Sheila Jordan has a farmhouse retreat in Upstate New York where the 80-year-old
singer goes to develop new music. In The New York Times this week, Lisa A. Phillips wrote a charming story about Jordan and her country life. Here is a sample:
“When I come up here,” she said, “I feel totally undressed musically. I feel I can try out any kind of idea I have.”
On her five and a quarter acres of land atop Canady Hill, her only close neighbors have been the cows the farmer next door once kept. “I called them the bebop cows,” Ms. Jordan said. “They didn’t like ballads. If I sang them a slow tune, they left. If I sang bebop, they came running over.”
To read the whole thing, go here. Do not miss the audio slide show embedded in the article.
Here is Sheila during a Austrialian tour in a tribute to one of her heroes, Billie Holiday. Mike Nock’s trio accompanies her.
When the video clip ends, you will see links to other Jordan performances on YouTube.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
Thanks for the link to the NY Times article on Sheila. She is a marvel of a singer and a fantastic human being and a friend since 1958 when I first met her at The Page Three on 7th Avenue, 2 blocks South from the Vanguard. I was the house pianist and got to accompany her once a week. She was working days and sang the Monday jazz nights.
What a joy it was to be playing behind her in those days. She never ever missed the first note and all those in between, she scatted her arse off on up tunes, slow tunes and on anything and everything; And Sheila always sang from the heart. She becomes the music. Sheila is music.
I was also blessed to have her sing my Jazz Requiem in 1968. I wrote the solo parts with her sound in mind. She then went on to learn more of my liturgical jazz compositions, all by ear, one phrase at a time, over and over and over, until it was in her bones and musical psyche; once the score was learned and memorized, she had it down forever.