“Jordan and Clayton were clearly having a blast as two women who know exactly what
they want to wring out of every song they do.”
“You hear lots of jazz instrumentalists having musical conversations, but rarely do you get a chance to hear two inventive vocalists having those conversations on stage.” - Brent Hollenbeck / Burlington Jazz Festival
“Clayton in her tone poem, Jordan in her slung-low jazz, the bassist and the guitarist held
the audience so tightly that the air was stilled.”
“If the “aim of waking is to dream”, as e e cummings wrote, then this evening was the...
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“Jordan and Clayton were clearly having a blast as two women who know exactly what
they want to wring out of every song they do.”
“You hear lots of jazz instrumentalists having musical conversations, but rarely do you get a chance to hear two inventive vocalists having those conversations on stage.” - Brent Hollenbeck / Burlington Jazz Festival
“Clayton in her tone poem, Jordan in her slung-low jazz, the bassist and the guitarist held
the audience so tightly that the air was stilled.”
“If the “aim of waking is to dream”, as e e cummings wrote, then this evening was the
sweetest of dreams.” - Paloma Capana / Rochester International Jazz Festival
For decades, Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton have been challenging convention
and creating daring new expressions in jazz. They team up to take listeners
on a musical adventure of scat, ballad, sung poetry, improvised lyrics and more.
Featuring Sheila Jordan/Vocals, Jay Clayton/Vocals, Cameron Brown/Bass and Jay Azzolina/Guitar
Sheila Jordan sheilajordanjazz.com One of the most consistently creative jazz singers of all time, Sheila Jordan is a superb scat singer, and an emotional interpreter of ballads. Jordan was one of the few singers to lead her own Blue Note album (1962). It would be a decade before she appeared on records again, working with Carla Bley, Roswell Rudd, and co-leading a group with Steve Kuhn in the late '70s. Jordan recorded a memorable duet album with bassist Arild Andersen for SteepleChase in 1977, and has since teamed up with bassist Harvie Swartz. By the 1980s, Jordan was performing jazz full-time and gaining long deserved recognition. As a leader, she recorded for East Wind, Grapevine, SteepleChase, Palo Alto, Blackhawk, and Muse, resurfacing in 1999 with Jazz Child.
https://youtu.be/0SfwPb_m1Cw
Jay Clayton
http://jayclayton.com/
Internationally acclaimed vocalist, composer, and educator, Jay Clayton, boldly spans the terrain between jazz and new music. In 1963 she began her career performing the standards on the vibrant New York music scene. However, she quickly became a prominent part of the free jazz movement. Her work in these two worlds led to the development of a highly personal, wordless vocabulary later enhanced by her innovative use of electronics. “....Clayton is still the most adventurous singer in jazz, a specialist in wordless improvisation .....” Francis Davis / The Village Voice
https://youtu.be/Rndip3QQ5JA
Jay Azzolina
http://www.jayazzolina.com/
Grammy nominated guitarist Jay Azzolina has been part of the New York Jazz scene for three decades. Jay has been an accompanist for Michael Franks, Donna Summer, Rickie Lee Jones, Manhattan Transfer and Sheila Jordan. As a leader, Jay has recorded four CDs of original compositions with some of the most influential players in Jazz.
Cameron Brown http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/cameronbrown Jazz bassist, composer and educator began his career in the mid-sixties, recording in Europe with George Russell and Don Cherry, who remain life-long influences and inspirations. Mr. Brown anchored some of the most important groups of the seventies, eighties and nineties, with Sheila Jordan, Roswell Rudd, Archie Shepp and Beaver Harris were his mentors and bandleaders. He has enjoyed special relationships with master drummers: Art Blakey, Dannie Richmond, Philly Joe Jones, Edward Blackwell, Idris Muhammad and Joe Chambers, as well as Mr. Harris.
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