Well, there's me, Todd Gordon. And I work with many great, Scottish-based musicians including Mario Caribe, Konrad Wiszniewski, Tom Gordon, David Patrick, Martin Kershaw, Ryan Quigley, Stuart Brown, Alyn Cosker, Laura MacDonald, Brian Shiels, Kenny Ellis, Scott Mackay, Roy Percy, Malcolm Macfarlane, Euan Stevenson and more.
On tour, the band line-up has featured terrific jazz musicians such as Alan Barnes, Alec Dankworth, Malcolm Edmonstone, Bruce Adams, Martin Zenker, Martin Drew, Andy Panayi, Adam Sorensen, Andrew Cleyndert, Matt Home, Linley Hamilton, David Newton, Jay Leonhart, Paul Booth, Dave Chamberlain, John Altman, Matt Skelton, Tim France, Damian Evans, Gavin Barras, Jonas Backman, Steve Rose, Darren Beckett, Steve Fishwick, Dave O'Higgins and Bobby Wellins.
On the last CD - BALLADS FROM THE MIDNIGHT HOTEL, musicians included Guy Barker, John Parricelli, Garbriella Swallow, Steve Rubie and Mark Fletcher. The new album - MOON RIVER TO THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES - is a tribute to the songwriting genius of Johnny Mercer. It features the great American pianist John Colianni with Dave Chamberlain, Chris Dagley, Konrad Wiszniewski and Phil Robson.
Influences
Frank Sinatra was the singer that really got me hooked on this kind of music: jazz mixed with broadway and swing. Then, of course, Ella Fitzgerald who was so very kind to me (see 'about'). But I like a lot of singers, composers and musicians, ranging from Richard Wagner to Rufus Wainright. But the ones I most frequently listen to, and have learned so much from, include Carmen McRae, Mel Tormé, Nina Simone, Big Joe Turner, Peggy Lee, Patti Austin (I caught her show with Michel Legrand at Feinstein's in New York - mindblowing!), Sammy Davis Jr, Bing Crosby, Anita O'Day, Blossom Dearie, Sarah Vaughan, Rosemary Clooney, Billie Holiday, Helen Humes, Tony Bennett - and the list goes on, and on. High on the list of songwriter/ performers I respect are Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, Dory Previn and Janis Ian. For a masterclass in timing and stagecraft, go see Elaine Stritch if you can catch her one-woman show... amazing. Going back in time, my earliest musical influence - and what got me asking Santa for a drum kit - was The Beatles, but growing up in a terraced house wasn't really compatible with a budding Buddy Rich! I also wore out a stylus or two (that'll date me) to The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, and Nancy Sinatra. Then there's the bandleaders Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Sy Oliver, Woody Herman and company... and the insutrmentalists: Ben Webster, Harry Edison, Paul Gonsalves, Stan Getz, Roy Eldridge, Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt, Joe Pass, Freddie Green, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, et al (Norman Granz has a lot to answer for!). Added into the mix goes Philip Glass, Richard Perry, Ravi Shankar, PSB, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Cat Stevens (for the soundtrack of one of my very favourite films, "Harold and Maude"). I'll list more later, but I can't leave out some great singers that I have had the privilege of working with: Jacqui Dankworth, Claire Martin, Carol Kidd, Barb Jungr, LA-based Barbara Morrison and Sheila Jordan in NYC. And someone who's got a great following on both sides of the Atlantic, Ian Shaw, who has produced three of my albums: LOVE'S ILLUSIONS, BALLADS FROM THE MIDNIGHT HOTEL and the new one, entitled MOON RIVER TO THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (THE GENIUS OF JOHNNY MERCER) - hey, I can have a subtle plug, can't I?
Sounds Like
Tony Bennett once said, "to copy one singer is stealing - to copy everyone is research!"
Sticking with male singers: hopefully there's been some process of osmosis with all of my musical heros; in particular Frank Sinatra (for his musical genius), Mel Tormé (tireless perfectionist), Sammy Davis Jr (his dynamism), Tony Bennett (effortless feel-good vibe), Jamie Cullum (verve and imaginative approach), Vic Damone (his pipes), Michael Bublé (smoothness), Harry Connick Jr (his innovative arranging skills), Big Joe Turner (his power), Johnny Hartman (tenderness), Matt Monro (phrasing), Dean Martin (his - apparent! - carefree style), Joe Williams (his feel for swing), Randy Newman (emotional intensity and humour), Leonard Cohen (the "gift of a golden voice!"), Ian Dury (for the first and best rock gig I ever attended), Tom Lehrer (wit and diction), Tiny Tim... this is getting ridiculous. Oh, yeah, and at least a little bit like Todd Gordon too!
