BLP 1582

 Clifford Jordan - Cliff Craft

Released - January 1958

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, November 10, 1957
Art Farmer, trumpet #1-5; Clifford Jordan, tenor sax; Sonny Clark, piano; George Tucker, bass; Louis Hayes, drums.

tk.1 Confirmation
tk.4 Anthropology
tk.7 Soul-Lo Blues
tk.9 Laconia
tk.11 Cliff Craft
tk.13 Sophisticated Lady

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images / 
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Laconia	Cliff Jordan	10/11/1957
Soul-Lo Blues	Cliff Jordan	10/11/1957
Cliff Craft	Cliff Jordan	10/11/1957
Side Two
Confirmation	Charlie Parker	10/11/1957
Sophisticated Lady	Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish	10/11/1957
Anthropology	Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker	10/11/1957

Credits

Cover Photo:	FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design:	REID MILES
Engineer:	RUDY VAN GELDER
Producer:	ALFRED LION
Liner Notes:	ROBERT LEVIN

Liner Notes

THIS is an outstanding record for several reasons, the most important being the strong-toned, vibrant tenor saxophone of Clifford Jordan who has never played with more spirit and energy than he does here. Although still very much under the influence of Sonny Rollins, Cliff is unquestionably the most impressive of all the recent emergents from the Rollins school. He plays with a hard warmth and his moving lines are well constructed and melodic.

This album also serves to point out what a group of sensitive and talented musicians can do when they are recording under uninhibited and relaxed conditions. Judging by the music, as well as the comments by Cliff after the date, this seems to have been a gig everyone enjoyed playing. Much too often these days, there is a tendency on the part of a great many young musicians to get an angry sound that they believe is synonymous with funk. But Cliff and his associated disprove this theory. They are funky, but in no way are they acrimonious or pretentious about it. No one on this record is trying to out-funk anyone else. Rather, there is a smooth joining of allied concepts and the results are self-evident and wholly satisfying.

Jordan (who assumes his worthy role as a leader for the third time on Blue Note — BLP 1565 and BLP 1549, with John Gilmore, were his preceding efforts) was born in Chicago on September 2, 1931 and began his musical studies on the piano at an early age. "It was kind of a forced deal — my mother wanted me to play." He picked up the tenor when he was fourteen because it was "the hip thing to be playing horn" in his neighborhood at the time. He says Lester Young was his first big influence but maintains that he liked and listened to everyone. Once he had achieved a working knowledge of his tenor, Cliff began playing around town with some of his DuSable High classmates; Johnny Griffin, John Gilmore and John Jenkins. His first professional gig was with Max Roach and was followed by jobs with Sonny Stitt and various rhythm and blues bands. He left Chicago to replace Sonny Rollins in the Max Roach quintet and then switched places with Hank Mobley to go with Horace Silver's unit where he has since remained. Cliff's favorites include Rollins, John Coltrane, Mobley and Don Byas and he says that he even likes Big Jay McNeeley on tenor. Other preferred instrumentalists are Miles, Wilbur Ware, Silver, Sonny Clark, Hank Jones, Art Blakey, Max Roach and Philly Joe Jones.

Art Farmer, Cliff's horn-mate with Silver, was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1945, with brother Addison (a talented bassist) he went to Los Angeles where he worked with Horace Henderson. He journeyed east several years later gigging around New York with people like Lester Young and Rollins and then returned to the coast working variously with Benny Carter, Wardell Gray, etc. In 1952 he went with Lionel Hampton for a year before coming once again to New York which has since remained his home base and where he has, up until his stint with Horace, been heard most often with Gigi Gryce.

