Album Notes

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 well over a thousand songs. His interest in music and singing was passionate, yet private. Then, in 2000, he participated in a week-long vocal jazz workshop and that changed everything. His first time on stage came in 2001 at Scotland’s best jazz club and, as the cliché goes, he's never looked back. In 2003, he was booked to open for Dionne Warwick during her UK tour visit which prompted him to give up his 'day job' organizing trade expos.

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 in Soho, 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. He is the first-ever Scottish male jazz singer to have been booked for the London Jazz Festival in its 14 year history with his gig at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

His audiences range from intimate jazz club settings to large-scale shows (he regularly comperes and performs in Jazz on a Summers Day – Britain’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. Todd works with the very best British musicians - Alan Barnes, Dave O’Higgins, Martin Drew, Bruce Adams, Dave Chamberlain, Steve Brown, Alec Dankworth, etc - and has also performed with top US players such as Jay Leonhart, Ted Rosenthal, Joe Cohn, Nicki Parrott and Butch Miles.

Todd has recorded three albums with Ian Shaw in the producer’s chair, Love’s Illusions (featuring Alan Barnes and Bruce Adams) and Ballads from The Midnight Hotel with musicians including Guy Barker and John Parricelli. There’s also a duet with the sensational Jacqui Dankworth with whom Todd has been touring.

His new album (launched in January 2009) celebrates the work of the American Songbook giant, Johnny Mercer who, incidentally, was particularly proud of his Scottish ancestry. Entitled Moon River to the Days of Wine and Roses, the recording is a first-time collaboration with the superb pianist, John Colianni who, for several years, was Mel Tormé’s accompanist.

The new year will also see Todd develping his new concert promotion business, Jazz International, presenting a wide range of top jazz artists at several of Scotland’s leading music venues.