Wycliffe Gordon
Albums
Trombonist Gordon is one of the most promising young jazz trombonists. Another out of the Wynton Marsalis groups to emerge as a leader, Gordon is joined by other top modern [more]
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Nagel-Heyer knows a good thing when it sees or, rather, hears it. The label has brought trombonist Wycliffe Gordon to the studio or captured him at live performances on a number of [more]
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Appearances
Pianist Marcus Roberts' second album as a leader is plagued by an excess of seriousness and an overly high if noble sense of purpose that made one wonder if writer Stanley Crouch [more]
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Wynton Marsalis is, in every way of considering the title, the Compleat Musician. Whether caught in a jazz club or concert hall or on Sesame Street, there is no musician out there whose merest flourish of sound speaks more eloquently or purposefully or deeply. -The New York Times
For this CD, Wynton and Ellis Marsalis perform music both old and new that is heard on the {#Peanuts} television specials. Wynton's septet (altoist Wessell [more]
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For some time, many have been under the impression that the sound of big band swing music had taken a Ford Model T out of town never to [more]
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"Wynton Marsalis is, in every way of considering the title, the Compleat Musician. Whether caught in a jazz club or concert hall or on Sesame Street, there is no musician out there whose merest flourish of sound speaks more eloquently or purposefully or deeply." —The New York Times
The music on this three-CD set (released in 1997) won a Pulitzer Prize, but it's not without its faults. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis tells the [more]
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"Wynton Marsalis is, in every way of considering the title, the Compleat Musician. Whether caught in a jazz club or concert hall or on Sesame Street, there is no musician out there whose merest flourish of sound speaks more eloquently or purposefully or deeply." —The New York Times
In this tribute to Jelly Roll Morton, at last there is a large sampling of the Wynton Marsalis who can get large crowds at outdoor jazz festivals like the [more]
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"This period when we were playing the Vanguard was the best time I ever had in my life." —Wynton Marsalis, 1999
As if releasing eight single albums in 1999 weren't enough, Wynton Marsalis capped this deluge of material at the end of the year with a seven-CD mini-box of live [more]
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In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia/Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of [more]
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In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia/Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of reissues covering much of [more]
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With Wynton Marsalis, exuberance, energy and high-level musicianship is never an issue, but long-windedness can be. This may be one of the best of the trumpeter's mid-sized [more]
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This double CD contains Wynton Marsalis' score for the modern ballet {+Griot New York}. Even more than his trumpet playing, his writing skills had developed quickly during [more]
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Biography
- Styles
- Straight-Ahead Jazz
- Instrument(s)
Trombone player Wycliffe Gordon is best known for his work with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of jazz maestro, Wynton Marsalis. The versatile trombonist can scat, multi-note, slide, and plunge, just like he stepped out of the 1930s. Gordon has played with many jazz luminaries, including Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Branford Marsalis,Lionel Hampton, Tommy Flanagan, and Shirley Horn. His musical colleagues call him "Pine Cone," since he grew up in the piney woods of Georgia.
It must have been this Ellington era quality that caught the ears of jazz educator Wynton Marsalis, who heard Gordon play while the trumpeter was giving a workshop at Gordon's alma mater, Florida A&M University. Their fortuitous meeting resulted in Gordon joining the Wynton Marsalis Septet, as well as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, in 1989. As a member of the illustrious band, Gordon contributed as both musician and composer. Gordon, who like Charles Mingus says he hears music in his head all the time, has managed to write some of it down, and then hear it performed all over the world by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Whether they know it or not, National Public Radio fans are familiar with the musician's work: In 1993, Gordon composed the NPR theme song.
Gordon, an admirer of Louis Armstrong, J.J. Johnson, and Jack Teagarden, prefers the melodic approach to playing and composition. The listener can hear that on any of his outstanding recordings. His first outing was with fellow trombonist Ron Westray on their 1996 release, Bone Structure. More good things came with Slidin' Home, recorded in 1999. Joined by Victor Goines, Eric Reed, Rodney Whitaker, Herlin Riley, Milt Grayson, Joe Temperley, and Randy Sandke, Gordon really struts his stuff on this one, showing a wide range of influences from big band to gospel.
The Search, recorded in 2000, ranges as far and wide as the title suggests, and includes Gordon holding forth on the didgeridoo. Gordon, whose father was the pianist at the church the trumpeter grew up in, devotes himself to his gospel roots on The Gospel Truth, (2000). What You Dealin' With, (2001), continues in a jazz vein with original compositions and jazz standards. Gordon's 2002 release We may be his best yet, as the trombonist collaborates with pianist Eric Reed on jazz and gospel tunes.
Besides performing and educating at his own music school in his hometown of Augusta, GA, Gordon has another important project: writing the score for the Oscar Micheaux 1925 silent film, {#Body and Soul}. Paul Robeson starred in the movie about race, religion, and small town life in the South. Gordon drew upon his own Southern upbringing to produce music from the church, the bars, and the home, to be performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Gordon has begun to evidence an interest in vocalizing, something which he says he plans to do increasingly. The results are sure to be top drawer, as the exuberant Wycliffe Gordon throws himself into things, body and soul. ~ Rose of Sharon Witmer, All Music Guide
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