Cliff Jordan

Another fantastic Chicago tenor to burst out in the '50s, Clifford Jordan made his recording debut on Blue Note in 1957, in tandem with his high school acquaintance, the great John Gilmore (notable as well for being one of Gilmore's only two non-Sun Ra recordings). Jordan's busiest period came in the '70s, when he regularly toured Europe with a very fine quartet featuring Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins, and co-founded the consistently visionary Strata East recording label.