Marlon Jordan

Marlon Jordan: Trumpeter Extraordinaire

New Orleans-born Marlon Jordan was one of the players called Young Lions of jazz who were signed, recorded and promoted on major record labels in the 1980’s.  Between 1988 and 1997, he recorded three impressive LPs for Columbia: For You Only (named "one of the best albums of the year" by the Washington Post), Learson's Return, and The Undaunted.  In 1997 he recorded Marlon's Mode on the Arabesque label.

Following the release of his debut album, Marlon took his quintet on the road.  They joined Miles Davis, George Benson, and Wynton Marsalis in a series of JVC Festival dates produced by George Wein in Atlanta, Dallas and other cities.  The quintet also played in some of the country’s top jazz clubs, including the Blue Note, the Ritz, and the Village Vanguard.  They played concerts at venues ranging from New York’s Avery Fisher Hall to a stint in Europe and Japan.  

Marlon's latest album, You Don't Know What Love Is, announces the return of an exceptional trumpeter. In his maturity, he displays clean, boppish lines laced with power on a foundation of encyclopedic knowledge of the entire jazz tradition, from the earliest days to the present.

Recent Reviews

Marlon Jordan Brings Magnificence to Jazz Fest

“On the first day of May in 2014, Marlon Jordan brought his sensational sounds to

the New Orleans Jazz Festival.  The tonalities of his trumpet overjoyed the crowd as he played in a range of styles…The comparisons of Jordan’s style to artists such as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane put him in the upper echelon of jazz history.  However, he has the resume and the style that would be hard, if not impossible, for any of his generation to beat. And he has played and learned from the best”.  

Will Engel, AXS Music

Pharoah Sanders Brought Fire, Wisdom and a Big Sax Sound to the New Orleans

Jazz Fest

"...Sanders showed plenty of wisdom in choosing his long time quartet…His sagacity was equally evident in his choice of New Orleans ringers: trumpeter Marlon Jordan, who took a leading role in the show, is well-acquainted with post-Coltrane free jazz sensibility…Jordan played as if he had been with Sanders for years…Jordan soloed with authority, focusing on the midrange of his horn and decorating his long musical lines with bird calls and squeezed, inward-spiraling  blue notes.  When he stood side-by-side with Sanders, the two men fed off each other, exchanging ideas in free counterpoint. Jordan also knew how up the stakes from the sidelines, offering quiet fanfares that always matched the mood."

Chris Weddington, The Times-Picayune

Marlon is available for bookings through Nola Talent Entertainment.

marla@nolatalent.com