Bassist George Tucker, born in Palatka, Florida on December 10, 1927, did not begin playing until 1948 after a hitch in the army. He came to new York then and studied at the New York Conservatory of Modern Music. His first job was with the Bubba Johnson trio and soon afterwards he joined Earl Bostic's band that had Blue Mitchell and Benny Golson; "There were a lot of really good people in that band who never really had a chance to play much jazz." After Bostic, George worked around New York with John Coltrane, Jackie McLean and Freddie Redd and spent some time with Golson at the Moulin Rouge. He was also the "house" bassist at the Continental in Brooklyn for seven weeks. George says that his favorite bass players are Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers, Red Mitchell, Al McKibbon and Ray Brown. George also lists as preferences, Bird, Miles ("Miles has influenced me musically, more than anyone else."), Clifford Brown, Rollins, Jordan, Blue Mitchell, Curtis Fuller, Don Byrd, Lou Donaldson, Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Wynton Kelly and Gil Coggins. "l dig a lot of the young cats like Louis Hayes — he's so promising and young with so much time ahead of him to do great things in." Currently a member of Kenny Burrell's group, George feels that the bass is "the only way I can really express myself. "

Sonny Clark, a Pittsburgh product, was born on July 21, 1931. His professional career, which began in 1951, has carried him to both ends of the United States and much of Europe. Recently returned from an extended period on the west coast where he worked with the Lighthouse All-Stars, Buddy DeFranco and scores of others, Sonny has recorded a brace of LPs for Blue Note (several under his leadership) in addition to gigging with Rollins, J.R. Monterose and Charlie Mingus. Louis Hayes, the twenty—year—old drummer, is the third member of the Silver quintet represented here. Originally from Detroit, Louis has spent most of his time with Silver and a few other musicians of import in the New York area.

Side one is comprised of three originals by Jordan. Laconia (Cliff's middle name) opens with a Latin intro followed by a muted Farmer and a lightly swinging Clark. Cliff comes on next and moves with strength through a brace of intriguing choruses before the return to the theme.

Soul-Lo Blues has its funky mood set by Tucker and Clark before the horns move into the unison theme. Cliff shows his abilities as a soloist to fine advantage here, delivering long, flowing lines that are deeply submerged in blues. It would seem that Cliff is at his best when playing the blues. Farmer's statement has a sharp, biting quality and Clark rolls with blue-ease through his bit.

The title tune, Cliff Craft, has a bright, stop-go theme with Cliff taking off for a driving, heated stint with Art and Sonny succeeding him in a similar fashion. Both horns engage themselves in exciting conversation with Louis before the close.

Side two is kicked off with Charlie Parker's Confirmation. Cliff again demonstrates his ability to flow in an engaging line with a wide range is very similar to Sonny Rollins'. Farmer, in a slightly Milesish mood, and Clark, follow Cliff. The group adds a riff pattern with Louis taking several breaks and then goes back to the "head", giving way briefly to Tucker, and then closing.

Sophisticated Lady, the beautiful Duke Ellington song, features two solos by Cliff with Sonny and George making soft, reflective statements in between. Cliff is also in a somewhat reflective mood and plays in a gentle, pretty manner.

Anthropology, the Parker-Gillespie tune has entire group in an "up" and wailing groove. Art, Cliff and Sonny are the soloists with Louis coming up for some exchanges near the end.

Cliff Jordan plays with an imaginative, vital conception that is consistently effective and meaningful. He stands, right now, as one of the most important tenor saxophonists in modern jazz.

-ROBERT LEVIN

Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by REID MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

BLP 1565

Cliff Jordan

Released - October 1957

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, June 2, 1957
Lee Morgan, trumpet #1,4,5; Curtis Fuller, trombone #1-4; John Jenkins, alto sax; Clifford Jordan, tenor sax; Ray Bryant, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums.

tk.4 St. Johns
tk.5 Not Guilty
tk.6 Blue Shoes
tk.8 Beyond The Blue Horizon
tk.9 Ju-Ba

Session Photos

 

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Not Guilty	Clifford Jordan	02/06/1957
St. John	John Jenkins	02/06/1957
Side Two
Blue Shoes	Curtis Fuller	02/06/1957
Beyond The Blue Horizon	W. Frank Harling, Leo Robin, Richard A. Whiting	02/06/1957
Ju-Ba	Lee Morgan	02/06/1957

Credits

Cover Photo:	FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design:	TOM HANNAN
Engineer:	RUDY VAN GELDER
Producer:	ALFRED LION
Liner Notes:	ROBERT LEVIN

Liner Notes

NOT tong ago, during the course of an interview, Horace Silver told me;

"It was hard getting a record date before the LP but now it seems that anybody and his brother can get a date. I mean a cat takes one lesson and he thinks he's ready and so he gets together with a bunch of other cats who also have had only one lesson and they record. Of course I'm exaggerating but the true situation in some cases is almost as ridiculous. Cats like that aren't fooling anybody but themselves. The public knows what's happening. But in a way I'm glad the opportunity has presented itself. It's giving a lot of really good musicians a chance to get heard — guys like Clift Jordan and Curtis Fuller..."

