Biography of Todd Gordon

“This new CD – Ballads from the Midnight Hotel – is sensual, thoughtful and beautifully crafted. An immaculate choice of songs sung with intelligence and conviction… this is the Todd Gordon I’ve been waiting for” - Claire Martin, BBC Jazz Line-Up

In less than four years, Todd Gordon has established himself as “one of the country's most popular singers and entertainers” (Scottish Television). An avid Beatles fan until the age of eleven until 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; his gig was held last November in 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's last CD, "Love’s Illusions", was produced by award-winning jazz singer Ian Shaw, with 16 timeless American Songbook classics, and featuring Alan Barnes on saxophone and Bruce Adams on trumpet. He returned to London in December to record his new album, again with Ian Shaw in the producer’s chair. Entitled "Ballads from The Midnight Hotel" it features musicians including John Parricelli, Alec Dankworth, Mark Fletcher and Guy Barker as well as a duet with the sensational Jacqui Dankworth (with whom Todd has been touring).

For further details, visit www.toddgordon.com and www.myspace.com/toddgordon