Event Details: Dianne Reeves & Sheila Jordan

One of the preeminent female jazz vocalist in the world today, Dianne Reeves’ virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz and R&B stylings, earned her a Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings––a Grammy first in any vocal category. She appeared in George Clooney’s Academy Award nominated film, Good Night, and Good Luck, and her performance on the soundtrack earned her another (her fourth) Best Jazz Vocal Grammy. Reeves has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic and she was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Her solo album, When You Know, (Blue Note, 2008) was her first in several years and was described as “a stunning array of performances of old and new standards along with an infectious, uplifting new original.” Since releasing that CD, Reeves has been touring the world in a variety of contexts. She plans to release a new album later this year.

NEA Jazz Master, Sheila Jordan is known for her superb scat singing and ability to reach the emotional depths of a ballad. Whether singing well-known standards or original material, Jordon makes it all sound like no one else. Her unique musical trademarks, which include frequent and unexpected sweeping changes of pitch, continue to confound uninitiated audiences, but her uncompromising and entirely non-derivative style has made her “one of only a tiny handful of ‘jazz singers’ who fully deserve the appellation, and for whom no other term will do.” One of her greatest influences was Charlie Parker, whom she met and played with in New York in the early 1950’s along with Charles Mingus and Herbie Nichols. She also studied with Lennie Tristano. The first female vocalist to record for Blue Note Records, she is also the pioneer of the bass-voice duo in jazz. Her preference for that combo led to her longtime duo with bassist, Cameron Brown, who joins her for this concert. The duo has performed all over the world and released two live albums together. “Playing with Sheila, I feel like I have a more authentic bridge to Bird. It’s so exciting. She has absorbed so much of his tradition,” says Brown. The recipient of the 2008 Mary Lou Williams Award for a Lifetime of Service to Jazz, the 84 year-old Jordan continues to perform worldwide.

Ticket Prices: $25, $35, $45, $60, Member and Student discounts available