Jordan was the son of an Arkansas bandleader, leaving his home town in the 20s to play first with Charlie Gaines, then with Chick Webb and the unknown Ella Fitzgerald. (He made his vocal debut on some of Webb's recordings such as 'Gee, But You're Swell' and 'Rusty Hinge').
Not long after Webb's sudden death, Jordan built on his own musical talents to create a more accessible version of Ellington style jazz, reaping the rewards with a stream of seminal and successful performances with his own band.

The saxophonistist's first 78 for Decca in 1938, 'Honey in the Bee Ball' billed his combo as the Elks Rendezvous Band (after the Harlem nightspot that he frequently played at) but from 1939 on Jordan fronted the Tympany Five. Many well known musicians passed through the group over time, including pianists Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, guitarists Carl Hogan and Bill Jennings, bassist Dallas Bartley, and drummer Chris Columbus.

From 1942 to 1951, Jordan scored an astonishing 57 R&B; chart hits (all on Decca). This may come as a surprise to some and yet there won't be many who don't know at least half a dozen of the man's hits. How about 'Let The Good Times Roll', 'Caldonia', 'Buzz Me', 'Choo Choo Ch' Boogie', 'Ain't That Just Like A Woman', 'Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens', 'What's The Use Of Getting Sober', 'Beans And Cornbread', 'Saturday Night Fish Fry', and 'Blue Light Boogie'; and that's just for starters! Get the "Saturday Night Fish Fry" mid price compilation (24 tracks) on Jasmine to see what all the fuss was about. If you find it's suddenly unavailable, there'll be another compilation around that will do instead!
Many of these recordings had subtly disguised social commentary about racial conflict and much of the material combined party happy atmospheres with darker themes which included racism, poverty and other social problems of the day - almost unheard of at the time and in this type of music.

The sax man was particularly popular during World War II. He recorded prolifically for the Armed Forces Radio Service and the V-Disc program. Jordan's massive popularity also translated onto the silver screen - he filmed a series of wonderful short musicals during the late '40s that were decidedly short on plot but long on visual versions of his hits (Caldonia, Reet Petite & Gone, Look Out Sister, and Beware etc.) that give us an enlightening peek at just what made him such a beloved entertainer. Jordan also cameoed in a big-budget Hollywood wartime musical, Follow the Boys.
Jordan's music was incredibly popular on the radio - it's difficult now to imagine the influential nature of his band and its impact on the likes of B.B. King and Ray Charles. Listen to the work of Chuck Berry, decades later than Jordan's original Decca work, and you'll hear the same, albeit updated, blues beat and humorous lyrics with a guitar break where the sax solo used to be.

In the 50s, even even though his singles were still eminently solid, they weren't selling like they used and so after an incredible run of more than a decade-and-a-half, Jordan moved over to the Aladdin label. However, the sound was no longer what young R&B; fans were searching for at the time. However, in 1956 a fine Quincy Jones-arranged date for Mercury deftly updated Jordan's classics for the rock & roll crowd, the whole session benefiting from the lead guitar of Mickey Baker and Sam Taylor's muscular tenor sax.
Ray Charles had long cited Jordan as a primary influence (he lovingly covered Jordan's 'Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying' and 'Early in the Morning'), and paid him back by signing Jordan to the Genius' Tangerine label. Once again, the record buyers ignored his worthwhile 1962-64 offerings, which were by any standards still very fine recordings. Throughout the 60s and early 70s, Jordan worked only sporadically anyway as his health deteriorated and made performing regularly an impossibility.

A heart attack silenced this visionary in 1975, but not before he acted as the bridge between the big-band era and the rise of R&B.; His profile continues to rise posthumously, in large part due to the recent acclaimed musical from Clarke Peters called "Five Guys Named Moe", based on Jordan's bubbly persona and, more importantly, on some of his great songs. This show has been a hit everywhere after its original success in London (UK) so let's just hope it takes people back to the wonderful work of the original. What sets the man aside is what he combined - part comedian, part bandleader and great songwriter, he never allowed the novelty of his approach to obscure either his own musicianship (he was after all a great saxophonist) or that of his sidemen.