Horace's comment holds much significance in both its negative and positive aspects. He is right when he says, in effect, that a great many not-yet-ready and/or undeserving musicians have been granted a recording date. He is also right when he mentions the good the LP has brought about by offering full exposure to relatively unknown musicians of exceptional talent- "Guys like Clif Jordan and Curtis Fuller."

The answer, in the main, lies in the musical perceptiveness of recording company executives. If their motive to record the budding artist stems from a sincere and intelligent faith in his talent then (though the move may still represent a gamble both musically and commercially) one can be happy over the advent of 'he LP and the boom it has initiated.

Alfred Lion's motive to record Cliff Jordan coincides with the above statement and a quick glance at the Blue Note catalog will show that this very "hip" gentleman has made few mistakes.

Jimmy Smith, Horace Silver, Kenny Burrell, Johnny Griffin and many others were all practically unheard of outside of their own areas before they recorded for Blue Note. Each achieved recognition because each is extremely talented and because Blue Note had the foresight to recognize their talent and give them the chance to display it.

Cliff Jordan is here represented for the third time on the Blue Note label. (He can be heard on "Blowing in From Chicago", BLP 1549, in which he shares spotlight honors with tenor John Gilmore, and with Pouf Chambers, BLP 1564). He was born in Chicago and has been playing tenor sax for the past eleven of his twenty-six years. At this writing he is a member of the Horace Silver quintet (having just completed four weeks with Max Roach) and Horace can speak in nothing but superlatives about him. Cliff has a strong, virile tone that is similar in essence to Sonny Rollins (a mighty influence on so many of today's young tenor men) but he is by no means an ersatz Rollins. His conception is personal, fresh and exciting and he will, no doubt, rank high in the "New Star" polls.

Cliff attended DuSable High School in Chicago and among his classmates were Griffin, Gilmore and John Jenkins.

Jenkins is the latest of the "DuSable High Gang" to be imported to New York. John was born on January 3, 1931 and began his musical studies on the clarinet. He switched to alto sax after he heard Charlie Porker and played in the DuSabte band where he met and became friendly with Jordan. He gigged on and off with Cliff and people like Art Farmer and for while led his own group at the Beehive. The group would alternate with "name" units passing through. He has been playing now for approximately ten years and came to New York in March, 1957 working for a short time with Charlie Mingus and recording with Hank Mobley, BLP 1560. His four favorite musicians are; Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Miles Davis and Sonny Stitt.

Lee Morgan, who is heard here on all the tunes but Not Guilty and Blue Shoes, was only eighteen when he recorded his first LP for Blue Note ("Lee Morgan Indeed", BLP 1538) but he was already a mature and moving soloist. His sound and method of attack relate to the Gillespie, Navarro, Brown school and he is currently featured in Dizzy's sensational big band. He his own sextet on BLP 1538, BLP 1541, BLP 1557 and is on Hank Mobley's album, BLP 1540.

Curtis Fuller, who's trombone playing is held in high esteem by Silver, Miles Davis and many other "knowing" stars is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He was born on December 15, 1934 and graduated high school when he only sixteen. He attended Wayne University and worked various odd jobs to get together enough money to buy a horn, then played with Nat and "Cannonball" Adderley, Junior Mance, Kenny Burrell. Pepper Adams and Tommy Flanagan and taught music at Detroit University before coming to New York. He is considered by many to be the next Jay Jay Johnson and is now under exclusive contract to Blue Note. Curtis has his own side, due out shortly, "The Opener", BLP 1567.

Pianist Ray Bryant, like Lee Morgan, is a Philadelphian who was born December 24, 1931. He began his musical career by playing bass (as did his eldest brother) in his junior high school band but soon afterward took up the piano and worked often at Jack Field's Blue Note Club in Philly. He sports an easy, flowing line and has played Charlie Porker, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and many others of import in modern jazz.

