Todd Gordon, vocal
\nDavid Patrick, piano
\nMartin Zenker, bass
\nOle Seimetz, drums<\/p>\n
Todd Gordon has established himself as \u201cone of Britain\u2019s most popular singers and entertainers\u201d (Scottish Television). An avid Beatles fan until the age of eleven, his musical horizons were broadened when he first heard a Frank Sinatra album. From that moment, he collected almost every recording by Ol\u2019 Blue Eyes and, from there, his interest expanded to jazz and swing, encompassing numerous other renowned singers and instrumentalists.<\/p>\n
Further inspiration came in 1975 when he met Ella Fitzgerald prior to one of her shows and then, during the concert, she invited him on stage and sang specially to him. A full account has been featured on the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation site \u2013 click here to read it.<\/p>\n
Since then, Gordon has been fortunate enough to meet many more of his idols \u2013 including Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie, Woody Herman, George Shearing and Tony Bennett, motivating him to immerse himself in the Great American Songbook genre.<\/p>\n
\u201cTodd strips away all the cabaret and show biz veneer and gets to the very heart of the lyrics of the American Songbook\u201d \u2013 David Jones, London Jazz Festival<\/p>\n
Gordon\u2019s interest in music and singing was passionate, yet always private. But in 2000, he took part in a week-long vocal jazz workshop and that changed everything. His stage debut came in 2001 at Scotland\u2019s top jazz club and from that moment on, as the clich\u00e9 goes, he\u2019s never looked back. In 2003, aged 44, he was booked to open for Dionne Warwick during her UK tour, which prompted him to give up his day job organisng exhibitions. Since then, Gordon has performed frequently at Britain\u2019s top jazz venues, including The Pizza Express Jazz Room, The 606 in Chelsea and the world- renowned Ronnie Scott\u2019s. He\u2019s also performed at The Plaza and The Algonquin hotels in New York \u2013 where he even did a duet with actor Christopher Walken, singing \u201cI\u2019ve Got You Under My Skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also features regularly at major jazz fesBvals and concerts. In fact, he was the first Scottish male jazz singer to be booked for the London Jazz Festival, with his first appearance at the prestigious Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of a current American singer who sings better in this swing-era style\u201d \u2013 James Gavin, acclaimed US journalist and author of the definitive biographies on Chet Baker, Lena Horne and Peggy Lee<\/p>\n
Todd\u2019s audiences range from intimate jazz clubs to large-scale shows (regularly comp\u00e8ring and performing at \u201cJazz on a Summer\u2019s Day\u201d against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle \u2013 Britain\u2019s biggest jazz event with an audience of 20,000-plus). He was also one of four nominees for a national music award alongside Texas and Annie Lennox.<\/p>\n
Gordon works with the very best British musicians (Alan Barnes, Alec Dankworth, Steve Brown etc) and has also performed with top US players including Jay Leonhart, Ted Rosenthal, Joe Cohn and Butch Miles. He\u2019s also joined forces for concerts with Curtis Stigers, Barb Jungr, Ian Shaw, Claire Martin, Janet Seidel, Clare Teal, James Torm\u00e9 and, most frequently, Jacqui Dankworth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing it his way, Sinatra\u2019s ghost lives on in the work of one of his most polished admirers\u201d \u2013 Clive Davis, The Times<\/p>\n
He has released four albums with Ian Shaw in the producer\u2019s chair: Love\u2019s Illusions, Ballads from The Midnight Hotel (with Guy Barker and featuring a duet with Jacqui Dankworth), and Moon River to The Days of Wine and Roses \u2013 an album celebrating the work of the legendary American Songbook lyricist Johnny Mercer, with the acclaimed Mel Torm\u00e9 pianist, John Colianni.<\/p>\n
Two more recent releases have followed: a big band swing album with the chart-topping Royal Air Force Squadronaires with several duets with guest singers (Clare Teal, Eddi Reader, Carol Kidd, Janet Seidel, etc) and Love dot com \u2013 an album Gordon recorded in Seoul after one of his tracks was used as the theme song in a top-rating Korean TV drama series.<\/p>\n
\u201cGordon has made the great American songbook his own\u201d \u2013 The Guardian <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Todd Gordon, vocal David Patrick, piano Martin Zenker, bass Ole Seimetz, drums Todd Gordon has established himself as \u201cone of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132394,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"portfolio_category":[82],"class_list":["post-137916","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_category-archives"],"yoast_head":"\n