HLS 23RS-1027 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 23
BY REPRESENTATIVE JORDAN AND SENATOR B OUIE
CONDOLENCES: Expresses the condolences of the legislature on the death Sir Edward
"Kidd" Jordan
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To express the condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of Sir Edward
3 "Kidd" Jordan.
4 WHEREAS, it is with immense sadness and profound regret that the members of the
5Legislature of Louisiana have learned of the passing, on April 7, 2023, of jazz maverick and
6legendary saxophonist, Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan; and
7 WHEREAS, Kidd Jordan was born in Crowley, Louisiana, on May 5, 1935, and grew
8up listening to zydeco and blues music; he learned to play saxophone at a young age and,
9after hearing the music of Charlie Parker and Lester Young, became interested in the art of
10jazz improvisation; and
11 WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan continued to grow as a musician while he attended Ross
12High School in Crowley; after earning his diploma, he attended Southern University, where
13he advanced his music studies under the guidance of the university's band director, T. Leroy
14Davis, and two woodwind teachers, John Banks and Huel Perkins; while attending Southern,
15he also connected with another future musical legend, his bandmate and Kappa Alpha Psi
16fraternity brother, Alvin Batiste; and
17 WHEREAS, after receiving a bachelor's degree, Mr. Jordan relocated to New Orleans
18in 1955 and began playing R&B sets alongside musicians such as Guitar Slim, Ray Charles,
19Big Maybelle, Big Joe Turner, Lloyd Lambert, Lawrence Cotton, Chuck Willis, George
20Adams, and Choker Campbell; he also spent time in the historic Faubourg Tremé as an
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HCR NO. 23
1instructor at the William Houston School of Music before beginning a formal teaching career
2at Bethune High School in Norco, Louisiana, in 1955; and
3 WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan eventually continued his education at Millikin University
4in Decatur, Illinois, where he earned a master's degree in music; he also pursued post-
5graduate summer studies with reed maker Fred Hempke at Northwestern University in
6Evanston, Illinois; in 1972, he accepted a position as a professor of music at Southern
7University at New Orleans; over the course of his thirty-four years as a professor, he shared
8his vision of improvisation and encouraged his students to find their most authentic creative
9voices; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan also served as chair of Southern University at New Orleans's
11Jazz Studies Program; in this role, he organized the first performance of the legendary World
12Saxophone Quartet featuring Hamiet Bluiett, David Murray, Julius Hemphil, and Oliver
13Lake; and
14 WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan was an incredibly humble and civic-minded individual; in
15addition to his work at Southern, he dedicated more than twenty-five years as the artistic
16director for the Louis Armstrong Satchmo Jazz Camp and as a teacher at the Jazz and
17Heritage School of Music; and
18 WHEREAS, in keeping with the adage that no man is an island entire of itself, Mr.
19Jordan taught countless students, including well-known musicians such as Wynton and
20Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Leroy Adams,
21Calvin Johnson, Sammie "Big Sam" Williams, Charles Joseph, Julius Handy, Curley
22Blanchard, Gary Brown, Kirk Ford, Raymond Deggs, George Pack, Richard Moten, John
23Longo, Reggie Houston, Wendell Brunius, Abe Thompson, Maynard Chatters, Jr., Elton
24Heron, Carl LeBlanc, Darrell Lavigne, Tony Dagradi, Jonathan "Jon" Batiste, Chief Xian
25aTunde Adjuah, Gregory Davis, and others; and
26 WHEREAS, Kidd Jordan performed and recorded with a broad array of musicians
27in styles ranging from R&B to avant-garde jazz, including Lena Horne, Aretha Franklin,
28Nancy Wilson, Gladys Knight, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, R.E.M., Art
29Neville, Aaron Neville, Johnny Adams, Deacon John, Ellis Marsalis, Cannonball Adderley,
30Alvin Batiste, Archie Shepp, Dewey Redmond, Fred Anderson, Ornette Coleman, Sun RA,
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HCR NO. 23
1William Parker, Hamid Drake, Alan Silva, Ed Blackwell, and Cecil Taylor; he was a
2member of two prominent New Orleans Big Bands, William Houston, and Herb Tassin; and
3 WHEREAS, Indie Jazz described Kidd Jordan as "a 'genteel man' who is probably
4the single most under-documented jazz musician of his generation"; his true legacy lies,
5however, in his selfless dedication to sharing his passion for music with his community and
6the world for more than five decades; his legacy will live on through the establishment of
7the Kidd Jordan Institute of Jazz and Modern Music, an arts education entity dedicated to
8the preservation of avant-garde music through arts collaboration, and through the massive
9impact he has had on generations of musicians.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
11express heartfelt condolences on the death of Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan; does hereby
12recognize Mr. Jordan's selfless dedication to his community through music education; and
13does hereby extend sincerest wishes that his family, friends, and former colleagues all find
14comfort in his music and in their shared memories of his truly beautiful life.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 23 Original 2023 Regular Session Jordan
Expresses the condolences of the legislature on the death of Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan.
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