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A tribute to the late pioneering vocalist and NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan

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Jazz singer Sheila Jordan, then 84, performs at the 21st annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in New York City's Tompkins Square Park on Aug. 25, 2013.
Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
Jazz singer Sheila Jordan, then 84, performs at the 21st annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in New York City's Tompkins Square Park on Aug. 25, 2013.

On this episode of The Art of the Story, WBGO's Doug Doyle pays tribute to the late NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan.

Jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan
Richard Laird/Courtesy of the artist
Jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan

Jordan died at her apartment in New York City on Monday, August 11, 2025.

You can hear the entire Jazz Night in America show with guest Sheila Jordan here.

You can hear the 2017 Salon Sessions interview with Sheila Jordan here.

Doug Doyle has been News Director at WBGO since 1998. Since then, Doug and his news staff have received more than 300 awards from organizations like PRNDI (now PMJA), AP, New York Association of Black Journalists, Garden State Association of Black Journalists and the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists.
Six-time GRAMMY®-winning jazz bassist Christian McBride can be likened to a force of nature, fusing the fire and fury of a virtuoso with the depth and grounding of a seasoned journeyman. Powered by a relentless energy and a boundless love of swing, McBride’s path has described a continuous positive arc since his arrival on the scene. With a career now blazing into its third decade, the Philadelphia native has become one of the most requested, most recorded, and most respected figures in the music world today.
Sheila E. Anderson—affectionately known as the "Queen of Hang"—is a respected broadcaster, author, producer, moderator, emcee, and cultural advocate whose decades of work have helped shape and sustain the jazz community. While much attention is deservedly focused on the artists themselves, Anderson has dedicated her career to creating platforms that celebrate their stories, preserve jazz history, and connect audiences with the music. A visionary who has consistently created opportunities beyond traditional media, she has become one of jazz's most influential communicators.