Marlon Jordan: Summer Vibes In Colorado

Marlon Jordan.

JR Thomason

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The Marlon Jordan Quartet performs at the 2008 Glenwood Springs Summer of Jazz Festival.

Justin Peacock

The Marlon Jordan Quartet performs at the 2008 Glenwood Springs Summer of Jazz Festival.

Justin Peacock

Marlon Jordan was born into a New Orleans family in 1970. His father, Kidd Jordan, plays avant-garde saxophone, while his mother is a classical pianist. Marlon, who studied at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, uses alumnus and friend Wynton Marsalis' middle name in the title of the composition "Learson's Return." It's a highlight of this set, showcasing Marlon Jordan's trumpet technique.

When Jordan was only 17, Columbia Records signed him as one of the Young Lions of the day. He recorded three albums for the label and opened for Miles Davis on a festival tour. When the label pulled back, Jordan moved on and connected his New Orleans music with the sounds of Brazil. On Aug. 29, 2005, he was at home when Hurricane Katrina struck. Five days on his roof almost cost Jordan his life, as he told NPR's Talk of the Nation (excerpted in this edition of JazzSet).

"I had enough water and food for three days," Jordan says. "Luckily, my aunt lived across the street from my house, so I had to swim across the street amongst alligators and water moccasins, and break into her house and get canned goods and what I could out of her house, and then swim back. It was quite an ordeal."

Since the hurricane, Jordan has worked with his family and released the album You Don't Know What Love Is, featuring his sister, vocalist Stephanie Jordan.

His group on JazzSet consists of pianist Jonathan Lefcoski, bassist Neal Caine and drummer Adonis Rose, whose parade beat gets everybody on their feet to close the show in Two Rivers Park.

Credit: Thanks to Bob and Mary Noone of Glenwood Springs Summer of Jazz. Recording engineer Justin Peacock, and assistant Dave Hedin, with a remix by Duke Markos in Surround Sound.

This segment originally ran April 23, 2009.