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| The Jordan Family at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center by Sylvain Music Notes  The Jordan Family of Jazz; one of New Orleans' musical families will bring their unique sound to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York at the Spa Little Theatre on Tuesday, May 29, 2007. The Jordan Family; Kent, a highly regarded flutist, Rachel, a classical violinist and music instructor, Marlon, one of the world's top trumpeters, and noted jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan belong to an elite New Orleans jazz family.Like others, they were scattered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but now they are helping to bring hurricane relief to New Orleans; an effort that began with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit in the fall of 2005 and a U.S. State Department-sponsored tour, Higher Ground Relief, which spread the Jordan's modern New Orleans sound to Europe and has continued to please audiences throughout the United States. The Jordans will be accompanied by Mike Esnault, pianist, Peter Harris on bass and drummer Don Jones. About their national televised performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center, JazzTimes writes "the children of New Orleans tenor sax titan and educator Kidd Jordan delighted the Rose Theater crowd with an affecting rendition of "Here's to Life." Singer Stephanie Jordan, a standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting rendition of this bittersweet ode associated with Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a depth of understated soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing with a clarity of diction that recalled Nat "King" Cole, she offered an uplifting message of hope in her heartfelt reading." Stephanie, a winner of the prestigious Billie Holiday Competition, "has a nearly perfect voice with a healthy dose of soul" writes Ron Weber, president of South Florida JAZZ. "Her style has been compared by some to Dianna Krall, Norah Jones and Shirley Horn while to others it evokes Nancy Wilson or Dianne Reeves. Her stage presence is dazzling a la Lena Horn." In describing Kent's latest album, Out of This World, writer Khephra Burns states, "the clear, authoritative voice that was uniquely his from his debut recording has grown richer… Out of This World is deeply in and of this world in its understanding and expression of the range of human emotions. But it is clearly outside the mundane. Taking what is familiar and making of it something new and surprising, it helps us to see the world in a new way." Kent's other recordings includes, Essence, Night Aire, and No Question About It, all three with Columbia Records. Perhaps as ambitious as the music, is Kent's creation of a media organization which embraces the differences of individual artists. His record label, Funkshenal Art Media provides a haven for artists who desire to create, not conform and to create a brand that listener come to associate with a specific lifestyle and emotion. Jordan's role as artistic director of Jambalaya Jazzin, an annual Rio de Janerio festival presenting the music of Louisiana side by side with that of Brazil is a realization of his dreams. Rachel Jordan, a Professor of Music at Jackson State University and former member of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, received both her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where she studied with the great Berl Sernofsky. Rachel also performs on and is the executive producer of the Marlon Jordan Featuring Stephanie Jordan CD titled, You Don't Know What Love Is. In addition, Ms. Jordan co-manages J Group Consulting, a family run music management entity. Rachel has been a featured performer in numerous solo recitals, most notable the Kennedy Center, the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria, the Music Center of Houston and the Mozart Festival in Washington, D.C. Marlon Jordan was one of the "Young Jazz Lions" who were signed, recorded and promoted on major record labels in the 1980s. He recorded three impressive LPs for Columbia from 1998 to 1992, For You Only, Learson's Return, and The Undaunted, and one for the Arabesque label entitled Marlon's Mode in 1997. His latest album, You Don't Know What Love Is, announces the return of an exceptional trumpeter. This dancing and delicious document reveals a mature artist who sounds like himself. You can hear Jordan's clean, boppish lines laced with power, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire jazz trumpet tradition, signed in own unique sonic signature. He has been called "one of the best trumpeters of his generation." Their father, saxophonist and Professor Edward "Kidd" Jordan, has performed with notables of every genre and received international recognition for his long dedication to music education - from the halls of academe, to jazz bands and summer camps, to programs he established in Africa. Their pianist mother Edvige was classically trained like most of her children and boasts several musicians on her side of the family as well. Like other families now synonymous with New Orleans music, the Jordans are advancing a tradition of music shaped by family ties. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |