Sheila Jordan, a pioneering jazz vocalist known for her distinctive style, died Monday in New York at the age of 96.
Her daughter, Tracey Jordan, revealed the news on Instagram.
"My dearest mum Sheila Jordan passed away peacefully this afternoon, Monday, August 11 [at] 3:50 pm.," she wrote. "Her friend Joan Belgrave was playing her a bebop tune called Bill for Bennie, by her late husband Marcus Belgrave...my mom fell asleep listening to the music she loved and helped define."
Sheila Jordan's family confirmed the news to Variety, but did not provide a cause of death.
Sheila Jordan released more than two dozen albums during her career, including her 1963 debut "Portrait of Sheila" and "Portrait Now" in 2024. She was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2012.
Born Sheila Jeanette Dawson in Detroit in 1928, the singer admitted to having a difficult upbringing. She was raised by alcoholic grandparents in Pennsylvania coal country. Her childhood was unhappy and singing was all she had as an outlet, according to NPR. She discovered jazz as a teenager after hearing Charlie Parker on a jukebox in high school.
"I put my nickel in, and up came [Charlie 'Bird' Parker], playing 'Now is the Time,' and I said that's the music," she told NPR. "That's the one I'll dedicate my life to."
Upon returning to Detroit, Sheila Jordan, at 14, began performing on stage before later moving to New York, where she became friends with Parker.
In 1963, she released "Portrait of Sheila" on Blue Note, becoming the label's first vocalist to issue an album. Despite critical acclaim, her next release, "Confirmation," did not appear until more than a decade later. She attributed the delay to her reluctance to seek assistance.
Sheila Jordan spent decades performing with prominent jazz musicians while raising her daughter and working in advertising. Her recording career accelerated in the late 1970s, continuing into recent years. She also collaborated on other artists' albums and taught jazz vocal workshops at institutions such as the City College of New York.
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