小简介
Louis Jordan是最受人们喜爱的一位令人兴奋的中音萨克斯管演奏家，一位天才歌手，同时也是一位让人难以忘怀的表演者。他领导的“泰姆帕尼”五人乐队将摇摆乐和节奏布鲁斯两种音乐形式有机地联系起来。
从1941年到1953年，Louis Jordan先后录制了几十张热门唱片，这些唱片为他建立起极高的声誉。在种族隔离政策盛行的年代，他与其他的出现在音乐演出和电影中的黑人音乐家不同，他未被迫演出那些受压迫的汤姆大叔类型的角色或者失败者。事实上，在大多数情况下，他都是以主角的身份出现，总是想方设法出困境，积极乐观地面对生活中的挫折，并最终取得成功。
乔丹的父亲是著名的“兔子脚”滑稽说唱团的团长，他教会乔丹吹奏簧乐器，是乔丹最早的音乐启蒙老师。乔丹跟随父亲巡回演出于全国各地，从很小的时候起，他就开始了职业艺人的生涯。在成为了Chick Webb管弦乐队的一员之前，他曾经在几支并不出名的准州乐队中工作过。
Chick Webb乐队是乔丹参加的第一支成功的乐队，这给了他更多的在观众面前表现自己的机会。Chick Webb的乐队人才济济此时技艺尚未成熟的乔丹，没能获得任何的独奏的空间，以展示自已的才华。其后的几份短期的工作，情况大致也是如此，在范茨·Waller和凯瑟尔·马歇尔的乐队中，他一直扮演的是次要角色。
1939年是乔丹音乐生涯的转折点，这一年里，他组建起“泰姆帕尼”五人乐队。在这支以他为主要角色的乐队中，他成为了真正的大明星，他的乐队还连续推出了一系列热门曲。
Louis Jordan的形象出现在多部影片之中，其中除了同乔治·摩菲合作的《跟着男孩们》之外算是一部较大的制作之外，其余大都是一些低成本的影片。影片的放映对象主要是黑人观众，对于他们来说，Louis Jordan的吸引力不亚于克拉克·盖博。他当年拍摄的许多优秀的影片都被收入了“陈年佳酿爵士经典”公司出品的专题录像带中，人们从中一睹他当年的风采。
1951年，路易期·乔丹解散了自己的乐队，在一段时期内，他再也没能连续推出系列热门曲。尽管他仍然活跃在爵士音乐界的第一线，伴随着摇滚乐的兴起，以及他同德卡唱片公司合同的结束，他发觉自己已经成为了一位过时的明星。在这个时期，他曾经为阿拉丁唱片公司录制了二十几首歌曲，这些歌曲本身无可挑剔，甚至在编曲和艺术性方面非常出色。然而由于时过境迁，虽然这些作品的水平达到甚至超过了他早期音乐的水平，但是听众的态度却反应冷淡，这正是使许多喜爱路易斯·乔丹的爵士乐迷感到费解的地方。这正好反映了一个事实，那就是那些影响和推动了摇滚乐出现和早期发展的音乐家，在摇滚乐诞生之后，很快就被追逐时尚的音乐迷们忘记了。路易斯·乔丹就是一位不幸被人遗忘的大师。
在生命的最后几十年，Louis Jordan从未停止过自己的演唱。他曾经和克里斯·巴伯一道参加巡回演出。
具有讽刺意味的是，在去世之后，乔丹受到欢迎的程度超过了他生前惨淡经营的时期。1992年百老汇上演的歌舞剧《五个叫莫伊的家伙》取得成功就是一个最好的例证。这是他生前的作品，在近半个世纪后重新搬上舞台，依然得到了观众的认可和评论界的一致好评。
by Bill Dahl
Effervescent saxophonist Louis Jordan was one of the chief architects and prime progenitors of the R&B idiom. His pioneering use of jumping shuffle rhythms in a small combo context was copied far and wide during the 1940s.
