| Duke Jordan | |
| Birth Name: | Irving Sidney Jordan |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Birth Date: | April 1, 1922 |
| Death Place: | Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Genre: | Bebop |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Label: | Signal, Blue Note, SteepleChase |
Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist.
Jordan was born in New York[1] and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School.[2] An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regular member of Charlie Parker's quintet during 1947–48, which also featured Miles Davis.[3] He participated in Parker's Dial sessions in late 1947 that produced "Dewey Square", "Bongo Bop", "Bird of Paradise", and the ballad "Embraceable You". These performances are featured on Charlie Parker on Dial.
Jordan had a long solo career from the mid-1950s onwards, although for a period in the mid-1960s he drove a taxi in New York. After periods accompanying Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz, he performed and recorded in the trio format. His composition, "Jordu", became a jazz standard when trumpeter Clifford Brown adopted it into his repertoire. Another of his compositions, "No Problem", has been recorded several times, notably by Art Blakey, under the title "No Hay Problema", and Chet Baker as well as others.
Beginning in 1978, he lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, having recorded an extensive sequence of albums for the SteepleChase label;[3] his first record date for the company was in 1973. He was reported not to have changed his style over the course of his career.
From 1952 to 1962, he was married to the jazz singer Sheila Jordan.[3] Their union produced a daughter, Tracey J. Jordan. He died in Valby, Copenhagen.
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Jordu | Prestige | Trio, with Gene Ramey (bass), Lee Abrams (drums); includes two 1949 tracks led by Don Lanphere (tenor sax) | |
| 1955 | Jazz Laboratory Series, Vol. 1 | Signal | Some tracks trio, with Oscar Pettiford (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums); some tracks with Gigi Gryce (alto sax) overdubbed | |
| 1955 | Duke Jordan Trio and Quintet | Signal | Some tracks trio, with Percy Heath (bass), Art Blakey (drums); one track quartet, with Cecil Payne (baritone sax) added; some tracks quintet, with Eddie Bert (trombone) added; reissued by Savoy as Flight to Jordan, but this is different from the 1960 Blue Note album | |
| 1960 | Flight to Jordan | Blue Note | Quintet, with Dizzy Reece (trumpet), Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax), Reggie Workman (bass), Art Taylor (drums) | |
| 1962 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Charlie Parker | One track trio, with Eddie Khan (bass), Art Taylor (drums); most tracks quintet, with Sonny Cohn (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax) added | |
| 1962 | East and West of Jazz | Charlie Parker | One track quartet, with Johnny Coles (trumpet), Wendell Marshall (bass) Walter Bolden (drums); most tracks quintet, with Cecil Payne (baritone sax) added; album shared with Sadik Hakim | |
| 1973 | Brooklyn Brothers | Muse | Quartet, with Cecil Payne (baritone sax, flute), Sam Jones (bass), Al Foster (drums) | |
| 1973 | The Murray Hill Caper | Spotlite | Quartet, with Cecil Payne (baritone sax), David Williams (bass), Al Foster (drums) | |
| 1973 | Flight to Denmark | SteepleChase | Trio, with Mads Vinding (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums) | |
| 1973 | Two Loves | SteepleChase | Trio, with Mads Vinding (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums) | |
| 1973 | Montmartre ´73 featuring Bent Jædig | SteepleChase | Quartet, with Bent Jædig (tenor sax), Allan Gregersen, Johnny Dyani, Eddie Gomez (bass), Jørn Elniff (drums) | |
| 1975 | Truth | SteepleChase | Trio, with Mads Vinding (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums) | |
| 1975 | Misty Thursday | SteepleChase | Quartet, with Chuck Wayne (guitar), Sam Jones (bass), Roy Haynes (drums) | |
| 1975 | Duke's Delight | SteepleChase | One track solo; most tracks quintet, with Richard Williams (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass), Al Foster (drums) added | |
| 1975 | Lover Man | SteepleChase | Trio, with Sam Jones (bass), Al Foster (drums) | |
| 1976 | Live in Japan | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Roy Haynes (drums); in concert | |
| 1976 | Osaka Concert Vol. 1 | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Roy Haynes (drums); in concert | |
| 1976 | Osaka Concert Vol. 2 | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Roy Haynes (drums); in concert | |
| 1976 | Flight to Japan | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Roy Haynes (drums) | |
| 1976 | Flight to Norway | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Dannie Richmond (drums) | |
| 1978 | Duke's Artistry | SteepleChase | Quartet, with Art Farmer (flugelhorn), David Friesen (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) | |
| 1978 | The Great Session | SteepleChase | Trio, with David Friesen (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) | |
| 1978 | Tivoli One | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Dannie Richmond (drums); in concert | |
| 1978 | Tivoli Two | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Dannie Richmond (drums); in concert | |
| 1978 | Wait and See | SteepleChase | Trio, with Wilbur Little (bass), Dannie Richmond (drums); in concert | |
| 1978–79 | Thinking of You | SteepleChase | One track solo piano; most tracks trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Billy Hart (drums) | |
| 1979 | Solo Masterpieces Vol. 1 | SteepleChase | Solo piano | |
| 1979 | Midnight Moonlight | SteepleChase | Solo piano | |
| 1979 | Solo Masterpieces Vol. 2 | SteepleChase | Solo piano | |
| 1979 | Change a Pace | SteepleChase | Trio, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Billy Hart (drums) | |
| 1981 | Art Pepper with Duke Jordan in Copenhagen 1981 | Galaxy | Quartet, with Art Pepper (alto sax, clarinet), David Williams (bass), Carl Burnett (drums); in concert | |
| 1982 | So Nice Duke (Jor-Du) | three blind mice | Trio, with Jesper Lundgaard (bass), Aage Tanggaard (drums) | |
| 1983 | Blue Duke | Baystate | Trio, with Harry Emmery, James Martin | |
| 1985 | Time on My Hands | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jesper Lundgaard (bass), Billy Hart (drums) | |
| 1985 | As Time Goes By | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jesper Lundgaard (bass), Billy Hart (drums) | |
| 1987 | Acoustic Live | 3361 Black | Trio, with Major Holley (bass), Jake Hanna (drums); in concert | |
| 1987 | Live Live Live | 3361 Black | Trio, with Major Holley (bass), Jake Hanna (drums); in concert | |
| 1989 | Kiss of Spain | 3361 Black | Trio, with Nobuyoshi Ino (bass), Masahiko Togashi (drums) | |
| 1990 | Always | Marshmallow | Trio, with Jesper Lundgaard (bass), Ange Tanggaard (drums) | |
| 1991 | White Key | 3361 Black | Quartet, with Yuka Kido (flute), Chikuhoh (shakuhachi), Hiroshi Yoshino (bass) | |
| 1994 | Live in Paris | Marshmallow | Trio, with Luigi Trussardi (bass), Al Levitt (drums); in concert |
Source:[4]
With Gene Ammons
With Ernestine Anderson
With Chet Baker
With Paul Bascomb
With Eddie Bert
With Art Blakey
With Tina Brooks
With Kenny Burrell
With Joe Carroll
With Teddy Edwards
With Rolf Ericson
With Art Farmer
With Stan Getz
With Gigi Gryce
With Coleman Hawkins
With Joe Holiday
With Howard McGhee
With Charles McPherson
With Barry Miles
With Sam Most
With Charlie Parker
With Cecil Payne
With Oscar Pettiford
With Doug Raney
With Dizzy Reece
With Louis Smith
With Sonny Stitt
With Clark Terry
With Doug Watkins
With Julius Watkins
With Barney Wilen
With Teddy Williams
With The Birdlanders
Various