Paul Chambers should be familiar to Blue Note fans. His bass has rapidly become the finest in contemporary jazz. He has three of his own LPs on Blue Note (BLP 1534, BLP 1564, BLP 1569), and can be heard with Kenny Burrell, BLP 1523, Lee Morgan, BLP1541, Hank Mobley, BLP 1540, and many others.

Drummer Art Taylor, of the Roach-Blakey school is one of the most sought after of modern drummers and the only musician on this date who hails from New York. He has played with practically everyone including Coleman Hawkins, Bud Powell, George Wallington. Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson, Lennie Tristano, Jackie McLean, Sonny Rollins and most recently with the Miles Davis quintet.

Cliff's pensively inflected, Not Guilty. which opens the session, is "not guilty" of banality, dullness or triteness but is most certainly guilty of swinging and fine. pertinent blowing, Cliff, Curtis, John, Ray and Paul, in that order. St. John, by Jenkins, suggests a happy mood and features exuberant solos by all the horns and Bryant.

Curtis Fuller's Blue Shoes are size funk and fit everyone (Curtis, Cliff, John, Paul and Ray are the soloists) easily and comfortably. A brief piano intro and then Cliff comes out wailing on the standard, Beyond The Blue Horizon, followed by Lee's racing trumpet and equally swift statements by Curtis, John and Ray. Cliff and Art trade some fours before Cliff takes it out. Lee's muted trumpet opens and closes his Ju-ba, a provocative "way down" blues (minus Fuller). Cliff's solo is his best on record; soulful, poignant and gutted deep in the blues, and John who follows extends the mood with two flowing choruses steeped eloquently in the Parker tradition.

I must point out that while Art Taylor receives little solo space in this set, his steady and intuitive rhythmic sense is a continuous gas throughout.

Listen once to the musical contents contained herein and you will be assured that Cliff and the musicians associated with him have had a good deal more than "one" lesson — in fact I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find them all becoming teachers in the not too distant future.

—ROBERT LEVIN

Cover Design by TOM HANNAN
Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

BLP 1549

 Clifford Jordan - Blowing in from Chicago

Released - March 1957

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, March 3, 1957
John Gilmore, Clifford Jordan, tenor sax; Horace Silver, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

tk.2 Evil Eye
tk.3 Status Quo
tk.7 Bo-Till
tk.9 Everywhere
tk.12 Blue Lights
tk.13 Billie's Bounce

Session Photos

Rehearsal

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Status Quo	John Neeley	03/03/1957
Bo-Till	Clifford Jordan	03/03/1957
Blue Lights	Gigi Gryce	03/03/1957
Side Two
Billie's Bounce	Charlie Parker	03/03/1957
Evil Eye	Clifford Jordan	03/03/1957
Everywhere	Horace Silver	03/03/1957

Credits

Cover Photo:	FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design:	HAROLD FEINSTEIN
Engineer:	RUDY VAN GELDER
Producer:	ALFRED LION
Liner Notes:	JOE SEGAL

Liner Notes

“Blowing In From Chicago" represents another step forward being made by Blue Note to the purpose of placing Chicago’s musical talent on the map of respected recognition... Not since the days of the original “Chicago Jazz” style, a wide-open and raucously swinging evolvement of “New Orleans Jazz”, has there been such a wealth of young spirited Jazz talent from this mid-west area... As in the earlier style, a general feeling of uninhibitedness and eager experimentation dominates this new musical generation. Remember, it was here that Bird first made an impression, after leaving Kansas City, before he hit New York; here that the Earl Hines band organized and spawned the fabulous Billy Eckstine crew; here that Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt and Fats Navarro played many of their formative period gigs. Gene and Sonny most certainly hove been the major influences in this area, with the more recent saxophonists favoring Sonny Rollins... It is here also that John Coltrane said to me, “I haven’t heard so many good young tenor men anywhere else in the country.”... Here, then, are two of the most exciting of these new tenor men, Clifford Jordan and John Gilmore...