In just five years, Todd Gordon has established himself as "one of the country's most popular singers and entertainers" (The Scotsman). He was an avid Beatles' fan until the age of eleven when he first heard Sinatra. From then, he collected every album by Ol' Blue Eyes before broadening his interest in jazz to encompass many other renowned singers and instrumentalists.
In 1975 he met Ella Fitzgerald prior to her show and during the concert she invited him on stage and sang specially to him. He was also fortunate enough to meet some of his other idols, including Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie, Woody Herman and George Shearing.
Spanning a 20 year period, Todd immersed himself in The Great American Songbook, resulting in a repertoire of over well over a thousand songs. His interest in music and singing was passionate, yet private. Then, in 2000, he participated on a Vocal Jazz Workshop run by Fionna Duncan and that changed everything. Todd's first time on stage came in 2001 at the famed Henry's Jazz Cellar in Edinburgh where he immediately became a regular performer. In 2003 he was booked to open for Dionne Warwick during her UK tour visit which prompted him to give up his 'day job' and, as the cliché goes, he's never looked back.
Todd performs at many of the most prestigious venues, with frequent appearances at London's Pizza on the Park and now a regular at The 606 Club in Chelsea as well as Pizza Express (Dean Street), etc. He has performed at The Plaza and Algonquin hotels in New York - where he even did a duet with actor Christopher Walken, singing "I've Got You Under My Skin" - and also features in jazz festivals and concerts.
His audiences range from intimate jazz club settings to large-scale shows (he frequently comperes and performs in Jazz on a Summer's Day - the UK's biggest jazz event with an audience of 20,000) and he was also one of four nominees up for a national music award alongside Texas, Ilan Volkov and Annie Lennox. Jamie Cullum also personally asked Todd to dep for him whilst he was recording his ground-breaking 'Twentysomething' album.
Since then, Ian Shaw has produced Todd's acclaimed albums, LOVE'S ILLUSIONS and BALLADS FROM THE MIDNIGHT HOTEL which features John Parricelli and Guy Barker, as well as an arrangement by Richard Niles, and duet with Jacqui Dankworth. Todd has just launched his new studio project celebrating the songwriting genius of Johnny Mercer. It features the American pianist John Colianni, Dave Chamberlain (bass), Chris Dagley (drums), Konrad Wiszniewski (tenor sax) and Phil Robson (guitar). Available from retailers including www.amazon.co.uk and www.jazzcds.co.uk.
Another recent development is the launch of Todd's new, parallel career as a promoter. JAZZ INTERNATIONAL organises and presents jazz and jazz-related events in many of Scotland's finest music venues. The first season featured John Taylor, Enrico Rava, Martin Taylor, Alison Burns and Stefano Bollani - click on the link below for more details.
QUOTES ON TODD:
"Great performance!" - Dionne Warwick
"Todd's voice can really tell a story" - Jamie Cullum
"The consummate performer of the American songbook" - The Independent
"Doing it his way, Sinatra's ghost lives on in the work of one of his most polished admirers" - Clive Davis, The Times
"The words slip off his tongue drenched in charisma and class" - Rick Finlay, Jazz Review
"Very enjoyable... tender voice and wonderful selection of songs" - Elaine Stritch
"Todd sings with wonderful feeling and time" - Sheila Jordan
"Leader in his field, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Great American Songbook" - Scottish Television
"Spine-tingling stuff of the classic kind" - Sinatra Music Society
"An individual voice in the current entertainment scene awash with imitations" - In Tune International
"The new King of Swing" - The Independent
"Impeccable choice of music... [Todd] and his musicians interact wonderfully" - Sir Michael Parkinson
"A really interesting choice of material - and such a good voice!" - Norma Winstone MBE
"Gordon has made the Great American Songbook his own" - The Guardian.
TG! Yeah Man! we had a great time!! It was my first Scottish Trip, so I'm just trying to make waves. I think we'll pack it on the next one....Just gotta reach those music fans that are looking for a new way to feel!! and we will!! Looking forward to the next one...and great tunes on your page!! JK
Just thought I would drop by and say "hi" :) I have been meaning to tell you...Your album has been playing on Music From The Heart for weeks, and the audience loves it!!!!! This week "One for my baby" and "Blues in the night" :)
How are you?, I like the way you sing and your choices of songs to cover, very good!
Also wanted to let you know I started my own label, first release is...me...go figure... Please check it out, listen, leave a comment, get a copy... Let me know what you think
Hi Todd, Happy New Year. You look set to have a busy one. Good luck with the tour. I'm in concert at Carnegie Hall on Feb 5th...if you can make it we'd be delighted to see you. Jackie & Steve
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