Jazz delivered to the island from the city where it all began
New Orleans, LA (By Vincent Sylvain) -- Stephanie Jordan, whom critics have placed in the company of Nancy Wilson and Shirley Horn will lead her siblings; Marlon Jordan, considered one of the best trumpeters in the world; older brother Kent Jordan, a highly regarded flutist; and Rachel Jordan, an classical violinist and music instructor at Jackson State University in one of the featured performers at St. Croix's Blue Bay Jazz Festival November 15 to 18, 2007 in the historic town of Frederiksted.
During the 4-day festival, afternoon and evening concerts features host a terrific line-up of musicians from New Orleans; alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, Jr., trumpeter Christian Scott, vocalist Stephanie Jordan and the Jordan Family, pianist Henry Butler, Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews, and The New Orleans Trumpet Summit featuring Kermit Ruffins, James Andrews, Marlon Jordan, Christian Scott and Troy Andrews. Performers from St. Croix will also heat up the festival stage as local restaurants are transformed into jazz halls.
The Blue Bay Jazz Fest is an outgrowth of a monthly jazz concert series produced by the Frederiksted Economic Development Association. According to festival executive producer, Bridget Cox Dawson, St. Croix was the site of one of the first Caribbean based jazz festival and many of the major festivals in the Caribbean developed as an off-shoot of the St. Croix Jazz & Caribbean Music Festival. Ironically, it was a Hurricane Marilyn in 1995 which destroyed most of the infrastructure which served as the base for the festival.
A letter from local jazz fan, Carmelo Rivera, suggested producing a New Orleans themed Sunset Jazz. Dawson says he indicated that St. Croix, and specifically Frederiksted, which share so many similarities with New Orleans. “St. Croix is honored to host the Blue Bay Jazz Fest, which is truly a remarkable event celebrating music, culture and history," said Beverly Nicholson Doty, Commissioner of Tourism. “This extraordinary gathering not only features jazz legends from New Orleans, but also highlights local jazz talents from America's Caribbean."
Like many other Katrina victims, the Jordans suffered physical injuries and loses, including homes, priceless instruments and “a lifetime of music." Yet, mere weeks later, that same tragedy propelled this brilliantly talented family into the national spotlight during the nationally televised Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center. In a published review of the performance, Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes Magazine writes, “Stephanie Jordan, a standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting rendition of (Here's to Life) this bittersweet ode associated with Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a dept of understated soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing with a clarity of diction that recalled Nat “King" Cole..." Kent, Rachel and Marlon added a special musical blend to the tune.
Setting the stage for such an imposing tradition is older brother Kent Jordan, the vaunted flutist who hit his stride as a jazz artist on the national scene in the early 1990s. In describing Kent Jordan'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...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." Out of This World, is “a synthesis of styles and traditions," reflecting Jordan's depth and breadth of experience. Featuring instrumental tunes as well as vocals, the arrangements are articulate, intelligent and lyrical.
Kent also recorded with Columbia, cutting three albums on the label. His third Columbia album (1988's Essence) proved to the jazz world that he could play creatively. Kent studied at the Eastman School of Music and New Orleans' Center for the Creative Arts, being inspired at the latter by Ellis Marsalis (with whom he recorded).
Violinist Rachel Jordan is still recovering from Katrina's havoc and its aftermath. In addition to losing her home and two prized violins, while returning to New Orleans to see her damaged home she was in a severe car accident. “I dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm in four places and it's still not 100 percent," said Rachel, a professor of violin/viola at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Rachel received a Master of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where she studied with the great Berl Sernofsky. She has been a featured performer in numerous solo recitals; most notably the Kennedy Center, the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria, the Music Center of Houston and the Mozart Festival in Washington, D.C. She is also the executive producer and performs on her siblings' You Don't Know What Love Is album.
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.
Stephanie Jordan and the Jordan Family perform on Friday, November 16 and will be accompanied by Mike Esnault, pianist, Peter Harris on bass and drummer John Jones.
