Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) 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 ...

trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

soprano trombone The soprano trombone (sometimes called a slide trumpet, especially in jazz) is the soprano instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. It is usually pitched in B an octave above the tenor trombone, and has a bore, bell and mouthpiec ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

, and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

.''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second edition,'' Vol. 2, edited by

Barry Dean Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

, London:

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

(2002) His nickname is "Pinecone".

Early life and education

Gordon was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, into a religious and musical background that influenced the early direction of his music. His father, Lucius Gordon (1936–1997), was a church organist at several churches in

Burke County, Georgia Burke County is a county located along the eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia in the Piedmont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,596. The county seat is Waynesboro. Burke County is part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA- ...

, and a classical pianist and teacher. Gordon took an interest in jazz in 1980 when he was thirteen, while listening to jazz records inherited from his great-aunt. The collection included a five-LP anthology produced by Sony-Columbia. In particular, he was drawn to musicians like

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens At age 13, he was attending Sego Junior High School in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, where his band director was trombonist Don Milford. Gordon graduated in 1984 from Butler High School in Augusta. He performed in New York City as part of the McDonald's High School All-American Band. He then studied music at

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

, where he played in the marching band.

Career

His early works as a professional were with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

, but in 2010 he has expanded beyond swing and has experimented with new instruments. The strongest example of this might be ''The Search'' where he plays

and covers

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

songs. He has also played Gospel music. In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the theme song for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

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 ...

''. Gordon's arrangement and orchestration is the third version of the melody composed in 1971 by Donald Joseph Voegeli (1920–2009). On September 24, 2004, Gordon conducted the

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. The Orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History In 1988 the Orchestra was formed a ...

in the premiere of his new, original score for "Body and Soul", the 1925 silent film directed by

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and controlled ...

. He has recently gained more worldwide popularity, being featured in South Australia's '' Generations In Jazz'' 2016 and 2017, playing alongside artists such as James Morrison,

Jazzmeia Horn Jazzmeia Horn (born April 16, 1991) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition in 2015. Horn's repertoire includes jazz standards and covers of songs from other genres, inclu ...

Gordon Goodwin Gordon L. Goodwin (born 1954) is an American pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is the leader of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He has won four Grammy Awards and three Daytime Emmy Awards, and has received over twenty ...

and Ross Irwin among others. For over a decade, he has also worked with visual artist and educator Ligel Lambert on numerous collaborative projects. Ligel Lambert with Wycliffe Gordon (2008 - Present)
Ligel & Wycliffe

Blues Back Records

Blues Back Records was an American independent jazz label founded by Gordon in 2006, coinciding with the release of his album ''Rhythm on My Mind'', a collaboration with bassist

Jay Leonhart Jay Leonhart (born December 6, 1940) is a double bassist, singer, and songwriter who has worked in jazz and popular music. He has performed with Judy Garland, Bucky Pizzarelli, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra, and Sting. Leonhart is noted for his cl ...

. His desire for artistic control was the impetus for creating Blues Back. During a meeting with Leonhart, with Gordon's "I Want My Blues Back" playing in the background, the two laughed and decided on the name for the company. Blues Back produced other artists who met Gordon's criteria for originality. The company became inactive in 2011.Berlanga-Ryan, Esther
Interview — "Wycliffe Gordon: What This is All About"
''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', 1 September 2010.

Discography

As leader

* ''Bone Structure'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1996) * ''Slidin' Home'' ( Nagel-Heyer, 1999) * ''Blues of Summer'' (Nagel-Heyer, 2000) * ''The Search'' (Nagel-Heyer, 2000) * ''The Gospel Truth'' ( Criss Cross, 2000) * ''What You Dealin' With'' (Criss Cross, 2001) * ''We'' (Nagel-Heyerr, 2002) * ''United Soul Experience'' (Criss Cross, 2002) * ''The Joyride'' (Nagel-Heyer, 2003) * ''Dig This!!'' (Criss Cross, 2003) * ''In the Cross'' (Criss Cross, 2004) * ''Cone's Coup'' (Criss Cross, 2006) * ''Standards Only'' (Nagel-Heyer, 2006) * ''This Rhythm on My Mind'' (Blues Back, 2006) * ''A Tribute to Storyville'' (Sidney Bechet Society, 2007) * ''We, Vol. 2'' ( WJ3, 2007) * ''BloozBluzeBlues, Vol. One'' (Blues Back, 2007) * ''Boss Bones'' (Criss Cross, 2008) * ''You and I'' (Blues Back, 2008) * ''I'm Glad There is You'' (Blues Back, 2010) * ''Cone and T-Staff'' (Criss Cross, 2010) * ''Word'' (Blues Back, 2012) * ''Dreams of New Orleans'' ( Chesky, 2012) * ''The Intimate Ellington: Ballads & Blues'' (Criss Cross, 2013) * ''Signature Series'' (2014) * ''Somebody New'' (2015) * ''Within These Gates of Mine'' (2016) * ''Hello Pops!: Tribute to Louis Armstrong'' (2016) * "The Co-Op" (Brown Brothers Recordings 2017)

As sideman

With John Allred * ''John Allred & Wycliffe Gordon: Head to Head'' ( Arbors, 2002) With the B#Big Band * United In Swing - Wycliffe Gordon with the B# Big Band (2019) With

Maurice Hines Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (born December 13, 1943) is an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He is the older brother of dancer Gregory Hines. Life and career Hines was born in 1943 in New York City to a Catholic couple, Alma Iola ...

* ''Maurice Hines: To Nat King Cole With Love'' (Arbors, 2006) With Bob Kindred * ''Bob Kindred Trio Live at Cafe Loup'' (Conawago, 2006) With

* ''Big Train'' (Columbia/Sony Classical, 1999) With Ted Nash *''

Sidewalk Meeting ''Sidewalk Meeting'' is an album by saxophonist Ted Nash (saxophonist, born 1960), Ted Nash which was recorded in 2000 and released on the Arabesque Records, Arabesque label the following year. Reception The AllMusic review by David R. Adler sa ...

'' (Arabesque, 2001) With

Marcus Roberts Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. Early life Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...

* '' Deep in the Shed'' (

Novus Novus ("new" in Latin) may refer to: Companies * Novus Biologicals, a biotech company based in Littleton, Colorado, US * Novus Entertainment, a Canadian telecommunications company * Novus International, an animal health and nutrition company * Nov ...

, 1989) With

Randy Sandke Jay Randall Sandke (born May 5, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is a jazz trumpeter and guitarist. While a student at Indiana University in 1968, he and Michael Brecker started a jazz-rock band (Mrs. Seamon's Sound Band) that performed at the Notre D ...

* ''The Music of Bob Haggart Featuring His Porgy and Bess Arrangements'' (Arbors, 2002) With

Ron Westray Ronald Kenneth Westray, Jr. (born June 13, 1970 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American jazz trombonist, composer, and educator. He holds a B.A. from South Carolina State University and a Master of Arts degree from Eastern Illinois University ...

* ''Wycliffe Gordon & Ron Westray: Bone Structure'' (Atlantic Jazz, 1996) With Chip White * ''Double Dedication'' * ''More Dedications'' * ''Personal Dedications & Percussive Tributes''

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Wycliffe 1967 births Living people American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Chesky Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists People from Waynesboro, Georgia Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Florida A&M University alumni African-American jazz musicians 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Statesmen of Jazz members WJ3 Records artists Nagel-Heyer Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people Didgeridoo players