DETROIT — A jazz legend with a long, storied career and a global fan base, Detroit-born singer Sheila Jordan died on Monday in her home in New York City at the age of 96.

Named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2012, Jordan is largely considered an underappreciated artist, considering her vocal talent and lengthy recording and performing career. That path began in Detroit jazz clubs of the 1940s, where she met saxophonist Charlie Parker. He famously told Jordan she had "million-dollar ears" because of her ability to identify instrumental jazz notes and sing them.

According to Jordan's New York Times obituary, she moved to New York City in 1951. Shortly after, she married Parker's pianist, Duke Jordan, whom she had started dating while in Detroit. Daughter Tracy Jordan was born in 1955. The Jordans divorced in the early 1960s, around the same time Sheila recorded her critically acclaimed debut album "Portrait of Sheila" for famed Blue Note Records.

As a solo artist, Jordan wouldn't release another album until the 1970s, but was prolific after that, continually recording and performing in clubs and jazz festivals.

Jordan returned to perform in Detroit often, appearing as part of the Detroit Jazz Festival in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. She also did a two-night stint at the refurbished Willis Show Bar in Detroit in 2018.

Jordan's daughter had been collecting online donations to help with the ailing singer's hospice care these past few weeks. She updated the fundraiser with news of Jordan's death on Monday.

"Her friend Joan Belgrave was playing her a bebop tune called 'Bill for Bennie' by her husband Marcus Belgrave ... my mom fell asleep listing to the music she loved and help define," wrote Tracy Jordan in a statement posted the GoFundMe page.

"Thank you for your support and generosity, the money raised on her GoFundMe page will be used to pay off medical debt and secure a plot for her at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Jazz Corner," reads the statement, adding that a memorial service is being planned for the future at Saint Peter's Church in New York City.

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