Judy Bailey (pianist)
Judith Mary Bailey was a New Zealand-born pianist, classical jazz musician, composer, arranger and senior lecturer who lived in Australia from 1960.
Life and career
Bailey was born in Auckland on 3 October 1935, and raised in Whangārei. As a young child she learned ballet, followed by piano and theory when she was 10 years old. She graduated from Trinity College London when she was 16.Bailey moved to Australia in 1960, spending most of her time in Sydney. She performed on TV, music venues such as the El Rocco, and on many recordings.
She served with Tommy Tycho's orchestra on the Seven Network.
Bailey was a senior lecturer in jazz composition and jazz piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she commenced in 1973, and was also musical director of the Sydney Youth Jazz Ensemble.
In 1973, Bailey became the pianist on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation children's radio show Kindergarten, which often featured presenters from Play School
In 2017, rapper Rick Ross with producer Bink sampled Bailey's "Colour of My Dreams" from the Judy Bailey Quartet album Colours. The sample was used on Ross's track "Santorini Greece" on the album Rather You Than Me.
Bailey was a represented artist of the Australian Music Centre.
She died in Willoughby, Sydney, New South Wales on 8 August 2025, at the age of 89.
Awards and honours
- 2004: Medal of the Order of Australia "for service to jazz music and education."
- 2008: Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music at the Annual Classical Music Awards.
- 2017: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney
- 2022: Australia Council Don Banks Music Award
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards which recognise excellence, innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.!
Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.!