Sheila Jordan Trio at Birdland Theater

Raised in poverty in Pennsylvanias coal-mining country, Jordan began singing as a child and by the time she was in her early teens was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Her first great influence was Charlie Parker and, indeed, most of her influences have been instrumentalists rather than singers. Working chiefly with black musicians, she met with disapproval from the white community but persisted with her career. She was a member of a vocal trio, Skeeter, Mitch And Jean (she was Jean), who sang versions of Parkers solos in a manner akin to that of the later Lambert, Hendricks And Ross...

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Raised in poverty in Pennsylvanias coal-mining country, Jordan began singing as a child and by the time she was in her early teens was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Her first great influence was Charlie Parker and, indeed, most of her influences have been instrumentalists rather than singers. Working chiefly with black musicians, she met with disapproval from the white community but persisted with her career. She was a member of a vocal trio, Skeeter, Mitch And Jean (she was Jean), who sang versions of Parkers solos in a manner akin to that of the later Lambert, Hendricks And Ross. After moving to New York in the early 50s, she married Parkers pianist, Duke Jordan, and studied with Lennie Tristano, but it was not until the early 60s that she made her first recordings. One of these was under her own name, the other was The Outer View with George Russell, which featured a famous 10-minute version of You Are My Sunshine. By the late 70s jazz audiences had begun to understand her uncompromising style a little more and her popularity increased - as did her appearances on record, Jordan is one of only a tiny handful of jazz singers who fully deserve the appellation and for whom no other term will do. Her ballad performances are simply beyond the emotional and expressive capabilities of most other vocalists. - The New York Times

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