Jordans sensational hit-laden run with Decca Records contained a raft of seminal performances, featuring inevitably infectious backing by his band, the Tympany Five, and Jordans own searing alto sax and street corner jive-loaded sense of humor. Jordan was one of the first black entertainers to sell appreciably in the pop sector; his Decca duet mates included Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.
The son of a musician, Jordan spent time as a youth with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and majored in music later on at Arkansas Baptist College. After moving with his family to Philadelphia in 1932, Jordan hooked up with pianist Clarence Williams. He joined the orchestra of drummer Chick Webb in 1936 and remained there until 1938. Having polished up his singing abilities with Webbs outfit, Jordan was ready to strike out on his own.
The saxists 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). From 1939 on, though, Jordan fronted the Tympany Five, a sturdy little aggregation often expanding over quintet status that featured some well-known musicians over the years: pianists Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, guitarists Carl Hogan and Bill Jennings, bassist Dallas Bartley, and drummer Chris Columbus all passed through the ranks.
From 1942 to 1951, Jordan scored an astonishing 57 R&B chart hits (all on Decca), beginning with the humorous blues Im Gonna Leave You on the Outskirts of Town and finishing with Weak Minded Blues. In between, he drew up what amounted to an easily followed blueprint for the development of R&B (and for that matter, rock & roll — the accessibly swinging shuffles of Bill Haley & the Comets were directly descended from Jordan; Haley often pointed to his Decca labelmate as profoundly influencing his approach).
G.I. Jive, Caldonia, Buzz Me, Choo Choo Ch Boogie, Aint That Just like a Woman, Aint Nobody Here but Us Chickens, Boogie Woogie Blue Plate, Beans and Cornbread, Saturday Night Fish Fry, and Blue Light Boogie — every one of those classics topped the R&B lists, and there were plenty more that did precisely the same thing. Black audiences coast-to-coast were breathlessly jitterbugging to Jordans jumping jive (and one suspects, more than a few whites kicked up their heels to those same platters as well).
The saxist was particularly popular during World War II. He recorded prolifically for the Armed Forces Radio Service and the V-Disc program. Jordans massive popularity also translated on to 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, along with countless soundies) 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.
A brief attempt at fronting a big band in 1951 proved an ill-fated venture, but it didnt dim his ebullience. In 1952, tongue firmly planted in cheek, he offered himself as a candidate for the highest office in the land on the amusing Decca outing Jordan for President. Even though his singles were still eminently solid, they werent selling like they used to by 1954. So after an incredible run of more than a decade-and-a-half, Jordan moved over to Eddie Mesners Los Angeles-based Aladdin logo at the start of the year. Alas, time had passed the great pioneer by — Dad Gum Ya Hide Boy, Messy Bessy, If I Had Any Sense, and the rest of his Aladdin output sounds great in retrospect, but it wasnt what young R&B fans were searching for at the time. In 1955, he switched to RCAs short-lived X imprint, where he tried to remain up-to-date by issuing Rock N Roll Call.
A blistering Quincy Jones-arranged date for Mercury in 1956 deftly updated Jordan s classics for the rock & roll crowd, with hellfire renditions of Let the Good Times Roll, Salt Pork, West Virginia, and Beware benefiting from the blasting lead guitar of Mickey Baker and Sam The Man Taylors muscular tenor sax. There was even time to indulge in a little torrid jazz at Mercury; The JAMF, from a 1957 LP called Man, Were Wailin, was a sizzling indication of what a fine saxist Jordan was.
Ray Charles had long cited Jordan as a primary influence (he lovingly covered Jordans Dont 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 fickle public largely ignored his worthwhile 1962-64 offerings.
Lounge gigs still offered the saxman a steady income, though, and he adjusted his on-stage play list accordingly. A 1973 album for the French Black & Blue logo found Jordan covering Mac Davis I Believe in Music (cant get much loungier than that!). 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 Broadway musical Five Guys Named Moe, based on Jordans bubbly, romping repertoire and charismatic persona.