The Rebirth of Elli Fordyce

Jazz vocalist Elli Fordyce recorded her first album at 70 and her second at 72. Both have received critical acclaim.

Elli Fordyce’s first CD, “Something STILL Cool” came out when she was 70 – to rave reviews. At 72, the New York-based jazz singer has released her second and latest CD, “Songs Spun of Gold.” Like anyone who has reached their 70s, Fordyce doesn’t just have a story – she has thousands of them!

There’s the story about how a car accident ended a successful year-long tour with her band in 1976; the story about how she didn’t sing – a single note – for 15 years; the story about how she supported herself for 15 years walking dogs and taking care of pets; the story about how it took 8 years to complete her first CD; the story about how a small dog named Dindi helped her return to singing; the the story about how she acted in film roles over the past 10 years, and finally, the story of returning to doing what she loves – singing jazz in front of live audiences.

Music After 50 talked to Fordyce about her new album, and what it’s like to sing for 54 years before finally recording an album.

LRG: I read that you wanted to be a jazz singer since you were 15 years old. Why jazz?

EF: Jazz spoke to me from the time I first heard it; it grabbed on and would not let me go.

LRG: Who influenced you musically?

EF: If we’re talking about “resonance,” I adored Chet Baker when I first heard him on the radio, first playing, then singing on his next record, back in the ‘50s. June Christy and Chris Connor were my next obsessions. Later, Sinatra (ballads such as “In the Wee Small Hours” and “Softly as I Leave You,” both of which are on my second album) and Carmen McCrae (I own more of her CDs  than anyone else’s in a relatively small collection). I first got the idea of jazz singing from Ella [Fitzgerald], and Stan Getz (with Johnny Smith on guitar) swept me away. Later my big love affair was with his bossa nova stuff, and then with any bossa nova. Their music sank in, simmered, and came out my way.

Barry Harris [the jazz pianist, composer and teacher] played a huge part in helping me integrate all the listening, thinking about, and trying to sing jazz since those early days. Things he says to his vocal workshop groups (which I attended twice a week religiously for two years) were multiple lightbulbs going off for me. I owe him a great debt and profoundly remember everyone of his pearls.

LRG: Who influenced you personally?

EF: My biggest influences are metaphysical teachers, teachings and techniques. As far as naming names, I’d have to say Bobby Darin (then Cassato) and my friend/producer/engineer, Patrick Lo Re. In my second year of high school, I met Bobby and we became close friends. He began studying acting and never thought of himself as a vocalist; he played drums in a jazz group and fooled around imitating pop singers sometimes. I remember one of our conversations when he told me he knew that somehow he was going to make it in the business. I didn’t believe him because that seemed so impossible. I’ve never, even to this day, known anyone so focused or dedicated; I was not at all surprised at his great success and longevity.

Patrick Lo Re is a great mentor. He was so faithful and steady at the mind-numbing task of meticulously editing and pulling together the pieces of a CD. Patrick stuck with me through a lot of soul-searching, digitally capturing a lot of what was inside me, some of which I didn’t even know was there, and supported me through what ended up to be the year-long production of our second CD, “Songs Spun of Gold.” One of my early managers said, “You’re the best Elli Fordyce there is, no one will ever do Elli Fordyce as well as you,” which was and continues to be very helpful to me.

LRG: Is 70 the new 50?

EF: I think it depends entirely on the person. For me 70 is the new 50, anyway. I think I’m in at least as good physical shape and mentally and emotionally, am better off than I was in my 50s, and my 40s are only a messy blur.

LRG: Your style reminds me of Diana Krall? Do you agree with that comparison?

EF: There are many generic similarities and many subtle differences. Certainly, her popularity opens people’s ears for jazz vocals.

LRG: You mentioned that you liked a certain period of Sinatra. What was he doing during that period?

EF: He did brilliant work in the early ‘50s; some of his later “sincere ballad” stuff was also wonderful. I saw him live once in ’67 and was astonished at his vocal stamina, his connection with the audience, and his groundedness as a performer. A true icon of the genre.

LRG: The first thing I noticed about your singing was your wonderful phrasing. Is your phrasing a conscious effort?

EF: Phrasing is like breathing to me. It’s intense conversation set to melody and rhythm. You don’t think about how you phrase what you say, when you’re really in-the-moment and engaged in saying it. I’m the same with singing if I’m really in it. In the ‘70s I was working in top-40 “cover” groups, and my job was to do hits relatively closely to the originals. I used to make a conscious effort to not re-phrase; to try to imitate. I was never great at that, I’d simulate it but sometimes would be told I was “too jazzy.” I’ve always had a hard time with exact replication of phrasing and notes — can’t even lip sync to my own stuff! I was in a film shoot where I was supposed to lip sync to two of my tracks and it was a disaster; they had to keep the camera off my face most of the time since they wanted to use the recorded versions, which didn’t match! I hardly ever do anything identically.

LRG: Many people say they don’t like jazz, but they like certain jazz artists. Such is the case with your work, you’ve said.

EF: My music often attracts people who say they are not into jazz. I think it’s because they have a fixed idea of what jazz is, whereas there are many sub-genres. Singers  like Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr., Tony Bennett or Michael Buble cross those barriers and I relate to all of them, but feel I’m a bit jazzier most of the time. I take a few more liberties and yet I’m more of an entertainer than many “jazz” singers; more cabaret-ish, in a sense. When I sing a ballad, I’m walking through a movie scene or a memory and people often get that.

LRG: Where are you performing next?

EF: I have two gigs near me in Westchester (NY) in November. My manager is also working with an agent who has promising stuff on the back burner. There’s no predictability to that aspect.

LRG: Would you like to stay close to home or would you tour if given the opportunity?

EF: I love to stay close to home, have gigs across-the-street and down the block! But I’m also eager to tour when given the opportunity. 

LRG: Watch Elli Fordyce sing “Our Love is Here to Stay.”