Clifford Jordan
Encyclopedia
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz
saxophone
player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach
, Sonny Stitt
, and some rhythm and blues
groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note
. He also recorded with Horace Silver
, J.J. Johnson
, Kenny Dorham
, and Max Roach
. He was part of the Charles Mingus
Sextet, with Eric Dolphy
, during its 1964 European tour. Jordan toured Africa with Randy Weston
, and performed in Paris
while living in Belgium
. In later years, he led his own groups, performed with Cedar Walton
's quartet Eastern Rebellion, and led a big band.
Jordan was married to Shirley Jordan, a designer and former owner of Clothing Manufacturing Corporation in New York
. He later married Sandy Jordan (née Williams), a graphic artist and Honorary Founding Board member of the Jazz Foundation of America
.
Bee Hive Records
With Eric Dolphy
With Andrew Hill
With J. J. Johnson
With Charles Mingus
With Lee Morgan
With Max Roach
With Mal Waldron
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
, Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
, and some rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
. He also recorded with Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, J.J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson
J. J. Johnson was a United States jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was sometimes credited as Jay Jay Johnson....
, Kenny Dorham
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
, and Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
. He was part of the Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
Sextet, with Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
, during its 1964 European tour. Jordan toured Africa with Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
, and performed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
while living in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. In later years, he led his own groups, performed with Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
's quartet Eastern Rebellion, and led a big band.
Jordan was married to Shirley Jordan, a designer and former owner of Clothing Manufacturing Corporation in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He later married Sandy Jordan (née Williams), a graphic artist and Honorary Founding Board member of the Jazz Foundation of America
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
.
As leader
- 1957: Blowing in from ChicagoBlowing in from ChicagoBlowing in from Chicago is an album by American jazz saxophonists Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label...
(with John GilmoreJohn Gilmore (musician)John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
, Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, Curly Russell, Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
) (Blue NoteBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
) - 1957: Cliff JordanCliff Jordan (album)Cliff Jordan is an album by American jazz saxophonist Cliff Jordan featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "Not Guilty" - 11:43...
(Blue Note) - 1957: Cliff CraftCliff CraftCliff Craft is an album by American jazz saxophonist Cliff Jordan featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note) - 1960: Spellbound Clifford Jordan (tenor saxophone), Cedar Walton (piano), Spanky DeBrest, Albert "Tootie" Heath
- 1961: Starting Time
- 1965: These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Led Belly
- 1972: In the World (with Wynton KellyWynton KellyWynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
, Richard Davis, Wilbur WareWilbur WareWilbur Ware was an American jazz double-bassist known for his hard bop percussive style.Born in Chicago, Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. In the 1950s, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco...
, Don CherryDon Cherry (jazz)Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, Kenny DorhamKenny DorhamMcKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
, Julian PriesterJulian PriesterJulian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
, Ed BlackwellEd BlackwellEd Blackwell was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive work with Ornette Coleman....
, Albert Heath, Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
) Strata-EastStrata-East RecordsStrata-East Records is an American record label specialising in jazz which was founded in 1971 by Stanley Cowell and Charles Tolliver.Gil Scott-Heron recorded his 1974 album Winter in America with Brian Jackson for Strata-East. "The Bottle" featured on the album, was a popular single... - 1973: Glass Bead Games (with Stanley CowellStanley CowellStanley Cowell is an American jazz pianist and founder of the Strata-East Records label. He played with Roland Kirk while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and later with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz...
, Bill Lee, Cedar WaltonCedar WaltonCedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
, Sam JonesSamuel Jones (musician)Samuel Jones was a jazz bassist, cellist, and composer.Sam Jones was born in Jacksonville, FL and moved to New York city in 1955. There, Jones played with Bobby Timmons, Tiny Bradshaw, Les Jazz Modes, Kenny Dorham, Illinois Jacquet, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk...
) Strata-EastStrata-East RecordsStrata-East Records is an American record label specialising in jazz which was founded in 1971 by Stanley Cowell and Charles Tolliver.Gil Scott-Heron recorded his 1974 album Winter in America with Brian Jackson for Strata-East. "The Bottle" featured on the album, was a popular single...
Recorded at Minot Sound, White Plains, New York. Engineered by John Battiloro - 1975: The Highest Mountain
- 1991: Down Through the Years: Live at Condon's New York - The Clifford Jordan Big Band
Bee Hive Records
Bee Hive Records
-Discography:-References:*...
