| Prudence Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Folk, jazz |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Labels | Redhouse |
| Website | www.prudencejohnson.com |
Prudence Johnson is an American jazz and folk vocalist.
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Prudence Johnson grew up in a musical family in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the early 1970s, Prudence was a co-founder with Tim Sparks of the vocal jazz group Rio Nido. The group recorded three albums and performed extensively, most often in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4]
Johnson's film credits include Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in a role as a singer and Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion as herself.