Sheila Jordan - RIP

[Mark Stryker]

Close friends of Sheila Jordan are reporting on social media that she has died at age 96. I'm not putting R.I.P. in the title of this post because I haven't seen confirmation from family or other official source, but I have no doubt that it is true. One of the all-time great Detroiters. There was only one of those ...

 

 

[jazzbo]

I am afraid it is probably true as I heard she was in hospice and had not been heard from in days. Sigh. 96 is great. . .and so was she.

[optatio]

She is immortal ...

[medjuck]

I saw her perform when she was in her 80s and to me she sounded just like she did on her records from the '60s.  I loved it.  (Of course now that I'm in my '80s I'm not as impressed with her age-- just her singing and personality. )

[John L]

It seems that she is the last of her generation, somebody who actually hung out and performed with Bird et al in the 1940s.

She was also a fabulous, enormously talented artist and wonderful person.  I had the pleasure to meet her and talk to her for a while.  It was unforgettable. 

RIP 

 

[cliffpeterson]

People who know people that know Sheila's daughter indicate that Sheila died.

I last saw Sheila in 2021 in Kingston, NY with Alan Broadbent on piano and Harvie S on bass.  Good show. First time I saw her was at an Elk's Lodge in Cobleskill NY circa 1993. Numerous times in between.  

[jazzbo]

Sad news.

Sheila Jordan, a singular voice in jazz, has died

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/11/847306270/sheila-jordan-obituary

[JSngry]

RIP. She lived the life.

[felser]

RIP to an artist and survivor!

[mikeweil]

RIP

[clifford_thornton]

Ah, that's too bad. I had read that she was in hospice care. Was glad to see her at the show Cliff Peterson mentioned. A true original!

[optatio]

R.I.P. ...

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP. A good long life. Thanks the music.  

[EKE BBB]

Rest in peace, Sheila. 😔

[mjazzg]

What a career, she'll be long remembered.

[HutchFan]

A remembrance by Nate Chinen: 
https://open.substack.com/pub/thegig/p/sheilas-blues?r=2c9g6z&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

[Mark Stryker]

3 hours ago, HutchFan said:

A remembrance by Nate Chinen: 
https://open.substack.com/pub/thegig/p/sheilas-blues?r=2c9g6z&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Nate's remembrance is lovely, and don't miss Tessa Souter's fantastic comment. (Full disclosure: Nate quotes from "Jazz from Detroit" in his piece and I chime in the comments with a coda.)
 

[BFrank]

The NYT obit was pretty eye-opening for me. I didn't know a lot about her early life. She was definitely a survivor!
I was fortunate to see her in 2019 at SFJAZZ in their small Joe Henderson Lab space with Cameron Brown. A wonderful show.

Sheila Jordan, Fearless Vocal Improviser, Is Dead at 96

[clifford_thornton]

On 8/12/2025 at 5:33 PM, Mark Stryker said:

Nate's remembrance is lovely, and don't miss Tessa Souter's fantastic comment. (Full disclosure: Nate quotes from "Jazz from Detroit" in his piece and I chime in the comments with a coda.)
 

Fabulous, deep remembrances from Chinen and Souter.