Since my primary area of expertise is on the “classical” side, I have gotten used to encounters that remind me of how many gaps there are in my knowledge of jazz. One of the most recent reminders took place last month, when I was informed that Capri Records would be releasing an album of a previously unheard studio session by vocalist Sheila Jordan. Jordan will turn 93 this coming November 18, and reviewing her Wikipedia page left me feeling somewhat perplexed that I had not learned about her sooner.
Jordan was born in Detroit; and, while her family moved to Summerhill, Pennsylvania, she returned to Detroit to begin her career with jazz club gigs. She was an “early adopter” of bebop in the Forties with her own approach to scat singing. She also worked with Skeeter Spight and Leroi Mitchell to write lyrics for Charlie Parker’s music. She moved to New York City in 1951 and got to know Parker well enough to claim him as one of her teachers. Her other teachers included Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus. Blue Note released her debut album, Portrait of Sheila, in January of 1963, performing with Barry Galbraith on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Denzil Best on drums.
The new Capri release is entitled Comes Love: Lost Session 1960. All eleven tracks were recorded at Olmsted Sound Studios, which is probably better known for recording sessions of both The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. The recordings were made on a single day, June 10, 1960. The album will be released this coming Friday; and, as tends to be the case, Amazon.com is currently processing pre-orders. This is a trio album; but there is no documentation of the other two musicians, nor can Jordan herself recall who they might be.
Since this was a “first contact” experience for me, I cannot compare it with any of the albums listed in the Discography section of Jordan’s Wikipedia page. However, in the context of many of the more recent vocal albums I have encountered, I have to say that I am more than merely satisfied with her command of pitch and her prodigious repertoire of embellishment techniques. This is a vocalist with highly inventive stylistic devices in her toolbox. However, she also has a solid grip on the substance of each song she presents, and she never lets style undermine the foundations of that substance.
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