jazz singer Sheila Jordan reflects on a life in jazz

Sheila Jordan is one of the living legends of jazz. Jordan, who appears at the Press Room on Saturday, April 26, as part of the Jazzmouth Jazz Festival, is an inventive singer who has performed with a wide variety of jazz greats, from Dizzy Gillespie and George Russell to Steve Kuhn and Tom Harrell. Passionate about bebop, Jordan received guidance from Charlie Parker early in her career and studied with the great teacher and pianist Lennie Tristano. She worked full-time by day while pursuing her musical interests at night, all while raising a daughter as a single mom. She has also taught at a number of universities and jazz schools, passing her knowledge on to new generations of musical aspirants. An upbeat person with a positive outlook, Jordan has a busy year ahead, including an 80th birthday celebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center in November. The Wire chatted with Jordan over the phone recently on a wide range of topics.

Let’s start at the beginning. What drew you to singing?
I began singing at the age of three out of the need to feel more secure and to express myself. I was born in Detroit, but spent the early part of my childhood being raised by my grandparents in rural Pennsylvania, the coal mining region, to be specific. It was a very poor area to live with very little opportunity available for just about anyone who lived there. I enjoyed the music I heard on the radio. I was a big Fred Astaire freak at the time. So singing became my way of coping with life at the time.

What drew you to jazz?
I moved back to Detroit to live with my mother and to go to high school (at Cass Technical High School). The school had a jukebox in the cafeteria area, and one day I checked out a tune by Charlie Parker and his Reboppers—they were actually called reboppers in those days—and I fell in complete love with the sound of this music. So I began checking out as much as I could by Bird (Parker). Later on, I was singing in a group with a good friend of mine named Leroy Mitchell. He used to write lyrics to Bird’s tunes. We used to go hear Bird whenever he came to town and I eventually got to sit in with him.

How was that experience for you?
It was the thrill of my life! Though when I sat in, I was so mesmerized by his playing, I almost forgot to come back in! Bird once said that I have million dollar ears. He taught me so much and was so wonderful to me. We became good friends, and after I moved to New York City, we would hang out a lot together. He was a fantastic friend who treated me with great respect.

Who were some other musicians you knew and performed with?
Well, in Detroit, I got to know and gig with guys like (pianists) Tommy Flanagan and Barry Harris and (guitarist) Kenny Burrell, before they all made the move to New York City. I also got to know and sit in with folks like Dizzy, (drummer) Max Roach and (pianist) Duke Jordan, who I was married to for several years.

When did you make the move to New York?
In 1949. I was more interested in studying and learning about the music, which I did formally with Lennie Tristano, as well as by sitting in around town. At the time, I wasn’t really interested in making a lot of money with music, so I had a day gig to help pay the bills as well as to help me raise my daughter. That allowed me to focus on pursuing the music that I loved. It was during this time that I began to focus on the voice/bass format that is still my preferred performance medium today.

Anyone that you sat in with at that time stick out in your mind?
I sat in with (Charles) Mingus. He was such a great talent and was very supportive of what I was doing with the music. But, he was someone that you never quite knew what to expect in terms of his emotions. Still, he was a wonderful guy and a great musician.

Let’s move to your approach to singing. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Well, I approach it in an honest way. I’m a melody person, so I look for a good melody, first of all. I then get to know the tune so that I can be free in how I approach singing it rather than adhering to a strict interpretation. As far as lyrics go, if I don’t feel that the lyrics are that good or interesting, I make little changes to spice them up, to make them more interesting.

You have a very interactive approach where you interact within the ensemble, rather than just singing the lyrics and then letting the instrumentalists do the rest. Is this a deliberate choice?
Yes. I really listen when I’m in a group setting and strive to interact with the musicians I’m playing with. I like to be inspired, as that helps to create greater interaction. To me, ears, heart and time are most important when performing this music with other musicians.

So, what’s on the horizon for you?
Well, I have several things coming up over the rest of the year to keep me busy. I’ll be at the North Sea Festival this summer with Steve Kuhn. He’s a close friend and a wonderful musician who I’ve worked with off and on for over 40 years. I’ll also be performing in Italy, working with a string quartet, and I’ll be doing the voice/bass thing with Cameron Brown in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The gig up in Portsmouth is part of a series of gigs I’m doing in the Northeast that week with Harvey Diamond’s trio. And in November, there will be a three-day celebration for my 80th birthday at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Sounds like you’ll be keeping busy?
That’s right. But, as I mentioned earlier, it’s all about keeping the music alive. Whether I’m singing, teaching or supporting other musicians, I feel I’m a messenger for this music.