Clifford Jordan

Clifford Jordan demonstrated solid command of both conventional and freer approaches, managing to match Eric Dolphy during the 1964 edition of the Charles Mingus Sextet. From his earliest recordings he displayed a personal tenor saxophone voice. After working in Chicago alongside Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and various R&B ensembles, he relocated to New York in 1957. Once there he quickly established himself by heading three Blue Note sessions—one of them a tenor summit with John Gilmore—and by joining road bands led by Horace Silver (1957-1958), J.J. Johnson (1959-1960), Kenny Dorham (1961-1962), and Max Roach (1962-1964). Following a European stint with Mingus and Dolphy, Jordan operated primarily under his own name yet received limited notice because he neither shaped the avant-garde nor exerted wide stylistic influence. Dependable in any setting, he returned to Europe repeatedly, spent 1974-1975 in a Cedar Walton quartet, and fronted a big band in his final years. As a leader he documented sessions for Blue Note, Riverside, Jazzland, Atlantic (including a little-known collection of Leadbelly material), Vortex, Strata-East, Muse, SteepleChase, Criss Cross, Bee Hive, DIW, Milestone, and Mapleshade.