Music is a calling, not a career choice — something that local jazz singer Judy Page knows quite well.
“The old adage is that you don’t choose music, music chooses you,” said Page, who performs at 7:15 p.m. July 17 with Speakeasy, a local jazz group, at the Starting Gate Banquet Room located in Landmark Recreation Center. “I was told by my mom that at 3 years old I could sing a whole gospel song. People would come to the house to visit, and they’d say, ‘Sing, Judy, for a dime or a nickel.’ That’s a God-given gift. I had no training, no background. It’s just always been there.”
Page has always been there, too. Although she spent 25 years working at Caterpillar Inc., her true calling is music. Page and Speakeasy are often heard at the Rhythm Kitchen and the Contemporary Art Center. They also do regular gigs at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at Pizza Works in Peoria Heights.
Back in 1999, she performed at the Budweiser Illinois Blues Festival, and is possibly best known locally as a member of Kriss/Kross. The nucleus of that group — artist and jazz guitarist Preston Jackson, guitarist Steve Degenford, bass player Gary Adkisson, drummer Bryan Moore, and sax and flute player Dave Parkinson — also make up Speakeasy.
“We had a run that was amazing,” Page said of Kriss/Kross. “We did college campuses. We even did penitentiaries. We watched each other grow. We know each other’s kids. Once you have a band with personalities that fit — it works.”
Page’s legal name is Judy Adkisson. (Gary Adkisson is her ex-husband; the fact the two still perform together is testimony, Page said, to the power of music to bring everybody together.) She took the name Page because it’s easy to remember and because it’s her mother’s maiden name.
“The need to be before an audience started when I was 15,” Page said. “I started singing in high school in what you might call ‘hops’ after school. I sang with a band. ... When you make your first money, you’re considered a professional. I made my first money at 15.”
Then came a brush with Ike and Tina Turner, who were in town performing — and looking for a new “Ikette” to travel with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. During the concert, Ike Turner asked for any would-be singers in the audience to come forward but Page — who was at the concert — didn’t think the legendary bandleader and record producer was serious.
A second chance to join the group came shortly afterward.
“They were staying at the Jefferson Hotel, which was in Downtown Peoria, and there was a guy working as a bellhop who knew me,” Page said. “He was talking to Ike and he said, ‘There was a girl at the concert last night. She sings, but she didn’t really think you (were serious). So she didn’t get up. You should get in touch with her.’”
Read more on: http://www.pjstar.com/entertainment/x1223061950/A-gift-Music-is-a-calling-not-a-career-choice
Gary Panetta can be reached at gpanetta@pjstar.com.
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