- Dr. Chicago (with Jaki ByardJaki ByardJaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
, Red RodneyRed RodneyRobert Roland Chudnick , who performed by the stage name Red Rodney, was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
, Vernel FournierVernel fournierVernel Anthony Fournier and, from 1975, known as Amir Rushdan, was a jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Ahmad Jamal from 1956 to 1962....
) - Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project (album)Manhattan Project is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1978 and released on the Bee Hive label...
(Dizzy ReeceDizzy ReeceAlphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
with Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, Art DavisArt DavisArt Davis was a double-bassist, known for his work with various seminal jazz musicians including Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach.-Biography:...
, Charles DavisCharles DavisCharles Davis or Charlie Davis may refer to:Athletes* Charlie Davis , West Indian cricketer* Charlie Davis , American basketball player* Charlie Davis...
, Albert DaileyAlbert DaileyAlbert Dailey was an American jazz pianist.Dailey's first professional appearances were with the house band of the Baltimore Royal Theater in the early 1950s. Later in the decade he studied at Morgan State University and the Peabody Conservatory...
) - Hyde Park After Dark (with Victor SprolesVictor SprolesVictor Sproles is a US jazz bassist.Sproles worked in the 1950s with Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan and appears on the Sun Ra recordings Super-Sonic Jazz, Sound of Joy and Deep Purple....
, Von FreemanVon FreemanEarle Lavon Freeman Sr. is an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He is the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.-Biography:...
, Cy TouffCy TouffCyril James Touff was a jazz bass trumpeter. He was one of the few jazz musicians known as a bass trumpeter. He was also associated with West coast jazz even though he spent most of his life in Chicago.He started on piano at age 6 and went on to play xylophone and saxophone before settling on...
)
As sideman
With Paul ChambersPaul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
- Paul Chambers QuintetPaul Chambers QuintetPaul Chambers Quintet is an album by American jazz bassist Paul Chambers recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Leggett awarded the album 4 stars stating "Nothing is particularly innovative with this set, but these tracks don't push or pull...
(1957)
With Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
- Iron ManIron Man (Eric Dolphy album)Iron Man is a 1963 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy.-Track listing:Side 1:# "Iron Man" – 9:07# "Mandrake" – 4:50# "Come Sunday" – 6:24Side 2:# "Burning Spear" – 11:49# "Ode to C.P." – 8:05...
- ConversationsConversations (Eric Dolphy album)Conversations is a 1963 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy.- Track listing :Side 1:# "Jitterbug Waltz" – 7:17# "Music Matador" – 9:35 Side 2:# "Love Me" – 3:22# "Alone Together" – 13:36- Personnel :...
- Town Hall ConcertTown Hall ConcertTown Hall Concert is a 1964 live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.-Track listing:All songs written by Charles Mingus.# "So Long Eric" – 17:48# "Praying With Eric" – 27:31-Personnel:*Charles Mingus – Bass...
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- ShadesShades (Andrew Hill album)Shades is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill recorded in 1986 and released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1988. The album features six of Hill's original compositions, four performed by a quartet and two by a trio.-Reception:...
(1986)
With J. J. Johnson
- J.J. Inc.
With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Astral WeeksAstral Weeks (Charles Mingus album)Astral Weeks is an album by Charles Mingus.It is an unauthorized "bootleg" recorded live in Copenhagen, on April 14, 1964. during Mingus' European tour in that month. The performance was provided by a sextet of jazz musicians, led by bassist Charles Mingus, from the United States...
- Right Now: Live at the Jazz WorkshopRight Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop-Track listing:# "New Fables" - 23:18# "Meditation " - 23:44*Recorded at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, California on June 2 & 3, 1964-Personnel:*Charles Mingus - bass*John Handy - alto saxophone...
(Fantasy, 1964)
With Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
- ExpoobidentExpoobidentExpoobident is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan originally released on the Vee-Jay label. It was recorded on October 14, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Clifford Jordan, Eddie Higgins, Art Davis and Art Blakey.-Reception:...
(1960)
With Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
- It's TimeIt's Time (Max Roach album)It's Time is a 1962 album by jazz drummer Max Roach, released on Impulse! Records and features trumpeter Richard Williams, tenor-saxophonist Clifford Jordan, trombonist Julian Priester, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Art Davis, and a vocal choir conducted by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson...
(1962)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- What It IsWhat It Is (Mal Waldron album)What It Is is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1981 and released by the Enja label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 3 stars stating "dauntless piano"....
(Enja, 1981)