Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
The Mingus Big Band performs at the Jazz Standard in New York. The club announced its permanent closure on Tuesday amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
(Photo: Fran Kaufman/Jazz Standard)As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on and further economic stimulus from the federal government remains in limbo, the fiscal realities of 2020 continue to impact the jazz community.
On Wednesday, New York club The Jazz Standard announced its permanent closure on Twitter.
It is with great sadness that we, along w/ @BlueSmokeNYC, share that our doors on 27th Street will remain permanently closed. The current situation surrounding COVID and #livemusic regulations precludes us from maintaining our quality & continuing to “set the standard”. @USHGNYC pic.twitter.com/rvFbey8F26
— Jazz Standard (@JazzStandardNYC) December 2, 2020
In another post to the social media site, representatives wrote, “While our physical doors may be shut, our passion to serve and entertain lives on and we are optimistic about the future and writing the next chapter of Jazz Standard. In the meantime, the club is hosting exclusive artist conversations and performances virtually.”
According to the venue’s website, it opened in late December 1999, and regularly hosted local and touring acts, including weekly engagements with the Mingus Big Band. That large ensemble, as well as saxophonist Frank Morgan, trumpeter/cornetist Dave Douglas and pianist André Previn are among the artists who recorded live albums at the venue. The vocal group Duchess recorded its most recent album there, which was released earlier this year.
In an email to DownBeat, Seth Abramson, the club’s artistic director, said, “We are dedicated to exploring our options in New York City. ... This is not goodbye.”
As news of the closure circulated, some jazz musicians headed online to offer up their own perspectives.
“Shout out to Seth Abramson, also a musician and general good egg, for doing such a good job of booking the club for decades,” pianist Ethan Iverson wrote.
Saxophonist Caroline Davis voiced a call to action: “We are all heartbroken to see that the Standard is closing. Countless experiences going to see music and playing there. ... Into the memory vaults, gone but never forgotten. Y’ALL! We gotta push our local / fed officials to roll out assistance. Don’t give up!” DB
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…