Kidd Jordan
| Kidd Jordan | |
|---|---|
Kidd Jordan at Luscher School
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edward Jordan |
| Born |
May 5, 1935 Crowley, Louisiana, USA |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Saxophonist, music educator |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
Edward "Kidd" Jordan (born May 5, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana.
After completing a music degree at Southern University in Baton Rouge, he relocated to New Orleans. He taught at Southern University at New Orleans from 1974 to 2006.
Jordan was born in Crowley, Louisiana, and was raised during the time when rice farming was the predominant economic activity in the area. Jordan has noted that the music in southwestern Louisiana was "strictly Zydeco and Blues from way around, and that's what I came up listening to."Zydeco musician Clifton Chenier hailed from the same area, as did tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet (whose music teacher also instructed Jordan).
Jordan's first instruments were C-melody and alto saxophones. While in high school, Jordan began performing "stock arrangements for three or four saxophones" with some older musicians, and immersed himself in the music of Charlie Parker. Jordan read transcribed solos in Down Beat magazine but also learned Parker's music by ear. He credits Illinois Jacquet with first giving him the idea of playing free improvisation, but was more profoundly affected by the free jazz of Ornette Coleman (who had previously performed in the area with blues bands).
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