Joe Gordon (musician)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Henry "Joe" Gordon (May 15, 1928, Boston
, Massachusetts
- November 4, 1963, Santa Monica, California
) was an American jazz
trumpeter.
His first professional gigs were in Boston in 1947; he played with Georgie Auld
, Charlie Mariano
, Lionel Hampton
, Charlie Parker
(1953-55 intermittently), Art Blakey
(1954), and Don Redman
. In 1956 he toured the Middle East
with Dizzy Gillespie
's big band; he was a soloist on "A Night in Tunisia
". Following this he played with Horace Silver
. After moving to Los Angeles
, he recorded with Barney Kessel
, Benny Carter
, Harold Land
, Shelly Manne
(1958–60) and Dexter Gordon
. He recorded as a bandleader for two sessions, and appeared on one recording from Thelonious Monk
.
He died in a house fire in 1963.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
- November 4, 1963, Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) was an American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter.
His first professional gigs were in Boston in 1947; he played with Georgie Auld
Georgie Auld
Georgie Auld was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader.Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto...
, Charlie Mariano
Charlie Mariano
Carmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Cologne, Germany.-Biography:Mariano was the son of Italian immigrants....
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
(1953-55 intermittently), Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
(1954), and Don Redman
Don Redman
Donald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009....
. In 1956 he toured the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
with Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
's big band; he was a soloist on "A Night in Tunisia
A Night in Tunisia
"A Night in Tunisia" is a musical composition written by Dizzy Gillespie in 1942 while he was playing with the Earl Hines Band. It has become a jazz standard....
". Following this he played with Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
. After moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he recorded with Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. Generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century, he was noted in particular for his vast knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies...
, Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, Harold Land
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style. His tone was strong and emotional, yet displayed a certain fragility that made him easy to...
, Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
(1958–60) and Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
. He recorded as a bandleader for two sessions, and appeared on one recording from Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
.
He died in a house fire in 1963.
As leader
- 1955: Introducing Joe Gordon (Mercury RecordsMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, with Charlie RouseCharlie RouseCharlie Rouse was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by the collaboration for more than ten years with Thelonious Monk.- Biography :...
, Junior ManceJunior ManceJulian Clifford Mance, Jr. is an American jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:...
, Jimmy Schenck, Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
) - 1960: West Coast Days - Live At The Lighthouse (Fresh SoundFresh SoundFresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a Spanish jazz label based in Barcelona, specializing in American jazz music.Fresh Sound was founded in 1983 as a reissue label for 1950s jazz...
, with Scott LaFaroScott LaFaroRocco Scott LaFaro was an influential jazz bassist, perhaps best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio.-Biography:...
, Richie KamucaRichie KamucaRichie Kamuca , was an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Philadelphia.-Musical career:Like many players associated with West Coast jazz, Kamuca grew up in the East before moving west around the time that bebop changed the prevailing style of jazz...
, Russ Freeman, Monty BudwigMonty BudwigMonty Rex Budwig was a West Coast jazz double bassist. He was born in Pender, Nebraska. He began playing bass during high school, continuing in the military band while he was enlisted in the Air Force....
, Shelly ManneShelly ManneShelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Stan LeveyStan LeveyStan Levey was an American jazz drummer. Born in Philadelphia, Levey is considered one of the earliest bebop drummers, one of the very few white drummers involved in the formative years of bebop and accepted as one of bop's most important drummers, along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach...
) - 1961: Lookin' Good! (Contemporary RecordsContemporary RecordsContemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings based in New York...
, with Jimmy WoodsJimmy WoodsJimmy Woods is an American jazz alto saxophonist.Woods played with the R&B band of Homer Carter in 1951, and served in the Air Force from 1952 to 1956. He played with Roy Milton after his discharge, and was with Horace Tapscott in 1960 and Joe Gordon in 1961...
, Dick Whittington, Jimmy Bond, Milt Turner)
As sideman
- Blakey / Art Blakey (EmArcy, 1954)
- Byrd's Eye View / Donald Byrd (Transition Records, 1955)
- Silver's BlueSilver's BlueSilver's Blue is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver recorded for the Columbia label in 1956 featuring performances by Silver with Joe Gordon, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, and Kenny Clarke and another session with Donald Byrd and Art Taylor replacing Gordon and Clarke...
/ Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
(Columbia, 1956) - Barney Kessel / "Some Like It Hot" (Contemporary, 1959)
- Shelly Manne & His Men At The Black Hawk Vol.1-5 (Contemporary, 1959)
- Shelly Manne & His Men J.A.T.P./ Yesterdays (PabloPablo RecordsPablo Records was a record label founded by Norman Granz in 1972, some ten years after he had sold his jazz labels to MGM Records....
, 1960, Release 2003) - Thelonious Monk At The Blackhawk (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
, 1960) - West Coast Blues!West Coast Blues!-Track listing:# Ursula – 7:07# Klactoveedsedstene – 9:59# Don't Explain – 4:54# West Coast Blues – 6:02# Terrain – 7:46# Compulsion – 6:48-Personnel:...
/ Harold Land (JazzlandJazzlandJazzland can refer to the following:* Jazzland, an amusement park later known as Six Flags New Orleans.* Jazzland Records - a US-based company.* Jazzland Records - a Norwegian-based company....
, 1960)
External links
- New England Jazz History Database - Joe Gordon - Biography
- Scott YanowScott YanowScott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
, [ Joe Gordon] at Allmusic