Judi Singh was an Edmonton born vocalist, whose jazz music encapsulated the Alberta region throughout the 50s to the 70s. With a career that began at the age of 17, Singh’s musical talents were immediately recognized. Selling out shows at Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite at such a young age with performances such as “Body and Soul”, Judi Singh promptly established herself as one of the foremost Black-South Asian jazz musicians in Canada.

The rich historic past that accompanies Judi Singh is immeasurable. Her parents, Sohan Singh Bhullar and Effie Jones were pioneer Black Albertans, whose relatives founded Amber Valley, a community north of Edmonton. The marginalization faced by Singh’s relatives was burdensome, as both the Black and South Asian communities faced backlash for facilitating Edmonton’s only Black church, Shiloh Baptist Church. Singh herself was also a victim of such mistreatment and discrimination, as her talents were not only overshined by members of other communities, but by those closest to her. A partner of hers, Lenny Breau was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and she was not, despite Singh’s wildly impactful contributions. This is not the first time Singh’s talents went chronically unacknowledged in spite of such initial success in Edmonton. The artist’s work had merely earned her nominations as features on another artist’s album. Still, Singh’s perseverance, talents and story cemented her as an instrumental asset of Canadian music history. Such a history was monumental in the inspiration of her music, which features elements of primarily jazz and blues, as well as gospel and Indian music.

Well renowned for her beautiful voice, Singh was one of few artists’ of her gender and race at that time. After battling the many marginalization’s that accompanied her life as a musician, Singh spent the rest of her life as a private person, choosing to move to Victoria, BC in hopes of living out the rest of her life as a mother and grandmother. She passed away in July of 2021. Through documenting her soulful works, Canadians may honour her contributions and give her the recognition she deserves.