Robert Laurence Albert Simpson, known professionally as Ronny Jordan (29 November 1962 – 13 January 2014) was a British guitarist and part of the
acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century.
Jordan described his music as "urban jazz", a blend of
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 ...
,
hip-hop, and
R&B.
Biography
He came to prominence after being featured on
Guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
's ''
Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1
''Jazzmatazz Volume 1 (An Experimental Fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz)'' is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop recording artist Guru. It was released on May 18, 1993 through Chrysalis Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios ...
'', released in 1993. He was also one of the artists whose recordings are featured on ''
Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool''—a
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
released in 1994 to benefit the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
.
Following 1992's ''
The Antidote'',
recordings from Jordan have featured on the
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
charts, especially his acid-jazz Miles Davis cover of "
So What
So What may refer to:
Law
*Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading
Music Albums
* ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000
* '' So What?: Early Demos and Live Abuse'', by Anti-Nowhere League, ...
", which was a worldwide hit. He was also the recipient of The MOBO Best Jazz Act Award and the Gibson Guitar Best Jazz Guitarist Award. His 2000 release, ''A Brighter Day'', was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality ...
.
Jordan's song "The Jackal" (from his 1993 album ''The Quiet Revolution'') gained prominence when actress
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...
in the role of
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the American television drama ''The West Wing''. From the beginning of the series in 1999 until the sixth season in 2004, she was the White House Press Secretary in the a ...
lip-synched
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...
it in the episode "
Six Meetings Before Lunch
The first season of the American political drama television series ''The West Wing'' aired in the United States on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 17, 2000 and consisted of 22 episodes.
Cast
Main cast
* Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Deputy Wh ...
" of ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...
''. She also did so on
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014.
He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', ''Comi ...
's television show in September 2013.
Jordan died on 13 January 2014.
Discography
* ''
The Antidote'' (
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, 1992)
* ''The Quiet Revolution'' (Island, 1993) AUS No. 48
* ''Bad Brothers'' (Island, 1994)
* ''Light to Dark'' (Island, 1996)
* ''A Brighter Day'' (
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...
, 2000)
* ''Off the Record'' (Blue Note, 2001)
* ''The Collection'' (Spectrum, 2002) compilation
* ''At Last'' (
N-Coded, 2003)
* ''After 8'' (N-Coded, 2004)
* ''The Rough & The Smooth'' (Private 'N Public, 2009)
Source:
Singles
References
Further reading
*
External links
"So What"Transcription of Ronny Jordan's version of So What
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Ronny
1962 births
2014 deaths
20th-century English musicians
20th-century British guitarists
20th-century British male musicians
21st-century English musicians
21st-century British guitarists
21st-century British male musicians
English funk musicians
English jazz guitarists
English male guitarists
Jazz-funk guitarists
British male jazz musicians
Smooth jazz guitarists
Soul-jazz guitarists