Winter 2000
Sheila Jordan: Jazz Child
Highnote Records (HCD 7029), US, 1999
Reviewed by Carol Sloane; Boston
This exceptionally fine, lovingly constructed album recorded in 1998 by Sheila Jordan is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. In demonstrating her lifelong commitment to be-bop and its most revered practitioners, Jordan reminds us on each of the 13 tracks how her personal loyalty and unswerving focus on the music has sustained her through her remarkably active career of more than fifty years, nurturing and refining her very unique approach to jazz singing.
From the opening track, a teeny 0:33 seconds of wordless jazz exploration which evokes her American Indian heritage, and continuing through the wonderfully varied selections she has chosen, one is made aware that these interpretations could only be made by a true jazz singer.
Jazz singers are separate from other singers because they improvise on every song they sing, every time they sing, and this does not mean singing endless scat choruses. It does mean they change the melody slightly or considerably, compress or elongate a phrase, sing on the beat, ahead of it or behind it. And they alter even these variations, sometimes subtly and quietly, sometimes loudly and with great energy. Often, a chord or several chords improvised by the accompanist may inspire the singer to explore an entirely new way of phrasing the melody at that moment. The flexibility in the playing and the instant creation of ideas, forming a unique dialogue between the players and the singer is another key factor that helps define jazz singing. There is always room for improvisation within the context of the melody. If these ingredients are present, as they most assuredly are in this recording, one has a perfect demonstration of jazz singing and playing that is regal, entertaining, enchanting and informative.
Jordan's devotion to jazz began when, as a pre-teen, she visited her family in Detroit and heard a neighbor playing a Count Basie record. "He gave me that record and I carried it home with me. It was wonderful." At 15 and in high school, she ran with a mixed crowd of black and white teens deeply committed to jazz, and met Skeeter Spight and Leroy Mitchell, singers who set lyrics to Charlie Parker tunes. "At that time, I have to be honest, Charlie Parker took all my time. I had every record of Bird and I just listened to them over and over again. I was just completely drawn to him."
Her obsession with Parker drew her to his piano player, Duke Jordan, whom she married in 1953. The marriage ended in divorce around 1956, but produced her most precious daughter, Tracy. If Jazz Child should be your introduction to Jordan, you will be intrigued by her methods: She consistently bends phrases gracefully, much in the manner of Betty Carter but never sounding like Carter, and she takes what sounds like enormous risk in her improvisations when they are, in fact, explorations she's pursued for a lifetime. She knows precisely where she is at all times, and there's not the slightest chance of a misstep or unsubstantiated flight of fancy.
This is not to imply she her singing here is cliched or repetitive at
all. Like any truly great jazz musician, she constantly finds new and
fresh ideas to convey because she's a "thinking" singer. She concentrates,
and brings enormous intelligence and clear perception to any material
she wishes to explore.
If I am to single out specific tracks that particularly impressed me, they would be the ballads My Funny Valentine (with a haunting introductory melody in homage to Miles Davis, written by Jordan), the classic Everything Happens to Me by Matt Dennis and Tom Adair, My Ship, and the medley Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye and For All We Know. It's one thing to dazzle with a scat chorus or two; quite another to portray the sadness and even some despair conveyed by the lyric familiar. Jordan's interpretations of these masterpieces of Great American Song are lovingly and with some delicacy made fresh and new again, just when we thought it couldn't be done.
Jordan is joined on this recording by the promising young jazz singer from Germany, Theo Blackman, who shares her love of improvisation. She met him in 1987 at the Musica Hochschule in Graz, Austria where she was teaching at the time. Blackman is "a jazz child," she says. "He's very musical without even trying. He's got wonderful pitch, he's got feeling. I love to sing with him". On this album you will hear him playfully and lightheartedly joining Jordan on the tracks Reel Time, by Portland drummer and vibes player Chris Lee; Oh Henry, which Sheila used to sing with her Detroit pals Spight and Mitchell; and Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye which Blackman sings solo, leading into Jordan’s For All We Know, a lovely combination of tunes sung beautifully by both. I must also single out Abbey Lincoln's mournful Bird Alone, which Lincoln sings with great spaciousness and a touch of melancholy, while Jordan’s version is presented as a moderate bossa-nova. Jordan says, "To me this song symbolizes what it means to be an older woman, like myself, who's alone. We're OK, don't feel sorry for us."
In all her years of pristine fidelity to her be-bop mentors, Jordan has not been alone, but rather has found other birds perfectly happy to fly along with her. For example, this album offers us the chance to hear that most marvelous of jazz pianists, Steve Kuhn, Sheila's longtime friend and collaborator. They truly breathe together as seasoned partners will after so many years of mutual admiration. He understands her and she him, and it is a very special partnership we witness here. The highly regarded bass player Dave Finck and the masterful Billy Drummond round out this most prestigious rhythm section.
The Parker influence on Jordan’s singing has been thoroughly documented in the past, and her monumental, all-consuming passion for the man and his music imbues every note and musical decision Jordan has devised throughout her career. You will hear that strong influence, and that of other great legendary figures of be-bop in her music. Jazz Child could be the only Sheila Jordan recording in your collection because her commitment has been so genuine through the years that her style has not fluctuated one bit since her first recordings. This is Sheila Jordan, then and now. If she is new to you, welcome to this fan club, which quite understandably resembles a great covey of birds of all varieties, colors, shapes and sizes, sitting here in the branches of the tree of life high above our Sheila, listening, appreciating and loving every note.
Recorded at Sound Sound, New York City, April 1-2, 1998, with The Steve Kuhn Trio: Steve Kuhn, piano; David Finck, bass; Billy Drummond, drums. Additional vocals: Theo Blackman
Tracks
1. Jazz Child (Jordan)
2. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (Webb)
3. Reel Time (Lee)
4. Art Deco (Cherry)
5. The Zoo (Kuhn)
6. My Ship (Weill, Gershwin)
7. Oh Henry (Fuller)
8. Bird Alone (Lincoln)
9. Ballad for Miles (Jordan) / My Funny Valentine (Rodgers, Hart)
10. Buffalo Wings (Harrell, Pyle)
11. Everything Happens to Me (Dennis, Adair)
12. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Porter) / For All We Know (Coots, Lewis)
13. Jazz Child (Jordan)
Songbirds review of Sheila's Back in Town
