Edward "Kidd" Jordan (born May 5, 1935)
is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
saxophonist and music educator from
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.
After completing a music degree at
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...
in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
, he relocated to New Orleans. He taught at
Southern University at New Orleans
Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
History
Southern University ...
from 1974 to 2006.
Biography
Jordan was born in
Crowley
Crowley may refer to:
Places
* Crowley, Mendocino County, California, an unincorporated community
*Crowley County, Colorado
* Crowley, Colorado, a town in Crowley County
*Crowley, Louisiana, a city
* Crowley, Oregon (disambiguation)
* Crowley, Te ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and was raised during the time when
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
farming was the predominant economic activity in the area.
Jordan has noted that the music in southwestern Louisiana was "strictly Zydeco and Blues from way around, and that's what I came up listening to."
Zydeco
Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...
musician
Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...
hailed from the same area, as did
tenor saxophonist
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
Illinois Jacquet
Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo.
Although he was a pioneer of t ...
(whose music teacher also instructed Jordan).
Jordan's first instruments were
C-melody and
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
s.
While in high school, Jordan began performing "stock arrangements for three or four saxophones" with some older musicians, and immersed himself in the music of
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
.
Jordan read
transcribed solos in ''
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine but also learned Parker's music
by ear.
He credits Illinois Jacquet with first giving him the idea of playing
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
, but was more profoundly affected by the
free jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...
of
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
(who had previously performed in the area with blues bands).
Jordan majored in
music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
at
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...
, attending the school at the same time as
Alvin Batiste (his brother-in-law).
He originally planned to become a
classical alto saxophonist.
He moved to New Orleans in 1955, and began playing frequent
R&B gigs with musicians such as
Guitar Slim
Eddie Jones (December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959), better known as Guitar Slim, was an American guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song " The Things That I Used to Do", for Specialty Records. It is listed in t ...
,
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
,
Big Maybelle
Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single " Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Childhood and musical background
Born in J ...
,
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...
,
Chuck Willis
Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1926 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, " C. C. Rider" (1957) and "What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the ''Bil ...
(with
George Adams on
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
) and
Choker Campbell
Walter Luzar "Choker" Campbell (March 21, 1916 – July 20, 1993) was an American saxophonist and bandleader.
Biography
Born as an only child in Shelby, Mississippi, United States, his family moved to Saginaw, Michigan, when he was only fiv ...
.
Jordan has described these gigs as being "satisfying for me, because there was a feeling that you'd get from dealing with that. I've played with some of the great female vocalists, from Gladys Knight to Aretha Franklin, or Big Maybelle, Little Esther, Lena Horne, and there's an aesthetic in dealing with those people that a whole lot of people don't get to. And the aesthetic from the Blues is a part of the thing that I want to have in my playing. I don't care how out it gets."
Jordan performs on tenor, baritone,
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, alto, C-melody and
sopranino saxophone
The sopranino saxophone is the second-smallest member of the saxophone family. It is tuned in the key of E, and sounds an octave higher than the alto saxophone. An F sopranino (an octave above the F alto (also called mezzo-soprano) saxophone) w ...
s, as well as
contrabass
Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchest ...
and
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
s. He has indicated a preference for playing "outside" music (for example, free improvisation) on tenor, because he closely associates the alto with his earlier study of classical repertoire, tone, and technique.
Jordan has performed and recorded with a wide selection of musicians in styles ranging from R&B to avant-garde jazz, including Ray Charles,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
,
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
,
William Parker,
Alvin Fielder
Alvin Leroy Fielder Jr (November 23, 1935 – January 5, 2019) was an American jazz drummer. He was a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Black Arts Music Society, Improvisational Arts band, and wa ...
,
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
Biography Early life
Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...
,
Fred Anderson,
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
,
Ellis Marsalis,
Cannonball Adderley
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...
,
Ed Blackwell
Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive, influential work with Ornette Coleman.
Biography
Blackwell's early career began in New Orleans ...
, and
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet.
Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
.
In 2008, he was awarded a lifetime recognition honor by the
Vision Festival
The Vision Festival is the world's premier festival of experimental music (typically free jazz/avant-garde jazz), art, film and dance, held annually in May/June on the Lower East Side of New York City from 1996 to 2011, in Brooklyn from 2012-2014, ...
.
In his performances and recordings, his music is entirely improvised: "Everything you hear on my albums is improvised." he explains. "It's collective improvisation, but there are no tunes. I tried writing down ideas a long time ago but I don't do that anymore.".
The French Ministry of Culture recognized Jordan as a Knight (Chevalier) of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
in 1985. The French government bestowed him with their highest artistic award for his impetus as a visionary educator and performer.
Jordan taught
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...
and
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...
while the two were teenagers, and was an instructor at
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. Locate ...
(NOCCA).
As an instructor of jazz studies at Southern University at New Orleans, Jordan encouraged his students to pursue new approaches to traditional musical forms. One of Jordan's students was trombonist Charles Joseph, who would go on to co-found the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...
