Portrait of Sheila

Background

According to the sleeve notes (written by Nat Hentoff), Alfred Lion of Blue Note decided to record Jordan after hearing her sing at the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, New York, even though the label "had as a policy not recorded jazz vocalists before".

Music

Track 4, "Dat Dere", showcases Jordan's predilection for performing voice and bass duets. According to biographer Ellen Johnson, Jordan originally wanted to devote Portrait of Sheila entirely to bass and voice, but the idea was turned down by Blue Note.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected the album as part of its "Core Collection" and gave it a rating of four stars (of a possible four). Allmusic gave the album a rating of five stars (of a possible five).

Track listing

1. "Falling in Love with Love" (Rodgers, Hart) – 2:31
2. "If You Could See Me Now" (Dameron, Sigman) – 4:32
3. "Am I Blue" (Clarke, Akst) – 4:12
4. "Dat Dere" (Timmons) – 2:43
5. "When the World Was Young" (M. Philippe-Gérard, Mercer) – 4:43
6. "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (Berlin) – 1:14
7. "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" (Lewis, Young, Ted Fiorito) – 3:11
8. "Who Can I Turn To?" (Wilder, Engvick) – 3:21
9. "Baltimore Oriole" (Carmichael, Webster) – 2:34
10. "I'm a Fool to Want You" (Jack Wolf, Joel Herron, Sinatra) – 4:55
11. "Hum Drum Blues" (Brown Jr.) – 2:15
12. "Willow Weep for Me" (Ronell) – 3:28

Personnel

"Dat Dere" features Jordan and Swallow alone.