Ocean Springs welcomes Stephanie Jordan

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New Orleans jazz singer Stephanie Jordan is gracing the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center stage in Ocean Springs, Mississippi on Saturday, January 19, at 7:00pm, with a tribute to the fabulous Lena Horne. She brought down the house at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz Festival with her tribute to Lena Horne show, which she has performed nationally and promises to please the Ocean Springs audience just as well.

Accompanied by Emmy-award winning arranger Mike Esneault on piano, the Stephanie Jordan Big Band will fill the Center with her signature trademark sound of jazz standards from the Big Band era. The show will include highlights from her 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."

Following her performance with the Chicago Jazz ensemble, Chicago Tribune's leading art critic Howard Reich proclaimed, "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 . . ."

Selected for the cover of the World's Who's Who in Jazz; "Showbiz, Pioneers, Best Singers, Entertainers and Musicians from 1606 to the Present, " the London Monthly Herald declares, "Ms. Stephanie Jordan in her silk green dress catches your eyes. She reminds me of the flashy dashy days of Josephine Baker at the Lido in Paris, the author referred to Jordan as "The classy lady of modern Jazz!"

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.

This is not a show to miss!

Seating is reserved and limited. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the Mary C Box Office prior to and on the day of the show, online at http://www.themaryc.org/Tickets/Index.html, or by phone at (228) 818-2878.

VIP admission tickets are available in limited quantity and include reserved seating for the show, as well as entrance to the Meet & Greet with Stephanie Jordan at The Almanett Hotel in Gulfport on Friday, January 18, at 5pm. Please contact the Mary C Box Office for more information regarding VIP tickets.

The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center for Arts & Education is located at 1600 Government Street in Ocean Springs, open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm (later for special events)

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