perspective, working it's way around my imagination alongside the Sinatra and Crosby renditions.

"I wish you the best of luck with the album; I plug it in as often as I can."
Pat Goodhope "Sinatra and Company"
AM 1290/WJBR Radio - Wilmington, DE

"For her second album, Julia Rich sinks her musical teeth into an assorted program of standards, a Beatles tune, and seven of her works, one of which she wrote with Benita Hill, whose tunes have been recorded by the cover boy of country music: Garth Brooks. The Rich/Hill collaboration, 'Raining In Rio,' resembles country music not one whit. Instead, it's romantic with George Tidwell's flugelhorn playing an important role in extending it beyond merely presentable. In addition to original material, there are other significant differences between this album and Rich's initial effort. On 'The Way You Make Me Feel' she is jazzier, helped along with first-rate jazz musicians. But they were with her on the first album, so the more upbeat feel is Rich's doing. Her readings of the tunes show a higher degree of confidence, a willingness to branch out beyond standard material. This greater assurance is heard on 'You Hit The Spot,' a duet with Bob Mater's drums. Unerringly on pitch, this is a choice track. Another attraction is Rich's compositions. In addition to lyrics that talk about everyday situations, the harmonic structure gives her sidemen something to build a solo on, as with Tidwell's flugelhorn on 'The Irises.' Rich is also more relaxed than ever, even on up-tempo material like a sweet, not girlish, 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket,' alternating lines with Tidwell and Woodard. The interrelation of 'In A Sentimental Mood' is otherworldly.
"Too often, singers fall into that sophomore slump with their second album. Not so with Rich, who excels in every respect. Her delivery is tailored in such a way as to reflect the unique essence of each tune on the program. This along with the presence of instrumentalists who fiercely compliment her make this album highly recommended."
Dave Nathan
All Music Guide

if i spoke french

Review
by Scott Yanow
"Julia Rich has a warm singing voice, a style that falls between swinging jazz and cabaret, and the ability to sing a wide variety of material.  She is best-known for singing with the Glenn Miller 'ghost orchestra' but has  the ability to stretch herself far beyond nostalgia swing.  On 'If I Spoke  French,' her second CD as a leader, the repertoire ranges from 'La Vie en  Rose' to the Beatles' 'I Will;' from a few of her witty and at times wistful  originals to 'The Tennessee Waltz' and 'All the Cats Join In.'  In addition  to a rhythm section with either Tony Migliore or Gary Weaver on piano, she  is joined by a combo that includes trombonist Larry O'Brien (from the Glenn  Miller Band) and tenor saxophonist Rickey Woodard.  All in all, this is an  entertaining and very musical outing."  Scott Yanow - ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Review by Phil Stout
Julia's great in any language!
"Julia Rich is one of those rare female vocalists that can sing a song you've heard dozens (if not hundreds) of times before and flat out make it her own!  On IF I SPOKE FRENCH, her uncanny ability to take some great old standards like 'What A Difference A Day Made,' 'I Know Why' and (believe it or not) 'The Tennessee Waltz' and make them sound down right refreshing is nothing short of genius.  Of course, Julia has been honing her songbird skills in front of SRO audiences for a few seasons now as the Glenn Miller Orchestra's leading lady.  Believe me, when you hear her version of 'Ding Dong!The Witch Is Dead,' you'll wonder how such a dastardly deed could bring a smile to your face.  IF I SPOKE FRENCH also includes a number of Rich originals which deserve wider exposure.  In addition to the title tune, 'My First Love' and 'Matching Rings' are Julia tales sung simply and grand.  It doesn't matter what language you speak, Julia Rich's IF I SPOKE FRENCH is  universally recommended!"  Phil Stout, Music Consultant - MUSIC CHOICE / JazzRadio Berlin

"Julia Rich shows an allegiance to the big band forms of the '40's and '50's but also proves to be a very intelligent songwriter who can come up with a lot of witty tunes about love and life, such as 'If I Spoke French' and 'Boyfriends.' Her smooth, elegant voice sounds best on slow, languid tempos with Larry O'Brien's smooth, Tommy Dorsey-like trombone or Rickey Woodard's deep tenor behind her. Her tries at other styles are worthy as well. There's the perky calypso beat of 'Hula Girls,' the jazzy brassiness of 'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,' a solemn version of 'The Tennessee Waltz' and a bossa nova treatment of the Beatles on 'I Will.' Mostly, though, there's the laid-back sexy assurance found on old swing chestnuts like 'Don't Blame Me,' 'I Know Why' and 'All The Cats Join In,' pieces done intimately with just a few horns and sounding like gold. Julia Rich is doing what she sounds best at on this CD."
Jerome Wilson
Cadence Magazine - February 2004


