Clifford Jordan - Complete Album Collection 1957-1962 (2020)

One of the most distinctive saxophonists to emerge during the late 1950's, while Clifford Jordan did not achieve the mass adulation enjoyed by Gerry Mulligan or Roland Kirk, his work remains just as influential, esteemed and unique. Indeed, whereas many of his contemporaries favoured rough attacks and a hard-boiled fervour, Jordan instead perfected a light, floating approach. A typical Cliff Jordan solo used juxtaposition: a low note might break up a be-bop line, or an upper-register squeal would punctuate an evolving panorama of ideas. And Jordan was one of the few modern tenor saxophonists to use Lester Young as an inspiration, while his playing was always extraordinarily musical, never relying on second hand ideas. This four CD set features Cliff Jordan's first eight albums as leader or co-leader, recorded and released between 1957 and 1962 - the years generally accepted as the great man's golden age. Containing a masterful array of unique and individualistic jazz music, and featuring some of the world's finest musicians backing the maestro, the compilation works both as a fine introduction to Clifford Jordan's extraordinary music and as the go-to collection for those ready conversant.