606 Club Special: Salena Jones at 606 Club

A descendant of Crazy Horse, the famous Sioux Indian warrior chief, Joan Shaw was born in Newport News, Virginia. She began singing in church and by the age of fifteen was performing on the professional circuit, producing 156 singles (the first being released at the age of eleven), many of which can still be heard on YouTube today. After winning the talent contest at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theatre in New York, following in the footsteps of the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Gladys Knight, from the early 1950s she was touring widely across the U.S. with her own “Blues Express Orchestra,” featuring virtuoso saxophonist “King” Curtis Ousley, as well as working regularly at famous Manhattan jazz venues such as the Village Vanguard and Minton’s Playhouse. At this time Leonard Feather, the noted jazz critic, named Joan as one of his choices as “most promising newcomer”, together with Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé. Not bad company. Glamorous and beautiful with a distinctive voice and relaxed style she received her first recording contract with Savoy in 1949 and the array of jazz greats she played and recorded with was vast, including Betty Carter, Cab Calloway, Billy Eckstine, Vic Damone and Lena Horne. However, by the early 1960s Joan felt she needed to expand her horizons and so she bought a one-way ticket to Madrid. She sang one song at the “Whiskey and Jazz Club” the same night she arrived in Spain and was immediately engaged to sing nightly with Dexter Gordon. But London called, and she arrived to stay in 1965. The first thing her management recommended was a name-change - and so Salena Jones was born! She was soon booked to appear for two weeks at Ronnie Scott`s new club in Frith Street, but was such a hit that she was eventually held over for a total of seven consecutive weeks – still a record after all this time. Over the last five decades, Salena has been a central figure on the British jazz scene and from her base here has set out to conquer the world. She has played everywhere, from Canada, throughout Europe, South Africa, South America, to the U.S. and Asia, where she is a well-loved artiste (appearing in Japan at least annually since 1978). She has performed with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ray Brown, Sarah Vaughan, Maynard Ferguson, Mark Murphy, Lionel Hampton, Dudley Moore, Tom Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, the BBC Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Similarly, her recording career has reflected her ability to choose a varied repertoire, moving beyond just jazz boundaries, with a total of 43 solo albums and 22 singles produced over a period of 50 years, establishing an enviable international reputation in the process. Salena’s band for this 606 date, her first here at the Club, includes famed soloists Alan Barnes on sax and Martin Shaw on trumpet along with Gabriel Latchin-piano, Jules Jackson-bass and Pete Cater-drums. A special night from a remarkable artist and highly recommended....

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A descendant of Crazy Horse, the famous Sioux Indian warrior chief, Joan Shaw was born in Newport News, Virginia. She began singing in church and by the age of fifteen was performing on the professional circuit, producing 156 singles (the first being released at the age of eleven), many of which can still be heard on YouTube today. After winning the talent contest at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theatre in New York, following in the footsteps of the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Gladys Knight, from the early 1950s she was touring widely across the U.S. with her own “Blues Express Orchestra,” featuring virtuoso saxophonist “King” Curtis Ousley, as well as working regularly at famous Manhattan jazz venues such as the Village Vanguard and Minton’s Playhouse. At this time Leonard Feather, the noted jazz critic, named Joan as one of his choices as “most promising newcomer”, together with Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé. Not bad company. Glamorous and beautiful with a distinctive voice and relaxed style she received her first recording contract with Savoy in 1949 and the array of jazz greats she played and recorded with was vast, including Betty Carter, Cab Calloway, Billy Eckstine, Vic Damone and Lena Horne. However, by the early 1960s Joan felt she needed to expand her horizons and so she bought a one-way ticket to Madrid. She sang one song at the “Whiskey and Jazz Club” the same night she arrived in Spain and was immediately engaged to sing nightly with Dexter Gordon. But London called, and she arrived to stay in 1965. The first thing her management recommended was a name-change - and so Salena Jones was born! She was soon booked to appear for two weeks at Ronnie Scott`s new club in Frith Street, but was such a hit that she was eventually held over for a total of seven consecutive weeks – still a record after all this time. Over the last five decades, Salena has been a central figure on the British jazz scene and from her base here has set out to conquer the world. She has played everywhere, from Canada, throughout Europe, South Africa, South America, to the U.S. and Asia, where she is a well-loved artiste (appearing in Japan at least annually since 1978). She has performed with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ray Brown, Sarah Vaughan, Maynard Ferguson, Mark Murphy, Lionel Hampton, Dudley Moore, Tom Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, the BBC Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Similarly, her recording career has reflected her ability to choose a varied repertoire, moving beyond just jazz boundaries, with a total of 43 solo albums and 22 singles produced over a period of 50 years, establishing an enviable international reputation in the process. Salena’s band for this 606 date, her first here at the Club, includes famed soloists Alan Barnes on sax and Martin Shaw on trumpet along with Gabriel Latchin-piano, Jules Jackson-bass and Pete Cater-drums. A special night from a remarkable artist and highly recommended.

“Stunning British-based US singer Jones has a touch of Sarah Vaughan in her technique and a great feel for working intimate jazz venues. She’s on fine form, packing a soulful and emotional punch live” Time Out; “New Jersey’s world-travelled charmer is one of the best...singers in the business. Disciples who hung on her every sound at Ronnie Scott’s for years will know just what the velvet voice can do to jazz, blues, ballads and pop” Evening Standard; “Salena Jones...infinitely versatile she can swing from jazz standards to more intimate material. Her delivery is wonderfully free from artifice...a storyteller who allows the words..to speak for themselves…Jones is pure class” The Times

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