Duke Jordan


Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan was an American jazz pianist.

Biography

Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regular member of Charlie Parker's quintet during 1947–48, which also featured Miles Davis. 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 most notable composition, "Jordu", became a jazz standard when trumpeter Clifford Brown adopted it into his repertoire.
Beginning in 1978 he lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, having recorded an extensive sequence of albums for the SteepleChase label; 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. Some of his best live recordings are available on SteepleChase, or Marshmallow Records, a Japanese label.
From 1952 to 1962 he was married to the jazz singer Sheila Jordan. Their union produced a daughter, Tracey J. Jordan. He died in Valby, Copenhagen.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Source:

As sideman

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
  • Joe Carroll
With Teddy Edwards
  • The Inimitable Teddy Edwards
With Rolf Ericson
With Art Farmer
With Stan Getz
  • Duke Ellington 25th Anniversary Concert
  • Getz Age
  • Hooray for Stan Getz
  • Move!
  • Sweetie Pie
  • The Complete Roost Recordings
  • Stan Getz Plays
  • Stan Getz Quartet
  • Live at Carnegie Hall
  • Live at the Hi-Hat 1953, Vol. 1
  • Live at the Hi-Hat 1953, Vol. 2
  • That Top Tenor Technician Stan Getz
With Gigi Gryce
  • Doin' the Gigi
With Coleman Hawkins
  • Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra
With Joe Holiday
  • Holiday for Jazz
With Howard McGhee
With Charles McPherson
  • Beautiful!
With Barry Miles
  • Miles of Genius
With Sam Most
  • Mostly Flute
With Charlie Parker
  • Complete Charlie Parker on Dial, Charlie Parker on Dial
With Cecil Payne
  • Patterns of Jazz
  • Bird Gets The Worm
  • Shaw 'Nuff
  • The Connection
  • Cecil Payne Performing Charlie Parker Music
  • Cecil Payne Quartet and Quintet
With Oscar Pettiford
  • Oscar Pettiford
With Doug Raney
  • Introducing Doug Raney
With Dizzy Reece
  • Comin' On!
With Louis Smith
  • Here Comes Louis Smith
With Sonny Stitt
  • Stitt's Bits
  • Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass
  • The Champ
With Clark Terry
With Doug Watkins
  • Watkins at Large
With Julius Watkins
  • Julius Watkins Sextet
With Barney Wilen
  • Barney
  • Un Temoin dans la Ville
With Teddy Williams
With The Birdlanders
  • The Birdlanders, Vol. 1
  • The Birdlanders, Vol. 2
  • The Birdlanders, Vol. 3
Various'