Featured artist: MARC JORDAN
To say
a musician has duende is not a statement to be made lightly.
A distant cousin to the English muse, the Spanish duende
is darker, somewhat sinister and indefinable. The audience will
whisper duende after a flamenco guitarist plays a passage
that plumbs the depths of rarely expressed human emotion. Virtuosity
has nothing to do with it. That said,
Marc Jordan’s voice has duende.
His voice is easy to listen to, yet its honey coated timbre adds
to the mystery. After his sweetness draws you in, you realize
you’re captive in the dark recesses of the human heart.
Jordan
is hard to pin down as a songwriter. His tunes have been recorded
by many, including Joe Cocker, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Natalie
Cole, and The Manhattan Transfer. He penned two of Rod Stewart’s
hits; "Rhythm Of My Heart" and "This." Cher’s
hit album of 1999, titled Believe, includes his "Taxi
Taxi." He’s also written for both television and film,
including some Hollywood blockbusters, such as The Perfect
Storm.
Listen
to Jordan’s voice on "Let’s Waste Some Time,"
a duet sung with Molly Johnson from his Make Believe Ballroom.
It sounds as if he’s channeled Antonio Carlos Jobim’s
easy going bossa nova. The difference is Jordan’s timbre
has more of an emotional edge -- Chet Baker without the self-destructiveness.
He can sound like a rocker, a jazz singer or a folk singer. For
the past thirty years, he’s been making records for the
world’s top record companies, including Warner Bros., BMG,
Atlantic Records and EMI Canada.
Marc
Jordan makes his home in Toronto with his wife, the singer-songwriter
Amy Sky and their two children. His most recent musical project
is a home grown collaborative venture with Cindy Church, Murray
McLauchlan and Ian Thomas.
The concept
for the tour was born during a get together at Allen’s,
the famed Toronto restaurant and music haunt. The long time friends
realized they had never performed together. The result is the
musical revue, Lunch at Allen’s, a celebration
of Canada’s most loved singer-songwriters. The tour is taking
place throughout Canada until May 2007. For more info and sound
clips, go to the Lunch at Allen’s
Live Tour Artists web
site.
Marc
Jordan’s music is impossible to categorize – a Japanese
web site describes his style as "Adult Contemporary."
He’s been called a torch singer and a "songwriter to
the stars." To my mind, he’s beyond category, where
every new song is another good reason to listen to him.
Listen
to Marc sing LET'S
WASTE SOME TIME