Like the scholastic background of Blue Note’s first Chicago import, Johnny Griffin (BLP 1533 and BLP 1559), both Clifford and John were taught their musical ABC’s by Capt. Walter Dyett at DuSable High School on Chicago’s Southside...(Two of their classmates were bassist Richard Davis, now with Sarah Vaughan, and altoist, John Jenkins, soon to appear on a Blue Note LP, BLP 1560. with Honk Mobley.) . . . Both are 25 yrs. of age, and have had varied experiences playing most every type of popular music; Clifford with many of the over-worked blues bonds that infest the area; John, most notably as solo clarinetist for two years in an Army Air Force Bond, and more recently as featured tenor soloist with a large bond that Earl Hines assembled for a nation-wide tour as part of a show with the Harlem Globetrotters (He is now featured with the exciting experimental octet of Sun Ra)... Clifford has been playing 11 years, John, 10....

Both fellows list practically the same saxophonists as their favorites, including Pres, Byas, Lucky Thompson, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, and of course, and most prominently, Bird and Sonny Rollins. However, two very special tenor men have influenced these seasoned youngsters as to the intenseness of their playing, the late Wardell Gray, and Sonny Stitt. This happened mostly when John and Cliff played with those two, on the famous Monday night sessions at the now defunct BeeHive, in “sink or swim” competition... (Wardell and Sonny have certainly caused many a young musician to get his feet wet, and both the musicians concerned, and the music world in general have benefited greatly)....

The rhythm section assembled by Blue Note for this session is a superlative one, indeed... Returning, on bass, from the Griffin LP, is Curly Russell, who, and we are very thankful for this, is finally getting enough recording dates and Jazz gigs to keep him from the myriad R & B jobs which virtually held him prisoner the post few years... Leader of “The Jazz Messengers”, Art Blakey, is our percussionist for the date, and his reunion with pianist Horace Silver, grooved herein for posterity, is an electrifying one . . . Both seemed to feel greatly the nuances and anticipations so necessary to create on integrated arid interesting rhythmic pulse . . . Their help in stabilizing a young nervousness, most naturally encountered on a first solo record date, is of inestimable value... Horace, incidentally. is greatly responsible for bringing John and Clifford to Blue Note’s attention. He became enamored of their talents jamming with them, while appearing here with “The Messengers”....

Clifford plays the lead parts in all of the ensemble work, and his mellower tone is readily distinguishable from Gilmore’s harder, more punching sound....

Status Quo, an original by John Neely (another fine Chicago tenor man), kicks off side 1 in a bright, hard driving manner, with Gilmore taking the first tenor solo... Art’s gutty fill-ins and solo are standouts in this cut which exhibits just how beautifully happy good Jazz con be...

Clifford Jordan's Latin flavored Bo-Till follows. His is the first solo, and it sings as prettily... Horace presents here one of the most reflective and simply swinging solos of his entire recording career....

Side 1 closes with Gigi Gryce’s Blue Lights, quickly becoming a Modern Jazz standard... Gilmore solos first, and plays some very challenging chord changes. During Horace’s solo, he and Art build the tension to an almost unbelievable pitch with their famous “double timing”, only to swing twice as much when they resume the regular time. In this tune, Curly reminds the Jazz world that he deserves more solo space....

Billie’s Bounce, taken a little faster than usual, creates an in-person jam session feeling with its unrestrained flow of biting solos and exploding rhythmic decapitations....

Clifford’s Evil Eye (minor blues), relaxes the tempo into an easygoing bounce, with John following Cliff, and leading into another superbly well stated Horace Silver solo.

Horace’s lone composition for the date, a show-type tune he calls Everywhere, closes the LP, and in many respects is the smoothest flowing selection in the set.

Throughout the album, I think you will feel the sincerity of these two young horn men, their obvious difference in tone and conception, and the freshness of their mid-west approach... For, with the brilliantly creative musical background that Chicago has given them, it is inevitable that John Gilmore, and Clifford Jordan will make an important contribution to the world of Modern Jazz tenor playing... I agree with “Trane”, how about you????

