Jazz Station - Vocal CD of the Month - "Dancing with Johnny"

Jazz Station
Arnaldo DeSouteiro

Vocal CD of the Month Linda Ciofalo: "Dancing with Johnny" (Lucky Jazz) 2010

Rating: *****
A very pleasant surprise, full of surprises thanks to the creative arrangements (by pianist John DiMartino and Linda herself) and, of course, the lovely vocal & instrumental performances.
On this self-produced release, Ciofalo is backed by Grammy winner - and a current member of the CTI All Stars 2010 Band - Brian Lynch on trumpet, John DiMartino (piano), John Benitez (bass), Ernesto Simpson (drums), Little Johnny Rivero (percussion), Paul Meyers (nylon string guitar), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar) and Joel Frahm (tenor & soprano saxophones).

A Johnny Mercer Songbook -- showcasing the lyricist's genius with such diverse partners as Victor Schertzinger, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, Robert Emmett Dolan, Gordon Jenkins, Ralph Burns, Woody Herman & Rube Bloom -- couldn't go wrong in terms of repertoire, but what makes this CD really so special is the fresh appeal of each & every track, with Linda Ciofalo's bell-clear beautiful voice shining throughout the 52-minute program of 13 tunes, all recorded in a single session, on October 20, 2009 in NY.

My personal favorite tracks are the exciting latin-tinged scores of "Tangerine" (on which the intoxicating percussion work of Little Johnny Rivero, combining congas & timbales, sounds like a meeting of Mongo Santamaria with Tito Puente) and "That Old Black Magic," both also featuring Lynch (undoubtedly one of the Top 5 trumpeters in the contemporary jazz scene) and Frahm.

But there are many other highlights, such as the Diana Krall-like sensual approach to "Talk To Me Baby" (done as a slow bossa nova, with Paul Meyers, a veteran of Thiago de Mello's Amazon band, playing acoustic guitar a la Joao Gilberto) and the up-tempo bossa take of "Day In, Day Out," again embellished by Meyers' syncopated guitar beat.

The magnificent "Early Autumn" becomes a quasi-bolero, "Skylark" receives a bluesy feel with Minucci evoking memories of the late Eric Gale, and "P.S. I Love You" (a song that Diana Krall has been singing on her current "Quiet Nights" tour and plans to record on her next album) appears here with Rivero adding bongos to add a soft latin spice to this sumptuous Gordon Jenkins ballad. Pure delight!
For additional infos and pics, please check: http://jazzstation-oblogdearnaldodesouteiros.blogspot.com/2010/06/linda-ciofalos-new-cd-tribute-to-johnny.html

ELLEN JOHNSON SINGS MINGUS...and more

Called "superior jazz singing by an artist of the highest quality" by Jazz Journal International, Ellen Johnson will be sharing her unique style and repertoire of jazz vocals joined by San Diego jazz artists, pianist Rick Helzer and bassist Rob Thorsen. The concert is scheduled for Thursday, October 15 with one show at 9:00 PM at Tango Del Rey located at 3567 Del Rey Street, San Diego. The admission price is $15 General and $10 for students with an ID. For more information call 858-581-1114 or go to http://www.TangoDelRey.com for tickets. The concert will feature the music of Charles Mingus along with a tribute to jazz vocal icon, Sheila Jordan. Ellen recently featured both of these artists’ music on her CD These Days, writing lyrics to Mingus compositions and doing a duet with Ms Jordan on her song “The Crossing.”

This concert reunites Ms Johnson with her longtime musical partner, pianist Rick Helzer, Professor and Associate Director of Jazz Studies at San Diego State University and Rob Thorsen, whose current CD Lasting Impression was released this year on the San Diego based Pacific Coast Jazz label. Ellen, who is currently working on an all Mingus project, has written the lyrics to three Mingus compositions and recorded five songs with the permission of Sue Mingus. This event is co-sponsored by the San Diego Jazz Musicians Guild whose goal is to support and encourage a higher quality of Jazz education, appreciation and understanding in the community. For more information contact President Karin Carson at http://www.sdjmg.org. This event is also part of “Daniel Pearl World Music Days,” an entire month of worldwide "Harmony for Humanity" concerts in memory of the death of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl reminding the world of the principles by which Danny lived, the universal power of music and our shared humanity.

Ellen has recorded three of her own renowned CD’s, These Days, Chinchilla Serenade and Too Good To Title and is featured on several compilation CDs including: Illuminations, From A Mother’s Heart, and Jazz Improv Magazine. Her most recent release These Days, was called "one of the best albums to be heard from a no-nonsense jazz singer" in her feature article in Downbeat Magazine by Frank -John Hadley and a "sophisticated and successful album that raises the standard of modern jazz singing by at least one notch" by George Harris in All About Jazz. Just recently No Treble Magazine said that These Days, which features seven tracks of bass and voice duets with Darek Oles, "should be in every bassist's collection."

