Songwriter Rebecca Jordan Of Kelly Clarkson Songs Writes Song For Herself
Since moving to NY 3 years ago, Rebecca Jordan has made a unique name for herself as an artist and a songwriter. Her original music combines elements of jazz, classic pop, soul, folk and cabaret. Adding to the sweeping scope of the compositions is the instrumentation, often including strings, horns, organs, whistles, electric guitars, live drums, and hand-claps. The result is a creative concoction that’s whimsical and substantial, sometimes compared to Regina Spektor, Feist, and Corinne Bailey Rae.
Rebecca has received extensive praise for her songwriting, racking up accolades like the 2010 Abe Olman Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She was selected as a 2010 NPR Mountain Stage NewSong Finalist and a 2011 Independent Music Award Nominee for her self-released Souvenir EP. She has written songs for Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, and co-wrote five songs for Alice Smith's upcoming EP, executive produced by Citizen Cope. Rebecca has also been a featured guest artist on numerous collaborative projects, including:
"Lights" - The Kickdrums, Follow The Leaders Mixtape
"Don't Worry" - Rockie Fresh, Driving 88 Mixtape
"Midnight Blue", "First Step On The Moon" - Venice Dawn, Something About April LP (on Waxpoetics)
"It's Me" - Venice Dawn, Something About April (as heard on KCRW)
Growing up in Ohio, Rebecca studied classical piano. She credits her father (the church choir director) and mother (the church pianist) with turning her on to jazz. Rebecca fondly recalls learning standards like “My Funny Valentine” and “Don’t Go To Strangers” with her mother when she was a kid. She says, “I was singing Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson instead of 'I'm A Little Teapot'.”
After moving to NY, Rebecca picked up the guitar partly because it's easier to haul a guitar around the city than a keyboard, but also to challenge herself creatively. An ASCAP workshop sparked a set of circumstances that would not only lead Rebecca to her collaborators, Jeremy Page (Kendra Morris) and Thad DeBrock (Suzanne Vega) but also to her killer band featuring Steve Williams (Sade, Keith Richards, Chocolate Genius), Gabriel Gordon (Natalie Merchant, WaxPoetic), Paul Frazier (David Byrne) and Deron Johnson (Alanis Morisette, Meshell Ndegeocello)
Of the new single "Eve,” which will be released on 6/25, Rebecca says "It speaks to the first romantic relationship we ever have - the one we have with our dreams". Her inviting voice dances over rhythmically strummed acoustic guitars as strings, bells, electric guitars, and ambient background vocals weave beneath, painting a landscape for the lyrics, “Eve swallowed a dream, we’ll never be the same. Oh Eve, I don’t believe we ever really throw it all away.”
With a full length album in the works, Rebecca Jordan is poised to follow in the footsteps of artists such as Carole King and seamlessly transition from writer to artist. Be on the lookout for more music in 2012.
