Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American

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 ...

singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pioneered a

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

and scat jazz singing style with an

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

as the only accompaniment. Jordan's music has earned praise from many critics, particularly for her ability to improvise lyrics;

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

describes her as "one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers."

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

often introduced Jordan as "the lady with the million dollar ears."

Biography

Early career

Sheila Jordan was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Her childhood was very difficult. Her mother was only 17 when Sheila was born and struggled to raise a child, unfortunately turning to alcohol as a means of coping. Jordan was sent to live with her grandparents in the small coal mining town of Summerhill,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

. She grew up with nine siblings who were really her aunts and uncles. Life with her grandparents was difficult -- money was tight, there was little warmth or affection from her grandparents, and her grandfather was also an alcoholic. Jordan has said: "We were probably the poorest people in a poor town…we had an outhouse and no water in the house… In the wintertime all of us would sleep in one bedroom without any sheets or pillowcases on the beds; we just had blankets.” She returned to Detroit, living with her mother, in 1940 or 1942. She sang and played piano in jazz clubs in Detroit. She was a member of the trio Skeeter, Mitch, and Jean (Skeeter Spight, Leroi Mitchell, and Jordan, using part of her middle name, was "Jean"), which wrote lyrics to music by

. They went to Parker's performances in Detroit, met him, and he would ask them to sing. In 1951, Jordan moved to New York City and studied harmony and

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

with Lennie Tristano and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

, but concentrated on the music of Charlie Parker. Jordan and Parker became friends before his death in 1955; she refers to him as one of her teachers. From 1952–1962, she was married to Duke Jordan, who played piano in Parker's band. Although the marriage was unhappy (Duke Jordan was addicted to heroin), it produced a daughter, Tracy, of whom Sheila says she finally had someone “that I could truly love and that I was sure would love me back”. In a 2012 interview with ''JazzWax'', when asked why she moved to New York, Jordan said, "I guess I was chasin' the Bird arker" When asked if the song " Chasin' the Bird" was written for her, she replied, "No. I don't know how that rumor got started."

1960s

In the early 1960s, Jordan performed at the Page Three Club in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

with pianist Herbie Nichols, and at other bars and clubs in New York City. She withdrew from clubs for much of the '60s to raise her daughter, and sang in church instead. For 20 years, she worked as a typist and legal secretary with little time to concentrate on music until she was 58. In 1962, she worked with George Russell, with whom she recorded the song, "

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by ...

" on his album '' The Outer View'' ( Riverside). Later that year she recorded the album '' Portrait of Sheila'' released by Blue Note. Her long working relationship with

Steve Kuhn Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. He is the composer of the jazz standard " The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers". Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to S ...

began in the early 1960s. She also played with Don Heckman (1967–68), Lee Konitz (1972), and Roswell Rudd (1972–75).

1970s to present

In 1974, Jordan was Artist in Residence at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and taught there from 1978–2005. In 2006, she was presented the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) Lifetime Achievement Award and celebrated 28 years as an adjunct professor of music. She has taught at

University of Massachusetts at Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

and the Vermont Jazz Center, Interplay Jazz and Arts, as well as teaching international workshops. On July 12, 1975, she recorded ''Confirmation''. One year later she released the duet album ''Sheila'', with Arild Andersen for SteepleChase. In 1979, she founded a quartet with

, Harvie S, and Bob Moses. During the 1980s, she worked with Harvie S 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. Jordan is a songwriter who works in

and

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

. In addition to the aforementioned musicians, she has recorded with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Cameron Brown,

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

, and Steve Swallow. In the UK she appeared with former John Dankworth Band vocalist Frank Holder. She has led recordings for Blue Note, Blackhawk,

East Wind An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in culture, mythology, poetry, and literature. In culture and mythology In Islam, the east wind Saba holds religious signi ...

, ECM, Grapevine,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, and SteepleChase. In 2012, she received the NEA Jazz Masters Award. Her biography, ''Jazz Child: A Portrait of Sheila Jordan'', written by vocalist and educator Ellen Johnson, was published in 2014.

Awards and honors

* 2006 Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs Lifetime Achievement Award * 2007 International Association for Jazz Education Humanitarian Award * 2008

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

' Women in Jazz for Lifetime of Service * 2010 New York Nightlife Award – Outstanding Jazz Vocalist * 2012

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Jazz Master Award – Lifetime Honors Award * 2018 Bistro Award Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Jazz

Discography

As leader

* '' Portrait of Sheila'' (Blue Note, 1963) – recorded in 1962 * ''Confirmation'' (East Wind, 1975) * ''Sheila'' with Johnny Knapp (Grapevine, 1977) * ''Sheila'' with Arild Andersen ( SteepleChase, 1978) – recorded in 1977 * ''

Playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

'' with Steve Kuhn ( ECM, 1980) – recorded in 1979 * ''Old Time Feeling'' with Harvie S (Palo Alto, 1983) – recorded in 1982 * ''The Crossing'' (BlackHawk, 1984) * ''Body and Soul'' (CBS/Sony, 1987) * ''Lost and Found'' (Muse, 1990) * ''Songs from Within'' with Harvie Swartz (MA, 1993) * ''One for Junior'' with Mark Murphy (Muse, 1993) * ''Heart Strings'' (Muse, 1994) * ''Jazz Child'' with Steve Kuhn (HighNote, 1999) * ''Sheila's Back in Town'' (Splasc(h), 1999) * ''The Very Thought of Two'' with Harvie Swartz (MA, 2000) * ''Little Song'' with Steve Kuhn (HighNote, 2003) * ''Believe in Jazz'' with Serge Forté Trio (France, 2004) * ''Celebration'' with Cameron Brown (HighNote, 2005) * ''Straight Ahead'' (Splasc(h), 2005) – recorded in 2004 * ''Winter Sunshine'' (Justin Time, 2008) * ''Live At Mezzrow'' (Cellar Live, 2022) – live recorded in 2021 * ''Comes Love: Lost Session 1960'' (Capri Records, 2021)

As featured vocalist

With

* ''

Escalator over the Hill ''Escalator over the Hill'' (or ''EOTH'') is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction", with "words by Paul Haines (poet), Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Mic ...

'' (JCOA, 1971) With Cameron Brown * ''Here and How!'' (OmniTone 1997) * ''I've Grown Accustomed to the Bass'' (HighNote, 2000) With Jane Bunnett * ''The Water Is Wide'' (1993) With George Gruntz * ''

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

'' (ECM, 1983) With Bob Moses * ''When Elephants Dream of Music'' (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

, 1982) With Roswell Rudd * '' Flexible Flyer'' ( Arista/Freedom 1974) * '' Blown Bone'' (Philips, 1979) * '' Broad Strokes'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) With Steve Swallow * ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' (ECM, 1980)

Academia

Former students * Laura Valle

References

External links

Official site

Official site for ''Jazz Child: A Portrait of Sheila Jordan by Ellen Johnson''

Interview at vancouverjazz.com

''Jazz Italia'' article

''One Final Note'' feature from 2005

Sheila Jordan interviewed by Eric Jackson
on WGBH's Eric in the Evening
2009 interview with Alyn Shipton
for BBC Radio 3's 'Jazz Library' series {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Sheila 1928 births Living people American women jazz singers American jazz singers Bebop singers Scat singers Singers from Detroit Blue Note Records artists ECM Records artists HighNote Records artists Muse Records artists Palo Alto Records artists SteepleChase Records artists Jazz musicians from Michigan Justin Time Records artists 21st-century American women NEA Jazz Masters