Ellen has performed, recorded and studied with many exceptional musicians including Charles McPherson, Louie Bellson, Bobby McFerrin, Roy McCurdy, Don Braden, Larry Koonse, John Clayton, Jay Clayton, Cameron Brown and her dear friend and mentor jazz icon, Sheila Jordan. Her amazing range, unique jazz phrasing, improvisational skills and imaginative vocal style delights audiences at concerts, festivals, colleges, and venues all over the world. Ellen, who enjoys wearing different hats, is a songwriter, lyricist, publisher, educator, creativity coach, writer, actress and the founder of Sound Visions Media Group which distributes, promotes and produces a roster of jazz artists and publishes educational CDs including You Sing Jazz, Vocal Builders, and The Vocal Warm Up CD. A former resident of San Diego, Ellen received her Master's Degree from San Diego State University, completed further studies at UCLA Extension Music Business Certificate program and has been on the faculties of California Polytechnic University at Pomona, University of San Diego (Old Globe MFA Program) and other colleges. She was one of the founding members and President of the Jazz Vocal Coalition (JZVOC), President of the San Diego Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Vocal Representative for the California Chapter of the IAJE and the Jazz Editor for Singer & Musician Magazine. Besides her professional recording and singing engagements she teaches jazz vocal workshops and private vocal coaching. She can be reached through her website at http://www.ellenjohnson.net or http://www.SoundVisionsMedia.com.

Ellen Johnson and pianist Scott Hiltzik Duo on May 15th

NPR Radio Features Sheila Jordan on Jazzset

NPR Radio Airs
JAZZSET WITH DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER

Jazz Vocalist Sheila Jordan Honored In Concert
By Becca Pulliam


To Listen: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96317824

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, October 30, 2008- At the Kennedy Center in Washington,D.C., long-stemmed roses are wrapped in a big red ribbon on the stage, and words like "innovative and passionate" are used to honor vocalist Sheila Jordan with the 2008 Mary Lou Williams Award for a Lifetime of Service to Jazz.

Jordan accepts the honor by thanking Kennedy Center artistic advisor Dr. Billy Taylor — "always in my corner then and now" — as well as George Russell, who "put me on record for the first time," and "all the young singers throughout the years, the instrumentalists, my beautiful daughter, and most of all, I want to thank the Bird, Charlie Parker," a great friend and inspiration."

Then Jordan improvises, saying in song that she's nervous, and that every time she comes to Washington, D.C., she thinks of her dear friend: fellow singer and lifelong Washingtonian, the late Shirley Horn. Now that she's nearing her 80th birthday on Nov. 18, Jordan is making a new record with a string quartet. She says that it's been her desire ever since Charlie Parker with Strings came out. "He was like my big brother; nothing romantic," she adds, answering an
unspoken question. One thing Jordan does not do is listen over and over to her recordings: "Hear it once, let it go!" she says.

JORDAN'S SET LIST
"Lucky to Be Me" (from On the
Town by Bernstein Comden &
Green)
"Dat Dere" (lyric by Oscar Brown
Jr., music by Bobby Timmons)
"Ballad for Miles/It Never Entered
My Mind" (Jordan/Rodgers & Hart)
"Sheila's Blues"

JORDAN'S BAND
Steve Kuhn: piano
David Finck: bass
Billy Drummond: drums

Sheila Jordan 80th Birthday Celebration in New York

New York, NY, October 21, 2008 : One of the remaining legends of jazz vocals, Sheila Jordan, celebrates her 80th birthday with a series of performances November 18th – 20th at Dizzy’s Coca Cola along with the Steve Kuhn Trio and String Quartet featuring Steve Kuhn, piano; David Finck, bass; Billy Drummond, drums; Mark Feldman, violin; Barry Finclair, violin; Vincent Lionti, viola; Harold Birston, cello. Set times are 9:30 and 10:30 with reservations required. Contact 212.258.9595 or visit http://www.jalc.org/.

All Music Guide says that vocalist Sheila Jordan is "one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers." Starting with her 1962 debut Blue Note recording Portrait of Sheila, Jordan has become an iconic jazz figure, influencing many other artists in the jazz vocal genre. The New York Times raves, "Her ballad performances are simply beyond the emotional and expressive capabilities of most other vocalists."

One of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers, Sheila Jordan has a relatively small voice, but has done the maximum with her instrument. She is one of the few vocalists who can improvise logical lyrics (which often rhyme), she is a superb scat singer, and is also an emotional interpreter of ballads. Yet despite her talents, Jordan spent much of the 1960s and '70s working at a conventional day job. She studied piano when she was 11 and early on, sang vocalese in a vocal group. Jordan moved to New York in the 1950s, was married to Duke Jordan (1952-62), studied with Lennie Tristano, and worked in New York clubs. George Russell used her on an unusual recording of "You Are My Sunshine" and she became one of the few singers to lead her own Blue Note album (1962).

However, it would be a decade before she appeared on records again, working with Carla Bley, Roswell Rudd, and co-leading a group with Steve Kuhn in the late '70s. Jordan recorded a memorable duet album with bassist Arild Andersen for SteepleChase in 1977, and has since teamed up with bassist Harvie Swartz on many occasions. By the 1980s, Sheila Jordan was finally performing jazz on a full-time basis and gaining the recognition she deserved 20 years earlier. She recorded as a leader (in addition to the Blue Note session) for East Wind, Grapevine, SteepleChase, Palo Alto, Blackhawk, and Muse, resurfacing in 1999 with Jazz Child. - by Scott Yanow from All Music Guide

For more information about Ms Jordan go to: www.sheilajordanjazz.com