—JOE SEGAL
(Chicago Columnist, Metronome)

Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by HAROLD FEINSTEIN
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes

A NEW LOOK AT BLOWING IN FROM CHICAGO

Tenor sax conclaves were something of a cottage industry at Rudy Van Gelder's studio around the time this album was recorded. Much of the activity took place on Prestige sessions, where John Coltrane and Hank Mobley had worked together with Elmo Hope and in a four-tenor jam with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, where Coltrane joined Sonny Rollins for the immortal "Tenor Madness" face-off, and where Gene Ammons and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis would confront two or three additional tenors on a few of their sessions. During the first half of 1957, Blue Note also had occasion to stockpile tenors on this date; Johnny Griffin's A Blowing Session (with Coltrane and Mobley), and the self-titled Hank Mobley sextet that also featured Curtis Porter (aka Shafi Hadi) on tenor and alto.

In this context, the double-bill of John Gilmore and Clifford Jordan may not appear particularly imposing. Yet the music they produced stands up very well indeed, thanks to the compatibility of the featured horns, the fire of the all-star rhythm section and a well-chosen program of music.

As Joe Segal's notes indicated, both tenors were products of the music program that Capt. Walter Dyett ran at Chicago's DuSable High School. Dyett, who was already established as a mentor to the likes of Gene Ammons, Nat Cole, Bennie Green and Von Freeman before Griffin, Gilmore, Jordan and their post-bop confreres matriculated at DuSable, clearly had a gift for imparting the basics of musicianship without stifling the individuality that jazz demands. Gilmore and Jordan are cases in point, both being fluent on the horn yet distinctive even at this early point in their careers. Gilmore, who has a more emphatic, on-the-beat attack and a quirkier melodic imagination, is the first soloist on "Status Quo," "Blue Lights" and "Everywhere," while the more bop-centered Jordan leads on the other titles, including the bonus track "Let It Stand."

They rise to the occasion throughout on top of a rhythm section that makes no concessions for the youth or inexperience of the featured players. This is the same trio that lit the fire on Blakey's historic A Night At Birdland recordings, and they perform here with the same intensity. The mood is particularly Messengeresque on "Billie's Bounce," which Blakey opens and galvanizes throughout. There is also lots of solo room for Silver, who would only make two more appearances as a sideman (with Mobley and Sonny Rollins) before turning to bandleading exclusively.

The compositions bring out the best in the players, and are programmed to surround the three blues titles with originals based on the changes of such standards as "There Will Never Be Another You" ("Status Quo") and "What Is This Thing Called Love?" ("Bo-Till"). We also get two minor-key blues lines surrounding the major-key "Billie's Bounce, " which sustains variety. It is not particularly surprising that a composition by hometown friend John Neely is included; as Chicagoans, Griffin and Wilbur Ware were also in the habit of calling upon lesser-known Windy City associates for material. Gigi Gryce's beautiful "Blue Lights, " first recorded by the Gryce/Art Farmer quintet in 1955, was also a staple Of the Gryce/Donald Byrd Jazz Lab group that existed at the time of this recording.

The featured tenors here went on to substantial, though quite different careers. Jordan (1931-93) stayed in New York after this Session, where he was featured in the bands of Max Roach, Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny Dorham, and Charles Mingus over the course of the next decade. During the '70s, he worked frequently with the Cedar Walton/Sam Jones/Billy Higgins rhythm section that became known as the Magic Triangle, and in the following decade he often appeared with Barry Harris and Art Farmer. He was also widely recorded by Blue Note (two more albums after this one), Riverside/Jazzland, Atlantic, Muse, SteepleChase and Mapleshade, and also produced his own Dolphy Series for Strata East. While he generally worked under his own name in small groups, at the end of his life Jordan was leading an impressive big band in New York.

John Gilmore (1931-95) had his moments as a small-group sideman as well, with the likes of Blakey, Mingus, Elmo Hope, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard and Andrew Hill, but the bulk of his career Was spent as the most celebrated sideman in Sun Rats Arkestra, and as the Arkestra's co-leader (with Marshall Allen) in the two years between Sun Ra's death and Gilmore's own. Sun Ra was notorious for the control he exerted over his sidemen, which explains in large part why Gilmore never recorded again under his own name. When Jordan was under contract to Muse Records in the '70s, producer Joe Fields suggested recreating the present album. Jordan was agreeable, but Gilmore had to run the idea by Sun Ra, and Sun Ra said no.

— Bob Blumenthal, 2002