Track Listing

1. Very Thought of You
2. Thrill Is Gone
3. I Concentrate on You
4. Lost in the Stars
5. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
6. Haunted Heart
7. Comes Love
8. Water Is Wide
9. How Deep Is the Ocean?
10. Japanese Dream/What'll I Do
11. My Shining Hour/We'll Be Together Again
12. Look for the Silver Lining

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309838 in Music
• Released on: 2000-08-08
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

A good introduction to Sheila Jordan
This cd is not a complete session, as it appears to be, it's a compilation from her now out of print Muse releases. This compilation is a good way to acquire some of her Muse recordings. It's a good introduction to Miss Jordan's wonderful and unique jazz vocal talents, for she posseses a sensious and playful voice. A true improvisor(one of the best female jazz singers today!), however this compilation sticks mostly to ballads, but the ballads have so many intersting tempos, the mood is always exciting thoughout this cd. Jordan is in top form backed by a variety of great jazz musicians, who have plenty of solo space. This cd contains half of the songs from her exellent Muse CD "Heart Strings," just one more reason to pick this up. Unless you already own some of her Muse cd's, this is a good set of Jordan singing and swinging ballads(she really has a way with ballads). Great music.

SHEILA JORDAN BREATHES JAZZ.....
Back in the 70's, I played acoustic bass with Sheila, both in her apartment and @various gigs around new york city. she was just starting to "go out" at that time, doing a lot of wordless sounds and phrases, all of which had the UTMOST FEELING OF JAZZ and beyond.... which is the point whenever anyone attempts to "review" (i.e., analyze)her singing, the songs, etc. Folks these days are too distracted by some of the semi-talented young vocalists, many of whom seem like they'd be just as comfortable posing for lingerie ads in magazines! from sheila's first album, right up to and including this one(compilation=so what??)her pauses and silences breathe pure jazz...and as far as feeling goes (i mean, what is jazz if not feeling?), Sheila is the Queen! I hope Sheila writes an autobiog some day. Her personal history has contributed mightily to all that soul and passion you can hear in every note of her singing. having sheila stand beside me during our group's (The Inner Peace Ensemble) performance at St. Peter's Church in NYCity was only one spiritual highlight of my life.(She sang "I Am the Bubble - Make Me the Sea," like an angel!) ANY chance you get to hear this lady sing, TAKE IT!! and don't waste a second analyzing it. jazz isn't now, nor was it ever, about defragmenting singers and their singing. put all your judgement on hold and just listen....Sheila IS and ALWAYS WILL BE "From HER Heart!" (p.s. i played under the name of richard youngstein in those days)

Sheila Jordan touches the heart
Sheila Jordan has been considered "the musician's jazz singer" for so long now that it has almost become a maxim that one automatically adds after her name, yet she is still little known by the general public. Touted as the singer with "million dollar ears," Jordan usually sings old swing songs updated through the crucible of substitute chords, passing tones, unusual interval leaps and other techniques that basically rewrite the song while retaining some of its original flavor. In her career she has steadfastly refused to work with big bands or groups with horns, which has held her back in the eyes of the public. In addition, her somewhat thinnish voice has become even thinner and more limited in range over the years, so that in the past decade her recordings are sometimes painful to listen to.

This CD, however, is culled from the very best of her Muse output of the 1980s (and very early '90s), and in them Jordan is in very good (and sometimes excellent) form: her best-sung tracks here are her reworking of Ray Noble's beautiful ballad "The Very Thought of You" and "Comes Love," a vastly underrated song that even sounded good when Helen Forrest sang it with Artie Shaw's band circa 1939. Yet even the others draw the listener inward in a perucliarly Zen-like way, not only to the heart of the lyrics but also the heart of the music. In addition to tracks with just a bass (her preferred method of working), there are also pieces with a full rhythm section (featuring the excellent Kenny Barron on piano) and also songs with string quartet, less jazzy but equally tender.

This CD has a good deal of variety on it and, as a result, is an excellent buy. I would place it alongside "Portrait of Sheila" (her debut album) and "Sheila" (the album with bassist Arild Andersen) as one of her very finest albums. Highly recommended!