. Jordan composed "Kidd Jordan's Second Line" for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band prior to their first European appearance in 1982, and has also performed with the band.
In 2006, Jordan lost his home and most of his possessions during the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
.
A few weeks after the hurricane, he recorded the album ''Palm of Soul'' in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
with
William Parker and
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
.
Jordan later returned to Orleans.
In 2007,
Kidd Jordan went west with
Alvin Fielder
Alvin Leroy Fielder Jr (November 23, 1935 – January 5, 2019) was an American jazz drummer. He was a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Black Arts Music Society, Improvisational Arts band, and wa ...
and
William Parker (musician)
William Parker (born January 10, 1952) is an American free jazz double bassist. Beginning in the 1980s, Parker played with Cecil Taylor for over a decade, and he has led the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra since 1981. ''The Village Voice'' ...
to play with
Prince Lasha
William B. Lawsha, better known as Prince Lasha (), (September 10, 1929 – December 12, 2008) was an United States of America, American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, baritone saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and English horn player.
Life a ...
and
John Handy
John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and oboe.
Biography
Handy was born in ...
in The
Eddie Gale
Edward Gale Stevens Jr. (August 15, 1941 – July 10, 2020), known professionally as Eddie Gale, was an American trumpeter known for his work in free jazz, especially with the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Life and career
Born in Brooklyn, New York on August 1 ...
All Star band for the
San Jose Jazz Festival
The San José Jazz Summer Fest (originally known as the San Jose Jazz Festival) is an annual music festival organized by non-profit San Jose Jazz and held in downtown San Jose, California. The festival was established in 1990. The festival beg ...
On November 7, 2010, Kidd Jordan was Inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame in an event at Montrele's Bistro in New Orleans.
In 2011, the television series ''
Treme'' featured a track from ''Palm of Soul'', "Last of the Chicken Wings."
Jordan later made a brief appearance in ''Treme''.
Jordan's son
Kent Jordan (
de) is a jazz flautist.
Discography
As leader or co-leader
* ''New Orleans Festival Suite'' (
Silkheart, 1999)
* ''Kidd' Stuff'' (Danjor)
* ''
The All-Star Game'' (Eremite, 2003)
* ''Live at the Tampere Jazz Happening 2000'' (Charles Lester, 2004)
* ''Palm of Soul'' (
AUM Fidelity, 2006)
* ''On Fire'' (Engine, 2011)
* ''On Fire Volume 2'' (Engine, 2012)
* ''A Night in November'' (Valid, 2013)
* ''Trio and Duo in New Orleans'' (NoBusiness, 2013)
* ''Last Trane to New Orleans'' (2020)
As sideman
with
Larry Williams
Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...
:
* ''Bad Boy'' (
Specialty)
with
Professor Longhair:
* ''Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge'' (
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
)
with ''The Improvisational Arts Quintet'':
* ''No Compromise!'' (Prescription)
with
Hamiet Bluiett
Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A mem ...
:
* ''The Clarinet Family'' (
Black Saint
Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.
History
Black S ...
)
with
Johnny Adams
Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...
:
* ''Good Morning Heartache'' (
Rounder
Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short
* ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short
* ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy
* ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...
)
with
Joel Futterman
Joel Futterman (born April 30, 1946 in Chicago) is an American jazz pianist and soprano saxophonist.
A native of Chicago, Joel Futterman was influenced both musically and philosophically by Gene Shaw, with whom he worked with and studied for a ...
:
* ''Revelation'' (Kali)
* ''New Orleans Rising'' (Konnex Records)
* ''The Joel Futterman / 'Kidd' Jordan Trio with Alvin Fielder-Southern Extreme'' (Drimala Records)
with
William Parker
*''
Essence of Ellington'' (Centering, 2012)
with
Alan Silva
Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an United States of America, American free jazz double bassist and Keyboard instrument, keyboard player.
Biography
Silva was born a British subject to an Azores, Azorean/Portug ...
:
* ''
Emancipation Suite'' (Boxholder, 2002)
* ''
Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra
''Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra'' is a live album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded in May 1999 at St. Nicholas of Myra Church in New York City during the annual Vision Festival, and was released in 2001 by Eremite Re ...
'' (Eremite, 2001)
* ''
H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box'' (Eremite, 2003)
with
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
:
* ''
Out of Time'' (
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
)
with
Fred Anderson
*''
2 Days in April'' (Eremite, 2000)
*''
21st Century Chase'' (Delmark, 2009)
with
World Saxophone Quartet
The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music.
The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...
*''
Yes We Can'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2010)
References
External links
*
* from ''
All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Kidd
Jazz musicians from New Orleans
American jazz bass clarinetists
American jazz alto saxophonists
American jazz soprano saxophonists
American jazz tenor saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz baritone saxophonists
African-American saxophonists
Living people
1935 births
People from Crowley, Louisiana
21st-century American saxophonists
21st-century clarinetists
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
World Saxophone Quartet members
AUM Fidelity artists
Silkheart Records artists
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people
NoBusiness Records artists