Sheila Landis has been performing her unique style of jazz, Latin and blues since 1973. Her current schedule has her performing at Michigan's most prestigious festivals, concert venues and nightclubs. Clearly one of the area's finest vocalists, Sheila has been chosen as the "Outstanding Jazz Vocalist” by The Detroit Music Awards on seven occasions including 2001, 2002 and 2003. Her catalog of recorded work on her own SheLan Records has received extensive airplay in local, national and international markets. Three early Sheila Landis releases and "Colors of Brazil" from Sheila Landis/Rick Matle are currently reissued in Japan by the Vivid Sound/Celeste label. Counterpoint Records of the UK released Sheila's track "Parenthe-Seizure" on their "jazz bizniz 2" compilation. Counterpoint also released a dance remix of the same tune produced by Las Gammas.  In 2007 Counterpoint Records released a CD of tracks spanning Sheila's career from 1981-2002. This CD has introduced Sheila's voice to a whole new audience worldwide. Sheila draws her inspiration from classic jazz vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday as well as from such modern artists as Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Sheila's long-time collaborator, guitarist/producer Rick Matle, leads the finest musicians in ensembles of various size for live concerts and shows.

From the intimate Rick Matle/Sheila Landis Duo to the percussion-driven Brazilian Love Affair to a swinging Ella Fitzgerald Tribute or the well-oiled Sheila Landis Trio, Sheila's strong sense of melody and rhythm combined with her outstanding skill in the art of jazz "scat" singing create a live music performance that is one of a kind. Sheila also shares her passion for singing and composing by presenting student workshops for all ages (often in collaboration with poet Margo LaGattuta). With the focus on "inspiring the creative mind" Sheila earned a grant from The Michigan Council for the Arts/Artserve Michigan in 1999 allowing her to organize several interactive concert/workshops for young musicians and composers. For over 20 years Sheila has led her upscale all-occasion band, Top Drawer . This experienced multi-faceted ensemble covers all styles from classic standards to pop, rock and Motown. Sheila Landis can make your corporate function, wedding or party special with great live music.

 JazzTimes Review June 2006
Driven (Shelan)

Listening to the Sheila Landis’ latest recording with guitarist Rick Matle, I’m reminded of Simon Rodia, the architectural genius who spent three decades creating the fabled Watts Towers in Los Angeles. For it is that same entrepreneurial energy and ingenuity—the ability to build marvelous musical sculptures using whatever materials are at hand—that seems to drive the incredibly prolific (20 plus self-produced discs since 1981), Detroit-based singer-percussionist Sheila Landis.

Exhibiting the same assured yet easygoing professionalism as fellow Midwesterner Ann Hampton Callaway, she can swing through Goodman (“Don’t Be That Way”) and Ellington (“Caravan”), wander wordlessly through a gently scatted “Fool on the Hill” and unearth the sexual heat hidden within Hank Williams’ “Hey, Good Lookin’.” But Landis impresses most when, never straying too far from her Michigan roots, she serves up such delights (co-penned with guitarist/producer Matle) as “Brotherhood of the Wheel” (a nod to truckers constructed to sound like an 18-wheeler snaking its way through local burgs), “Ma’s Coffee Pot” (about a roadside waitress who’s eager to vend more than just eggs and toast) and the deeply personal “She’s in My Bones,” a sweet, warm hug of an homage to her grandmother.

 -Christopher Loudon

Sheila Landis and Rick Matle  Blues in the Night
SheLan    Rating: A
 An emphasis on bluesy and rootsy material on this collection, half new and half culled from the last dozen years of work by the vocal-guitar duo. They do "Fever" and Willie Nelson's "Crazy," but there's still room for whiplash hard bop, some jazz-meets-poetry material and a rockin' take on "At Last." Landis' 21st album is the place to start if you've been sleeping on this lightning bolt of a singer and her simpatico seven-string guitarist. —W Kim Heron  MetroTimes  Nov. 2006

Ed Love with Rick Matle, Sheila Landis and Dennis Sheridan

Updated performance calendar and audio samples from "Blues in the NIght" on Sheila's "MySpace" webpage click here

Sheila's bio and CD reviews at All Music Guide  click here

"Colors of Brazil" makes top ten list  click here