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

The Jazz Radio Toolbar For Jazz Music Fans

http://www.jazz-toolbar.com/index.htm

I just discovered a new community for jazz lovers, The Jazz Radio toolbar.

You can get it to go right to your toolbar so you can listen to jazz and be informed 24 hours a day!

Here's the info from their website but check it out for yourself:
The Jazz Radio toolbar is a totally free browser add-on, that is meant for Jazz music fans to listen to jazz radio stations online. The highlight of the toolbar is a radio player with over 100 jazz radio stations broadcasting worldwide,including podcasts.

You can always define your own stations and add them to the radio by yourself. Beside the radio, the add-on contains rich content from the world of Jazz : Music reviews, new albums, news , jazz clubs, festivals and events around the world, tickets, and more content updates weekly.

San Diego Pianist Danny Green Joins Pacific Coast Jazz

San Diego, CA – October 9, 2008 - San Diego-based independent record label, Pacific Coast Jazz (PCJ), announces the addition of San Diego-based Brazilian jazz pianist, Danny Green, to their roster of distinctive artists. Green’s own independent label, Alante Recordings, will now be an associate label under the Pacific Coast Jazz umbrella.
This affiliation anticipates the release of Green’s first solo release With You In Mind, slated for a street date of January 20, 2009. “The quality of Danny’s work is outstanding and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to high quality independent artists,” says Donna Nichols, founder and president of Pacific Coast Jazz. Nichols’ label has teamed up with publicist Joy Foster of SV Media Relations and radio promoter Neal Sapper at New World N’Jazz and will give Alante Records access to international media buying and retail distribution.

Clearly Danny Green has managed to carve out a place for himself in the lineup of young San Diego jazz artists who have a pulse on keeping the tradition of jazz piano alive while stepping boldly into the future through the use of cultural sounds and world music rhythms. With You In Mind is Danny’s debut solo outing and was co-produced with Allan Phillips and features Justin Grinnell (bass), Dylan Savage (drums), Allan Phillips (percussion) and Tripp Sprague (soprano saxophone). In With You In Mind Danny Green combines both Brazilian and Latin influences and cradles them in mainstream jazz and classical nuances. As a result of Danny’s musical influences his sound comes across to listeners as a pianistic mixture of Bill Evans, Brad Mehldau, Danilo Perez, and Ravel with original compositions emerging from the sincerity of his soul. “A beautiful addition to our artist roster,” added Nichols.

Pacific Coast Jazz, founded in 2003, is a boutique jazz label that also offers artist management services. All PCJ artists are distributed worldwide by MVD Audio/Big Daddy Music. For more information on Pacific Coast Jazz, please visit: www.pacificcoastjazz.com. For media information or interviews with Danny Green, please contact: Joy Foster at SV Media Relations at: SVMediaRelations@gmail.com. Visit Danny Green’s website at: www.dannygreen.net

Meet Sound Visions Media & Pacific Coast Jazz

I'm busy, as usual at SV Media Relations, spreading the word about all the great musicians at Sound Visions Media (http://www.SoundVisionsMedia.com).
I also want to introduce you to another wonderful label, Pacific Coast Jazz (http://www.PacificCoastJazz.com).

Both of these companies have amazing artists in the genres of jazz, world music, improvised music, smooth jazz, inspirational and anything they think is quality music in those areas.

Some of the new releases and events for both of these companies that we are helping to promote includes:

Danny Green, "With You In Mind" (Pacific Coast Jazz)
Don Braden, "Gentle Storm"
Judi Silvano, "Cleome: Live Takes"
Sheila Jordan's 80th Birthday Celebration at Dizzy's in New York
Educational releases: "You Sing Jazz" and "Modern Chord Melody" by John Stowell

We''ll be updating you on all of these projects in the days to come.
If you have already heard some of these releases let us know what you think.
If you are a journalist and would like to receive a review copy please contact me and I'll be happy to be your errand girl for jazz.

Keeping you informed

This blog is for jazz fans, jazz journalists, jazz labels, or any other kind of jazz media service.

I'll be keeping you posted on what's happening at SV Media Relations and anything else that might be of interest.

You can find our press releases, new releases, coming releases and just a sense of release by visiting this blog.

I'm just the errand girl...you do the rest!