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International vocalist Sheila Jordan will be honored at the 33rd Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, March 12, with an award for her Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Jazz.
Jordan began singing as a child, and by her early teens she was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. She was a member of the vocal trio Skeeter, Mitch, and Jean (she was Jean), which did vocalese versions of Charlie Parker solos. She moved to New York in the early 1950s and began her recording career in the early 1960s. With her work including jazz liturgies sung in churches and extensive club appearances, her popularity grew, leading to recognition as a major jazz artist by the late 1970s. Jordan is known for her ability to improvise lyrics and deliver unexpected sweeping changes of pitch. Her preference for bass and voice led to her collaboration with bassist Cameron Brown, with whom she has been performing internationally for over 20 years. As an educator, she was an Artist-in-Residence at the City University of New York, where she taught from 1978 to 2005. She also taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Vermont Jazz Center, and she continues to lead workshops. Jordan is the recipient of a 2006 MAC Award for Lifetime Achievement, a 2007 Humanitarian Award from the International Association for Jazz Education. a 2008 Lifetime in Service Award from Women in Jazz, and the 2012 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. The Bistro Awards will be held on Monday, March 12 at 6:30 pm at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St. |
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