Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson on 18 November 1928 in Detroit, Michigan[1]) is an American jazz singer and songwriter.
Her mainstream success has been somewhat limited, but Jordan's music has earned praise from many critics, particularly for her ability to improvise entire lyrics; Scott Yanow describes her as "[o]ne of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers."[2]
Biography
Performing in Jerusalem, Israel
Sheila Jordan grew up in Summerhill, Pennsylvania before returning to her birthplace in 1940/41 playing the piano and singing semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. She was influenced by Charlie Parker and was part of a trio called Skeeter, Mitch and Jean (she was Jean) which composed lyrics to Parker's Arrangements. Sheila also claimed in her song "Sheila's Blues" that Charlie Parker wrote the song, "Chasing the Bird" for her, as she and her friends were known to chase him around the jazz clubs in the 1940s.
In 1951 she moved to New York and started studying harmony and music theory taught by Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus. From 1952 to 1962 she was married to Charlie Parker's pianist Duke Jordan.
In the early 1960s she had gigs and sessions in the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, where she was performing with pianist Herbie Nichols[3], and was working in different clubs and bars in New York.
In 1962 she was discovered by George Russell who did a recording of the song "You Are My Sunshine" with her on his album The Outer View (Riverside). Later that year she recorded the Portrait of Sheila album (recorded in September 19 and October 12, 1962) which was sold to Blue Note.[4]
Over the next decade, Jordan withdrew from music to raise her daughter. She supported herself by working as a legal secretary.
Later in the decade she sang jazz liturgies in different churches such as Cornell and Princeton, NYC. Jordan played with Don Heckman (1967-68), Lee Konitz (1972), Roswell Rudd (1972-75) and began her long working relationship with Steve Kuhn around this time.
In 1974 she was "Artist in Residence" at the City College and was teaching there in 1975. On the 12th of July 1975 she recorded "Confirmation". One year later she did the duet album simply called Sheila with Arild Andersen (Bass) for SteepleChase in the end of 1976. In 1979 she founded a quartet with Kuhn, Harvie Swartz and Bob Moses. During the 1980s she was working with Harvie Swartz as a duo and played on several records with him. Until 1987 she worked in an advertising agency and recorded Lost and Found in 1989.
Sheila Jordan is also a songwriter and is able to work in both bebop and free jazz. In addition to the musicians referred to, she has recorded with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band (TCB, ECM), Harvie Swartz (MA Recordings), Cameron Brown, Carla Bley (Escalator over the Hill) and Steve Swallow (Home). In addition to Blue Note, she has led recordings issued by Eastwind, Grapevine, SteepleChase, ECM, Palo Alto, Blackhawk and Muse.
Discography
Solo albums
- Portrait of Sheila Jordan - (Blue Note 1963)
- Confirmation - (Eastwind 1975)
- Sheila - (SteepleChase 1977)
- Playground - Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan Band - (ECM 1980)
- Old Time Feeling - (Muse (1982)
- The Crossing - (Blackhawk Records 1984)
- Body and Soul - (CBS/Sony 1986)
- Lost and Found - (Muse 1989)
- Songs From Within - (MA Recordings 1989)
- One for Junior - (Muse 1991)
- Heart Strings - (Muse 1993)
- Jazz Child- (High Note 1999)
- Sheila's Back In Town - (Splasc(h) 2000)
- From the Heart - (32 Records 2000)
- Straight Ahead - (YVP/Splasc(h) 2000)
- I've Grown Accustomed to the Bass - (High Note 2000)
- The Very Thought of Two - (MA Recordings 2000)
- Little Song - (High Note 2003)
- Believe in Jazz - (ELLA Productions 2004)
- Celebration - Live At The Triad - (High Note 2005)
- Winter Sunshine - (Justin Time 2008)
As featured vocalist
References
External links
