Sheila Jordan

about

Sheila Dawson (born Sheila Jeannette Dawson in Detroit, Michigan, on 18 November 1928; died 11 August 2025) was an American jazz singer whose career spanned six decades. She recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pioneered a bebop and scat jazz singing style with an upright bass as the only accompaniment. Raised in poverty in Pennsylvania’s coal-mining country, Dawson began singing as a child and, by the time she was in her early teens, was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Her first significant influence was Charlie Parker; indeed, most of her influences have been instrumentalists rather than singers. Working chiefly with black musicians, she met with disapproval from the white community but persisted with her career. She was a member of a vocal trio, Skeeter, Mitch, And Jean (she was Jean), who sang versions of Parker’s solos in a manner akin to that of the later Lambert, Hendricks, And Ross. After moving to New York in the early 1950s, she married Parker’s pianist, Duke Jordan, and studied with Lennie Tristano, but it was not until the early 1960s that she made her first recordings. One was under her name; the other was “The Outer View” with George Russell, which featured a famous 10-minute version of “You Are My Sunshine.” In the mid-1960s, her work encompassed jazz liturgies sung in churches and extensive club work, but her appeal was narrow even within the confines o

top songs

albums

Portrait Of Sheila

Confirmation

Blue Note Trip Jazzanova: Lookin' Back/Movin' On

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Blue Note Trip - Jazzanova - Movin' on

Blue Note Trip Tease Part 2

Comes Love: Lost Session 1960

Blue Note Trip 4: Movin' On

Sheila

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Portrait of Sheila Jordan

Jazz Child

Blue Note Trip: Lookin' Back/Movin' On

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Blue Note Trip -LOOKIN' BACK / MOVIN' ON [Disc 2]

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