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| Stephanie Jordan & Wess ’Warmdaddy’ Anderson in Baton Rouge by Sylvain Music Notes  The Arts Council of Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation are pleased to present a great night of jazz featuring Alto saxophonist Wess "Warm Daddy" Anderson and jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan with the Wess Anderson Quartet & Marlon Jordan (trumpet). "An Evening with Stephanie Jordan & Wess 'Warmdaddy" Anderson" is a cultural celebration of two great artists and two great jazz cities! The concert takes place on Thursday, March 29, 2007 in the Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge, LA. "Every so often a new voice stands up and proclaims itself, but few do so with such supreme depth and understated soul. Emerging from the New Orleans jazz family Jordan, Stephanie Jordan was . . . Jazz at Lincoln Center Higher Ground Concert's 'real discovery' " proclaims JazzTime Magazine. "Warmdaddy", whose buoyant saxophone voice continues to proclaim itself with unmatched joy and warmth, will provide sweet counterpoints.For both, the Louisiana tour is sort of a homecoming. Stephanie and Wess' most recently performed together this past fall at the famed Allen Room of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, their four shows left the audience wanting for more. Ms. Jordan who has been living in Maryland since hurricane Katrina is the fifth performer to emerge from a family of New Orleans bred musicians. As the daughter of saxophonist Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Stephanie's musical roots run deep. Siblings include flutist Kent Jordan, trumpeter Marlon Jordan, and violinist Rachel Jordan. While Anderson studied with acclaimed clarinetist Alvin Batiste while attending Southern University in Baton Rouge. "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, Dianne Reeves and even Nat Cole. Her stage presence is dazzling a la Lena Horn. Stephanie was the standout performer at nationally televised Jazz at Lincoln Center hurricane relief benefit concert. This performance was hosted by Wynton Marsalis less than three weeks after the Katrina disaster that devastated New Orleans. Her rendition of "Here's to Life" was selected from that concert for the Blue Note Records' Higher Ground CD. She and Marlon later toured as "Jazz Ambassadors" on behalf of a U. S. State Department to four European countries in the fall of 2006 to thank the people of Europe for their help with hurricane relief. Stephanie and Marlon's CD, You Don't Know What Love Is has been highly acclaimed. Her performance on Kent Jordan's Out of This World album has been equally received. Stephanie has performed at Jazz Standard New York, The Kennedy Center, Marians Jazzroom in Bern, Switzerland, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and on NPR Talk of the Nation among others. Stephanie Jordan has recorded a commissioned piece for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation of "Come Rain or Come Shine" which is being used as background music for a series of television and radio promotions advancing the availability of assistance for those who may be suffering from post-disaster distress as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The campaign is part of the "InCourage" partnership; a healing initiative by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Both pieces include a narration by noted New Orleans' Chef Leah Chase. Brooklyn native Wess Anderson began playing the saxophone at age 14. A member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1988, he also played lead alto for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra from 1992 to 2005. As a leader, Mr. Anderson has recorded and released four solo albums, Warmdaddy in the Garden of Swing (1994), The Ways of Warmdaddy (1996), Live at the Village Vanguard (1998), and Space (December, 2005). He performs and teaches around the world, and is professor of saxophone at Michigan State University. Anderson is a frequent participant in Jazz at Lincoln Center educational events, and he served on the faculty of the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies. "Wess Anderson's playing contains the essence of soul, that's why we call him 'Warmdaddy'." - Wynton Marsalis Following the Baton Rouge performance, the pair will head to Lafayette for two shows the following night on Friday, March 29 in The Ballroom, located at 417 Jefferson Street in Lafayette, Louisiana. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |