The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Maryland | Feb. 15th-18th, 2013

The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, in the grand
tradition of the East Coast Jazz Festival has become a mid-winter
tradition in the Washington, DC metro region, attracting thousands of
jazz enthusiasts from across the eastern seaboard. The three-day
festival which runs from February 16 – 17 also features organ guru Dr.
Lonnie Smith; bandleader Orrin Evans; saxophonist Tim Warfield; and Paul
Carr among others jazz greats.

Songstress Stephanie Jordan, a
Howard University graduate will fill the air with her signature sound of
jazz standards from the Big Band era. The show will include highlights
from Jordan’s self-produced CD; “Stephanie Jordan Sings A Tribute to the
Fabulous Lena Horne” which honors the legendary Grammy Award winner who
also starred in many films. Stephanie who had the privileged of
mentoring under the guidance of Shirley Horn says that it was actually
“Lena Horne who served as her first introduction to great jazz singers.
As a little girl I wanted to be Lena Horne.”

She adds, “What
better place to honor such a great singer than where I got my
professional start. The D.C. area means so much to me. It welcomed me
back and gave me comfort for two years following the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina. I will never forget what the folks at A Wider Circle
and others did for me in a time of need.”

Jordan made her debut
at Takoma Station Jazz Club years ago when she joined the Doug Carne
Band in an unrehearsed rendition of “I Remember April.” Within a few
months she developed a loyal following and became much sought after. She
has performed at many of the Washington, D.C. jazz haunts such as Twins
Jazz Lounge, Blues Alley, and Carter Baron Amphitheater.

The
Washington Post boast of her Kennedy Center performance, “Contributing
intimate and thoroughly enjoyable interludes were . . . New Orleans-bred
vocalist Stephanie Jordan, who performed with a quartet that featured
her brother Marlon on trumpet. A poised, soulfully articulate vocalist,
Jordan turned in a performance that warmly evoked the influence of Abbey
Lincoln, Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae and other jazz greats.”

Following
her performance with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Chicago Tribune’s
leading art critic Howard Reich wrote, “The woman can sing and
indisputably knows how to reach out across the footlights . . . bringing
heft to music of the Gershwins and Cole Porter without pushing volume
levels. Clearly she values plush sound and knows how to produce it.”
Music critic James Walker added, “Stephanie Jordan . . . stepped in and
simply mesmerized the near capacity Harris Theater crowd with a
sparkling performance that surely put her in good stead with the astute
Chicago audience. . . . “

Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes Magazine
writes of her Jazz at Lincoln Center performance; “Stephanie Jordan, a
standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting
rendition of (Here’s To Life) this bittersweet ode associated with
Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a depth of understated
soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing
with clarity of diction that recalled Nat “King” Cole . . .”

Jazz
at Lincoln Center notes, “every so often a new voice stands up and
proclaims itself, but few do so with such supreme depth and understated
soul.”

Ms. Jordan is the fifth performer to emerge from a family
of New Orleans bred musicians. As the daughter of renowned Avant-jazz
saxophonist and teacher Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Stephanie’s musical roots
run deep.

The Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival (MAFJ) is presented in
the true spirit and intent of the former East Coast Jazz Festival
(ECJF). Founded in 1992 by vocalist/vocal educator Ronnie Wells, for the
next 15 years the ECJF was produced by and benefited The Fish Middleton
Jazz Scholarship Fund, Inc. (FMJS). ECJF was originally created in
honor of Elmore “Fish” Middleton, a Washington, DC jazz radio
programmer, whose commitment to promoting jazz music and supporting
emerging jazz artists became the guiding principle behind the festival.

The
mission of the FMJS was “…to assist emerging jazz artists throughout
the nation in their educational and artistic development; offer a wider
base for the presentation of jazz; and insure the continuation of jazz
education and performance in public schools and institutions of higher
learning.” That mission directly mirrors the intent of the Mid Atlantic
Jazz Festival.

The Mid Atlantic Jazz Festival represents an
auspicious renewal of the spirit and intent of the ECJF, as a showcase
for some of the DC area’s finest established and emerging artists,
student ensembles, and a healthy dose of renowned touring jazz artists
as well. MAJF is designed to take the ECJF mid-winter jazz festival
tradition to the next level and to further enhance arts & culture in
the Washington, DC region.