Justin Hayford (born March 11, 1970) is a Chicago-based singer and pianist. He performs

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

music and specializes in reviving obscure and forgotten songs from the past. Justin writes and presents

shows at various venues in Chicago, and has released a number of albums. He also worked as Case Manager of the Legal Council for Health Justice from 1991 through at least 2017, and wrote theater reviews for the

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

newspaper from 1987 until 2019.

Music

Justin has recorded at least four albums for Lee Lessack's

LML Music LML may refer to: * Lazy ML, a programming language * Lightweight markup language in computing * Lifecycle Modeling Language, in systems engineering * Lohia Machinery Limited LML (formerly Lohia Machines Ltd) was an Indian scooter and moto ...

label, which was dedicated to

and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

music. All four albums are collections of little-known old songs. *''A Rare Find: Forgotten Gems from the American Popular Songbook''. Released 2001. After performing for three years at various Chicago

venues A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a conce ...

, Justin decided to put together some of his favorite songs, and so his debut album appeared. It contains songs mostly from the 1930s and 1940s by famous songwriters such as

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...

("I Go For That"),

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

and

Van Heusen Van Heusen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Billy Van Heusen (born 1946), American football player *Jimmy Van Heusen (1916–1990), American composer *John Manning Van Heusen, Dutch immigrant in America, after whom PVH Corp ...

("Humpty Dumpty Heart"),

Comden and Green Comden and Green was a 60-year songwriting partnership, comprising Betty Comden (1917–2006) and Adolph Green (1914–2002). They first worked together in 1941 at the Village Gate in New York City, as writers and performers in a nightclub act c ...

("You’re Awful"),

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

("Kiss Me with a Smile"),

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garla ...

("I’m Not So Bright"), Joseph Meyer ("According to the Moonlight"). *''Look Who's Been Dreaming: Neglected Treasures from Hollywood's Golden Age''. Released 2004. This album is a collection of songs from old Hollywood movies: "Please Pardon Us, We’re in Love" (from ''You Can’t Have Everything''), "Us on a Bus" (from ''Summer Wives''), "Baby Mine" (from ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...

''), "Look Who's Been Dreaming" (from '' The Farmer Takes a Wife''), "Never Swat a Fly" (from ''

Just Imagine Just Imagine may refer to; * Just Imagine (film), 1930 science fiction musical film * Just Imagine..., 2001–2002 comic book line {{Disambiguation ...

''). *''It All Belongs to You: Unsung Cole Porter''. Released 2007. This album comprises songs by the renowned American composer and songwriter

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

. *''Here I'll Stay''. Released 2012, via

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. For these albums, Justin worked with the bassist Jim Cox and the drummer Phil Gratteau, and sometimes with additional musicians.

Awards and recognition

In 2001 After Dark Chicago Magazine gave Justin its "Outstanding Cabaret Artist" Award.

References

*"No-Hit Wonder", Chicago Social Magazine, November 2001 *"Singer Doesn't Go By Numbers", Chicago Sun-Times, May 26, 2002 *"Chi Lives: Justin Hayford's Unclaimed Melodies", Chicago Reader, March 2, 2001 *"Justin Hayford's Cabaret Sound Comes Naturally", Chicago Tribune, February 6, 2004 *"Romantic Sensation", South Bend Tribune, November 4, 2005

Notes

External links

Justin Hayford at LML MusicJustin's Last.fm page with free songs to listen and download
(please scroll to the bottom of the page)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayford, Justin American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz singers American cabaret singers American crooners Singers from Chicago American HIV/AIDS activists 1970 births Living people Jazz musicians from Illinois 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American pianists