"If I spoke French, I would call this disc 'C'est Magnifique!' - - but I don't so let's just say that this is a great CD! The title track is getting much-deserved airplay on WMOT-Jazz89. This track is my personal favorite, with just the right compliment of Rickey Woodard's tenor sax. This may be Julia's best work to date. She has two other CDs available on her website. Julia's porcelain voice is supported by some of the best studio musicians to be found in Nashville including Jim Ferguson, Bob Mater, Tony Migliore, Joey Smith and Gary Weaver. Larry O'Brien's trombone shines on the only song that Julia sings in French, 'La Vie En Rose.' Yes, it's the same Larry O'Brien that leads the Glenn Miller Orchestra with longtime female vocalist, you guessed it: Julia Rich.

"Six of the sixteen songs were written by Julia, with three co-written by our good friend Benita Hill. The co-written 'My First Love' has George Tidwell's tasty trumpet present. If you expect Julia to cover the standards you won't be disappointed with 'Don't Blame Me.' Not only is this a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful singer, but it also contains a very sensitive Larry O'Brien trombone solo. 'Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead' from 'The Wizard of Oz' really swings. 'The Tennessee Waltz' feels like it was written for Julia, thanks in part to Tony Migliore's lovely piano. Julia's long time friend Rickey Woodard's sax solo could not be more perfect on this track. Julia included the chestnut 'I Know Why' for us old timers. The CD closes with another great old song, 'You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You.'

Thanks Julia for helping to keep this music alive and a special thanks from Lynn and I for the inclusion in the liner notes, and for joining us for the MusiCares and Jazz89 Benefits. We love you and your music."
Ed Smith
Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society - September 2003


MURFREESBORO -- Julia Rich, recording star and vocalist with the globe-trotting Glenn Miller Orchestra, is coming home. Julia grew up singing in churches around middle Tennessee, wrote her first song at MTSU and is returning to Murfreesboro to help raise money for the Middle Tennessee Choral Society at a benefit dinner-dance Sept. 26.

Singing is her life, and probably the first person to realize that was her mother, school teacher June Blankenship. When Julia was just three, her mom told Margaret Wright of the Middle Tennessee State University music department, "I’ll be sending you a singer." And that she later did.

But first Julia developed an ear for harmony from the Methodist hymnal and a variety of public school choirs. Her dad, Rev. Fred Blankenship, retired as superintendent for the Murfreesboro district of the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the family spent years in Nashville, Shelbyville, Lawrenceburg and Columbia.

It was in Shelbyville that her fourth-grade teacher, Helen Philpot, taught her to sing "Faraway Places" and "Que sera, sera (What will be, will be)". Fittingly, Julia wound up singing in all sorts of faraway places with strange-sounding names throughout the USA, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Iceland and Central America.

Most of the travel has been with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. She hooked up with the band in 1985 after a bassist she had worked with in Chattanooga urged her to submit an audition tape. She sang her first Glenn Miller show at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville and has been on the road with the orchestra ever since.

Though she is grateful to be able to sing for a living and says the Miller band experience has been "wonderful," her favorite musical format is the small group, and she’ll have her own small combo of outstanding Nashville-based jazz musicians at Stones River Country Club Sept. 26 for the fund-raising dinner-dance.

She’ll be performing jazz standards and ballads accompanied by Tony Migliore on piano, Bob Mater on drums, Jim Ferguson on bass, Denis Solee on sax and George Tidwell playing trumpet and flugelhorn. These musicians are featured in dozens of CDs, including on Julia’s albums, and are among the top-notch colleagues she works with whenever she’s in the Nashville area for any length of time.

She maintains a permanent residence in Nashville, but Murfreesboro is like home to her as well.. Julia got her bachelor’s degree in music from MTSU, and credits music department co-directors Neil and Margaret Wright with helping develop her vocal music ability.

"I learned a cappella singing from Maggie Wright with her Sacred Harp singers, and I still dig it," she says. "She was my mentor, a classy dame. I wish she were here to hear my songs on WMOT. She was so encouraging. We were big buddies while I was on the road long after my schooling at MTSU."

