Monica Ramey

Monica Ramey

Acclaimed jazz vocalist Monica Ramey first arrived in Nashville in 2000, fresh out of college, but already a seasoned performer.

A native of rural Indiana, she started singing and dancing at the age of 3, with encouragement from her mother — a dedicated music teacher who directed her high school show choir. But it wasn’t until Ramey discovered the Nashville Jazz Workshop that she truly felt she had found her artistic home.

“It’s hard to explain,” says Ramey, whose passion for music is deeply rooted in the Great American Songbook. “It was just immediate. From the moment I walked in the place, I had a gut feeling – a sense of belonging. I started taking classes and going to all the performances. I was absolutely immersed in it. I would take two, three or four classes at a time. I volunteered. I actually started working there, just to help pay for my classes. I did anything and everything I could, just to be part of that community.”

It was there that Ramey would meet fellow jazz luminaries like NJW co-founders Lori Mechem and Roger Spencer, along with the legendary pianist and bandleader Beegie Adair.

“At the end of my first recital, this short little blonde woman walked up to me and handed me some notes, and said: ‘You don’t know me, and I don’t know you yet, but my name is Beegie Adair, and from now on, you’re going to be taking classes with me.’ And I did. It was like I’d won the lottery. That moment absolutely changed my life.”

Ramey would go on to record multiple albums with Adair, who sadly passed in 2022. And together, they played to sold-out crowds at storied venues such as Birdland Jazz Club in New York – where Ramey still performs regularly.

“I wore a lot of hats in Beegie’s life,” she says. “We became such great friends. She was a mentor who became a peer, and that’s a very rare and special thing.”

Ramey is currently in the midst of a yearlong residency at NJW, with monthly performances celebrating beloved American composers like Cole Porter, Blossom Dearie and George Gershwin. Fans can catch Too Marvelous for Words: Monica Ramey Sings the Songs of Johnny Mercer on Sept. 25.

“Johnny Mercer has such a remarkable story,” she says. “He wrote for Broadway and Hollywood. He won Academy Awards for songs like “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses.” He could write these really sweet, bouncy, upbeat songs, and then turn around and write “Drinking Again” or “Come Rain or Come Shine.”

“This residency has been such a gift,” she added. “To be able to share this music that means so much to me, to help celebrate these incredible composers – and to be able to do it on stage at the Nashville Jazz Workshop – it’s just pure joy.”

When she’s not on stage, you’ll likely find Ramey at home in Franklin, where she has resided since 2014. 

“I live downtown, so I absolutely love to walk every day and see all of the beautiful homes and landscaping, and look in all the shops on Main Street," she said. "There is a lot of love and creativity in this community, and I find my neighbors and the businesses to be so friendly. I’ve always been a big fan of Cork and Cow and Red Pony. But it’s so fun trying all of the new places that are coming in, as well.”

Ramey brings that same sense of fun and appreciation to each performance.

“I’m one of those people that still gets nervous before every show,” she said. “But I think it’s just that I want everything to go well. Once I’m out on that stage – there’s nothing better. I love looking out to the audience – that feeling like you’re having this really intimate conversation with them. There’s this wonderful energy, and for 90 minutes we’re able to forget about the world and our phones and just enjoy some really great music together. What could be better?”

Too Marvelous for Words: Monica Ramey Sings the Songs of Johnny Mercer takes place Sept. 25 at the Nashville Jazz Workshop