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Jordan VanHemert
Heralded by critics as a "saxophone powerhouse" (TakeEffect) with a penchant for modern, swinging melodicism, (famed jazz critic Scott Yanow), Origin Records recording artist Jordan VanHemert is the Director of Jazz Studies at Northeastern State University. He is currently touring as a bandleader and has performed in iconic venues across the United States. Acclaimed for his "adept and purposeful" solos that "swing surely and easily in the manner of Sonny Rollins" (All About Jazz), VanHemert’s compositions pay homage to his Korean roots and his inspiration from blues-infused hard bop tradition that was handed down to him by his mentors.
VanHemert can be heard on over 15 commercial recordings and has performed at iconic venues throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia, including ShapeShifter Lab, The Painted Bride, The Blue Llama, The Muse, Cliff Bell’s, Edgefest, Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Korean Cultural Foundation of Philadelphia, Cafe El Despertar (Madrid), Club Matador (Madrid), Binh Minh Jazz Club (Hanoi), and the Nha Trang International Jazz Festival. VanHemert has performed or recorded with some of the most celebrated artists in jazz, including Rodney Whitaker, John Webber, Dmitri Matheny, Chris Vadala, Geri Allen, Helen Sung, Vince DiMartino, Terell Stafford, and more. His most recent project, Deep in the Soil, has been praised for its “Brilliance, sparkle, and punctuation.” (Couleurs France) His newest project, Survival of the Fittest, will be released on May 16, 2025 on Origin Records.
Jordan Vanhemert is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician, Henri Selmer Paris Saxophones Artist Ambassador, and KeyLeaves endorsing artist. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces and Selmer Paris saxophones, and he uses KeyLeaves products on all of his saxophones. He holds degrees from Central Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest
by Gary Fukushima
For most of his life, Jordan VanHemert has been on a quest of growth and mastery as a saxophonist, composer and musician. But equally important have been his efforts to contextualize some of the difficulties of his life experiences within the deeper themes of his DNA, discovering in the process resilience, optimism and joy. Jordan's music is meant to convey empathy and solidarity to others who have also faced challenges in their lives. This album, Jordan's fifth as a leader, ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest
by Jack Bowers
Although the title of saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album, Survival of the Fittest, may elicit images of a crash course in self-defense, that is not at all what he had in mind. The music is thematic, he says, and represents the twin lodestars of adversity and resilience. Even that, however, becomes largely irrelevant once VanHemert and his supporting cast launch what is at its heart a narrative of contemporary post-bop jazz. It is a cast that varies in ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil
by Jack Bowers
Energy and enthusiasm fairly leap from the speakers--or headphones--on Sharel Cassity's daring “Call to Order," the opening number on Korean-born saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album as leader, Deep in the Soil. Alas, that same ardor doesn't reappear until track seven (of eight), trombonist Michael Dease's boppish “ST in the House." In between, VanHemert and his companions (group sizes vary from sextet to duo) offer some agreeable music but nothing that approaches the ebullience or cogency of the themes already named. ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil
by C. Andrew Hovan
Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, Jordan VanHemert counts himself among those youngsters that got involved in his school music program by starting out on the alto saxophone. Also like many of his fellow saxophonists, VanHemert eventually moved away from the smaller horn to devote his full energies to the tenor sax, an instrument emblematic of the jazz heritage. “In my formative years, I was almost exclusively an alto saxophonist," VanHemert explained from his current home base in Oklahoma. ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Nomad
by Jane Kozhevnikova
After his previous album, I Am Not A Virus (Big Round Records, 2021), inspired by the ongoing fight against racial prejudice, Jordan VanHemert releases Nomad, continuing to explore and embrace his Asian American identity. As the liner note says, this album is a celebration of Korean culture “through the melodies of both ancient & contemporary folk & children's songs, distilled through a modern jazz aesthetic." The opening tracks sound like a traditional saxophone trio similar to Sonny Rollins' ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Nomad
by Jack Bowers
Although his name offers no clue, saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's heritage is Korean. He salutes that legacy on Nomad, his second album as leader, with a pair of Korean folk songs and half a dozen comparatively modern themes written by Koreans or Korean Americans. Most are performed by VanHemert's trio: (Rodney Whitaker, bass; David Alvarez III, drums). Pianist Lisa Sung, guitarist Nathan Borton, bassist John Webber, drummer Max Colley III and vocalist Sharon Cho join VanHemert on the children's song “Half ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus
by C. Andrew Hovan
It was bad enough that 2020 brought with it the scourge of a pandemic of proportions not seen in a hundred years. But add to that the ugliness of racial tensions and xenophobia and one would be hard pressed to grapple with the idea of much good coming from such adversity. Michigan educator and saxophonist Jordan VanHemert found himself at the mercy of endless lockdowns and the need for new ways to communicate with others much like everyone in the ...
Continue ReadingSaxophonist-composer Jordan VanHemert Draws Inspiration From Petersonal And Cultural Adversities On His New Album 'Survival Of The Fittest,' Set For May 16 Release By Origin Records
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Terri Hinte Publicity
Tenor saxophonist and composer Jordan VanHemert considers the twin poles of adversity and resilience with Survival of the Fittest, arriving May 16 on Origin Records. VanHemert’s fifth release as a leader, the album of post-bop jazz finds him leading a sextet with a jaw-dropping all-star lineup: trumpeter Terell Stafford, trombonist Michael Dease, pianist Helen Sung, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and drummer Lewis Nash. While in a broader sense it’s part of a sequence of recordings that explore VanHemert’s identity and struggles ...
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“Jordan has a powerful voice on saxophone, finding his voice through the study of jazz and its tradition, yet telling his story through the lens of his Korean cultural traditions.”
Rodney Whitaker
“An authoritative sound, a refined bandleader instinct and penetrating musical intelligence at work.”
David Adler
“Creative, grounded, and strikingly passionate.”
Jazz Sensibilities
“The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise, and the gestalt brings the individual voices of the musicians into group form.”
Photos
Music
Here and Now
From: Survival of the FittestBy Jordan VanHemert
Call to Order
From: Deep in the SoilBy Jordan VanHemert
Bird, Bird, Bluebird
From: NomadBy Jordan VanHemert