WMOT, the jazz radio station emanating from the university campus, has been giving frequent play of late to Julia’s hit song, "If I Spoke French". That’s also the title of her new CD, which WMOT program director Greg Lee says is among the most-requested of the year, and is the recording by a Nashville-based artist that has gone the farthest up the station's charts.

This album, her third, includes several other originals. Doing originals on a CD is not unusual for her, because she’s always been drawn to writing tunes as well as singing them. In fact, she wrote her first song way back in college days, about a girl dating someone else’s boy friend -- "cheating," as she laughingly says now. On a recent break in Nashville, she recorded that tune and several more of her songs in hopes of putting out a fourth album fairly soon with only originals.

Among her compositions is one called "With All My Heart," the story of how her parents met. She wrote it to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Her folks now reside in Franklin, and her dad just turned 90 a few weeks ago.

Julia says she looks forward to the next phase in her life, when she decides to put the band vocalist career behind her. "The refreshing part is getting to sing every night," she says, "but the road can really wear a gal out. When I finally get off, I hope the tiredness doesn‘t kick in. I‘m planning to spend more and more time in my home (in Nashville), and as a solo act and songwriter."

Julia’s sense of humor is evident in many of her lyrics, and it shines through when she recalls that she switched her major from pre-law to music on the first day of classes at MTSU. "And that’s why I’m riding a bus."

Did she always want to be a singer? "No," she says, "I wanted to be Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to be the first woman baseball player, or the first woman president. But it didn’t work out."

At the Sept. 26 benefit appearance in Murfreesboro, part of the country club will be turned into a "rainbow room" for dining and dancing, a decor she deeply appreciates. "The voice is an instrument," she says, "and songs are stories. Singing with a small group in a jazz club or intimate theater is the ideal gig. The rainbow room is the dream venue."

From faraway places to those close to home, Julia Rich has been hard-working proof of her mother’s promise to send forth a singer. As for "Que sera, sera", maybe fourth-grade teacher Helen Philpot had an inkling of "what will be" for her prize pupil. Julia remembers her with great fondness and says Mrs. Philpot was her favorite teacher, "a strong, feminine, positive, smart, delightful dame. Still is."

Smart, delightful, positive, strong, feminine -- those very adjectives have been applied by critics to the music of Julia Rich. Hmmm. Que sera, sera.

Donald O. Henry
free-lance journalist, Murfreesboro/Nashville


"Who needs French!?! Julia Rich sings the 'universal language' of love in a sexy, sweet, sophisticated style. And those legs . . . oooohh la la!!!"
Greg Lee
Program/Music Director, WMOT, jazz89, Nashville

"I LOVE it! As soon as I got to the station this morning I ran it in and had Rick play "Boyfriends" Oh my God what a great song that is... a real "hoot." The entire cd is great...
Kevin Alexander
Vice President, KMRY, Cedar Rapids

...."JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT COULDN'T GET BETTER.....You did it again!!! Congratulations on 'FRENCH.' It's OUTSTANDING, Julia.

I can't wait to get it on the air. You have some great players....Larry's fine trombone on La Vie En Rose....Jim Ferguson, George, etc. Superb Players!!!

We stick to mostly standards on the show (99%), however some of your originals sound like standards. You did a great job writing solo and with Benita. Case in point: 'Boyfriends!' Very timely!!!

Listening to 'Don't Blame Me' at the moment, Larry is so smooth, ...and you do
the evergreen total justice.

WHAT A GREAT CD!!!! Perfect balance and selection of songs...from "Tennessee Waltz" to "All The Cats Join In". Congratulations on an exceptional CD.
Jim Stone
Jim Stone's Big Band Swing, WLNZ, Lansing, MI

"I am thoroughly enjoying the new album. My favorite far and away is 'I Know Why.' I am a sentimental nut and there aren't nearly enough accurate versions of this underrated gem. I have been airing it consistently."
Pat Goodhope
"Sinatra and Company" - AM 1290/WJBR Radio - Wilmington, DE

"I especially enjoyed several of your originals. The melody line and lyrics are not only compatible, they like each other, which isn't always the case in some of the stuff I've heard (and sung) over the years. In "My First Love" the line about loving the boy but never knowing the man struck me as one of those phrases one never forgets. (e.g., like the double-crossing of a pair of heels in "I Wish I Were in Love Again") The fresh approach to a lyric in "If I Spoke French" has rightfully caught the attention and support of dj's -- indubitably, as one of my high school teachers was wont to say.
don o. henry
freelance journalist, performer, nashville