Kidd Jordan was a jazz saxophonist and educator who played alongside artists like Ray Charles (1930-2004), Ornette Coleman (1930–2015), Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin (1942–2018), Cannonball Adderley (1928–1975), and R.E.M., and taught jazz artists such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and Donald Harrison.
- Died: April 7, 2023 (Who else died on April 7?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 87.
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Kidd Jordan’s legacy
Born Edward Jordan in Crowley, Louisiana, Kidd Jordan began playing the saxophone in high school, influenced by artists like Charlie Parker (1920–1955), and later the free jazz of Ornette Coleman. From an early age, his focus was on education. He majored in music education at Southern University in Baton Rouge, and when he moved to New Orleans in 1955, he considered playing gigs as secondary to his love of teaching.
Jordan spent 34 years as a music professor at Southern University of New Orleans, including time as chairman of the university’s jazz studies program. There, he taught students who would go on to become jazz luminaries, including Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and Donald Harrison. Prior to his retirement in 2006, he also taught at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation’s School of Music and was the artistic director for the Louis Armstrong Satchmo Jazz Camp.
When not teaching, Jordan played with some of the biggest names in music history, including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderley, Ornette Coleman, and many others. He also explored musical genres other than jazz, blues, and R&B, playing on R.E.M.’s 1991 breakthrough, “Out of Time,” which would go on to become one of the best-selling records of all time. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame in 2010.
Notable quote
“I was never in the thing about being a professional musician. My whole thing was teaching, and all the gigs on the side.”—interview with Monk Rowe, August 2006
Tributes to Kidd Jordan
Full obituary: Associated Press via Billboard
