Clifford Jordan
Tenor Sax
March 27, 1993 (Age 61) died
September 2, 1931 Birthday
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Birthplace
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About
Clifford Jordan was a tenor saxophonist who began his career in Chicago in the 1950s. He moved to New York City in 1957 where he quickly made a strong impression. Over the course of his career he released over 30 albums as leader and appeared as a sideman on dozens of others. He recorded with Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Art Farmer, Max Roach, and Cedar Walton, among others. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he toured Europe frequently, first with the Charles Mingus Sextet and later with his own groups. In the 1990s, he led the Clifford Jordan Big Band. Jordan was also dedicated to music education; he worked frequently with the New York public schools, taught lessons for Jazzmobile and served as faculty at the Henry Street Settlement. Clifford Jordan passed away from lung cancer in 1993 at the age of 61.
Trivia
Clifford Jordan's album "Drink Plenty Water," featuring vocals by his daughter, was recorded in 1974 but wasn't released until 2023. Clifford Jordan toured the Middle East and West Africa with Randy Weston as part of a US State Department program. In 1968 Clifford Jordan was the music director for the first Dancemobile, a flatbed truck that brought dance to inner city neighborhoods in New York.
Early Life
Clifford Jordan, born in 1931 in Chicago, was the only child of a middle-class family. He began classical piano lessons when he was 5 years old, but preferred playing the old spirituals and songs that his grandmother taught him. At age 13 he started playing the saxophone and attended Du Sable High School, known for it's excellent music program. While still in high school Jordan began playing for neighborhood parties and dances and was soon working frequently around Chicago. By the late 1950s, he was gigging around Chicago with artists such as Max Roach and Sonny Stitt.
Clifford Jordan Solos
1960
Tenor Sax solo - Toy - 1960
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 250 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Lush Life - 1960
6/4 swing in D♭ major at 166 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Moon-A-Tic - 1960
4/4 swing in F major at 267 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Spellbound - 1960
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 237 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Hot Water - 1960
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 180 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Last Night When We Were Young - 1960
4/4 ballad in E♭ major at 64 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Au Privave - 1960
4/4 swing in F major at 257 BPM
1957
Tenor Sax solo - Laconia - 1957
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 149 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Soul-Lo Blues - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 115 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Cliff Craft - 1957
4/4 swing in F major at 230 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Confirmation - 1957
4/4 swing in F major at 173 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Sophisticated Lady - 1957
4/4 ballad in A♭ major at 52 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Anthropology - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 242 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Minor Run-Down - 1957
4/4 swing in C minor at 188 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - The Hand of Love - 1957
4/4 swing in G major at 192 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Four Strings - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 217 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - What's New - 1957
4/4 swing in C major at 152 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Beauteous - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 177 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Four Strings - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 215 BPM