Biography
Sheila Jeanette Dawson, 18 November 1928, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Raised in poverty in Summerhil in Pennsylvania’s coal-mining country, Jordan began singing as a child and by the time she was in her early teens was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Her first great influence was Charlie Parker and, 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 50s, she married Parker’s pianist, Duke Jordan (they have since divorced), and studied with Charles Mingus and Lennie Tristano, but it was not until the early 60s that she made her first recordings. These included a superb Blue Note Records...
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