New Orleans, LA (By Vincent Sylvain) -- Stephanie Jordan, whom critics have placed in the company of Nancy Wilson and Shirley Horn will lead her siblings; Marlon Jordan, considered one of the best trumpeters in the world; older brother Kent Jordan, a highly regarded flutist; and Rachel Jordan, an classical violinist and music instructor at Jackson State University in one of the featured performers at St. Croix's Blue Bay Jazz Festival November 15 to 18, 2007 in the historic town of Frederiksted.
During the 4-day festival, afternoon and evening concerts features host a terrific line-up of musicians from New Orleans; alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, Jr., trumpeter Christian Scott, vocalist Stephanie Jordan and the Jordan Family, pianist Henry Butler, Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews, and The New Orleans Trumpet Summit featuring Kermit Ruffins, James Andrews, Marlon Jordan, Christian Scott and Troy Andrews. Performers from St. Croix will also heat up the festival stage as local restaurants are transformed into jazz halls.
The Blue Bay Jazz Fest is an outgrowth of a monthly jazz concert series produced by the Frederiksted Economic Development Association. According to festival executive producer, Bridget Cox Dawson, St. Croix was the site of one of the first Caribbean based jazz festival and many of the major festivals in the Caribbean developed as an off-shoot of the St. Croix Jazz & Caribbean Music Festival. Ironically, it was a Hurricane Marilyn in 1995 which destroyed most of the infrastructure which served as the base for the festival.
A letter from local jazz fan, Carmelo Rivera, suggested producing a New Orleans themed Sunset Jazz. Dawson says he indicated that St. Croix, and specifically Frederiksted, which share so many similarities with New Orleans. “St. Croix is honored to host the Blue Bay Jazz Fest, which is truly a remarkable event celebrating music, culture and history," said Beverly Nicholson Doty, Commissioner of Tourism. “This extraordinary gathering not only features jazz legends from New Orleans, but also highlights local jazz talents from America's Caribbean."
Like many other Katrina victims, the Jordans suffered physical injuries and loses, including homes, priceless instruments and “a lifetime of music." Yet, mere weeks later, that same tragedy propelled this brilliantly talented family into the national spotlight during the nationally televised Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center. In a published review of the performance, Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes Magazine writes, “Stephanie Jordan, a standout here, was the real discovery of the evening. Her haunting rendition of (Here's to Life) this bittersweet ode associated with Shirley Horn was delivered with uncanny poise and a dept of understated soul that mesmerized the crowd and registered to the back rows. Singing with a clarity of diction that recalled Nat “King" Cole..." Kent, Rachel and Marlon added a special musical blend to the tune.
Setting the stage for such an imposing tradition is older brother Kent Jordan, the vaunted flutist who hit his stride as a jazz artist on the national scene in the early 1990s. In describing Kent Jordan'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...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." Out of This World, is “a synthesis of styles and traditions," reflecting Jordan's depth and breadth of experience. Featuring instrumental tunes as well as vocals, the arrangements are articulate, intelligent and lyrical.
Kent also recorded with Columbia, cutting three albums on the label. His third Columbia album (1988's Essence) proved to the jazz world that he could play creatively. Kent studied at the Eastman School of Music and New Orleans' Center for the Creative Arts, being inspired at the latter by Ellis Marsalis (with whom he recorded).
Violinist Rachel Jordan is still recovering from Katrina's havoc and its aftermath. In addition to losing her home and two prized violins, while returning to New Orleans to see her damaged home she was in a severe car accident. “I dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm in four places and it's still not 100 percent," said Rachel, a professor of violin/viola at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Rachel received a Master of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where she studied with the great Berl Sernofsky. She has been a featured performer in numerous solo recitals; most notably the Kennedy Center, the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria, the Music Center of Houston and the Mozart Festival in Washington, D.C. She is also the executive producer and performs on her siblings' You Don't Know What Love Is album.
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.
Stephanie Jordan and the Jordan Family perform on Friday, November 16 and will be accompanied by Mike Esnault, pianist, Peter Harris on bass and drummer John Jones.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
