One of our very best singers!
06/04/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had the pleasure of buying this cd directly from Ms. Jordan during her most recent appearance at the great Chicago club, the Green Mill. It has been in stores for a number of weeks and yet I have seen no mention of it in the press... Ms. Jordan merits much, much more attention than she gets and it is a shame that this 70 year old artist is not universally acclaimed as the preeminent singer that she is. This latest album, on the new High Note label, is another watermark in a career that has seen a limited number of recordings -- but all of them quality products. Jazz Child includes a ravishing My Funny Valentine, preceded by a heartfelt tribute to Miles Davis that outshines in simplicity the tributes of Cassandra Wilson and Shirley Horn (which is not to disparage those singers...but only to highlight the Sheila's Art and the way marketing makes all the difference in people's perception of beauty). The album features another tribute to the late Don Cherry -- a sung version of Art Deco with lyrics supplied by Ms. Jordan at Cherry's request. Along with her long held respect for the trumpeter Tom Harrell and his work (the album features one of Harrell's compositions), this emphasis on trumpeters parallels the sympathy Ms. Jordan has for bass players. Her bass-voice duets are truly legendary. On Jazz Child she receives eloquent support from the Steve Kuhn trio (ECM really needs to transfer their Kuhn-Jordan recordings to CD!!!). Sheila also proves her commitment to young artists by allowing a protege, Theo Bleckmann, ample space in a pair of duets. This woman is an artist in the true sense of the word: she transforms her experience into objects of wonder and she transforms her listeners as well. I am grateful to her for all she represents, her faith in the music, and her ability to live a life where singing makes a difference. MORE PLEASE! And to those not yet in the know...check her out."
Sheila at seventy sounds like a wise twenty-five.
07/14/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sheila Jordan has been the ultimate jazz child from her early teen days tottering up that Detroit alley in her momma's high heels to listen to Charlie Parker through the back window of some club. ("I loved Bird so much," she admits, "that I married his piano player.") On this new release, Sheila re-unites with iconoclastic pianist Steve Kuhn and the results are marvelous. Singing chestnuts and bebop and even Jimmy Webb's "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress," Sheila shows that none of her rhythmic drive, harmonic invention and melodic sense have waned - and she's still the best reader of lyrics we've had since Billie Holiday. Check out the free intro she does in tribute to Miles Davis before getting her teeth into an all-time great version of "My Funny Valentine." If this stuff doesn't move you, you're dead."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1