CiTR

Clifford Jordan is from Chicago and is a graduate of the legendary DuSable High School music program. Many many famous musicians and performers graduated from this school and the music program was under the venerable Captain Walter Dyett who taught, reading, discipline, tone and ability to blend with other instruments. Jordan worked with Horace Silver, Max Roach, J.J. Johnson and Charles Mingus and others and recorded a whole series of albums under his own name for many labels. Jordan was one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable tenor saxophonists that Modern Jazz ever produced. Tonight is one of his most personal albums. Jordan is the only horn and he is backed by a free flowing rhythm section with the great Cedar Walton on piano and Teddy Smith on bass, a newcomer to New York at the time of this recording in 1961/62. The open and very individual drumming of J.C. Moses makes this rhythm section distinctive and gives it that free and floating quality.The album is called "Bearcat" (named for a wrestler friend of Jordan's: "Bearcat" Wright) and it contains 5 Jordan originals, all memorable and melodic. One standard and one Jazz standard is included. This is a fine date by Jordan and one of his best.