Wycliffe Gordon

Wycliffe Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator, receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. Gordon tours the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state to elementary school students. His trombone playing, hailed as "mixing powerful, intricate runs with sweet notes extended over clean melodies," has been universally hailed by jazz critics. Gordon received the Jazz Journalists Association 2002 and 2001 Award for Trombonist of the Year, the Jazz Journalists Association 2000 Critics' Choice Award for Best Trombone and has been nominated for the Jazzpar Award.

In addition to a thriving solo career, he tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, headlining at legendary jazz venues throughout the world. Gordon is a former veteran member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and The Gully Low Jazz Band, and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's "Jazz at The Kennedy Center" Series. Gordon's extensive performance experience includes work with many of the most renowned jazz performers of the past and present.

Gordon's musical prowess has been captured on numerous recordings, including nine solo CDs and three co-leader CDs. His latest solo effort, “Cone's Coup,” is scheduled for release in May 2006. Gordon is featured on numerous recordings with The Wynton Marsalis Septet, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and numerous others as evidenced in his extensive discography.

Wycliffe Gordon is also a gifted composer and arranger. He was commissioned to compose a vibrant new score for the 1925 classic silent film "Body and Soul" (notable as the screen debut of Paul Robeson), which was premiered at the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra's 2000-01 season opening night performance at Avery Fisher Hall. Gordon's "I Saw The Light," a musical tribute to Muhammad Ali, was commissioned and premiered by The Brass Band of Battle Creek in March 2004. Both works are scheduled for release on DVD in summer of 2006.

Gordon's compositions have been performed by The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Wynton Marsalis Septet, The Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, The Brass Band of Battle Creek and numerous other ensembles, and performed in programs throughout the U.S. and abroad including concert halls in New York, Los Angeles, Aspen, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Germany, London, Finland and Switzerland. His compositions are also featured as a part of the PBS series "Marsalis on Music." Recent concert seasons have included premieres of compositions by Mr. Gordon for a variety of ensembles both in the Unites States and internationally. The first in a series of print editions of his big band, small ensemble and choir compositions will be available in fall of 2006.

Gordon's television appearances have included the Grammy Awards, the PBS special documentary "Swingin’ with the Duke," and two Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra—"Uptown Blues, Ellington at 100" (a collaboration with the New York Philharmonic) and "Big Train." Gordon also appeared in Ken Burns’ documentary "Jazz." Other television appearances include "A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert" and "Live from Lincoln Center: The Juilliard School at 100 Years." Gordon is featured in BET's 13-part series "Journey with Jazz at Lincoln Center" and was guest artist and commentator in NPR affiliate WVIA's special program on Tommy Dorsey (along with the late Skitch Henderson, just days before Henderson's death). Gordon also appeared with the Wynton Marsalis Septet in the feature film "Tune In Tomorrow" starring Peter Falk, Keanu Reeves and Barbara Hershey.

Gordon is rapidly becoming one of America’s most persuasive and committed music educators. He currently serves on the faculty of the Jazz Studies Program at The Juilliard School, a position he has held since the founding of the program. His work with young musicians and audiences from elementary schools to universities all over the world is extensive, and includes master classes, clinics, workshops, children's concerts and lectures—powerful evidence of his unique ability to relate musically to people of all ages. Gordon is currently working on a collection of trombone quartets, trios and duos to be entitled "Trombone Majesty," with expected publication in late 2006. In addition, his first method book "Wycliffe Gordon's Suggested Studies for Trombone," a compilation of the materials, exercises and approaches he uses in his teaching and in his own practice regimen, will be released in January 2007. Gordon teamed with trombonist Joseph Alessi of the New York Philharmonic and students in both of their studios at Juilliard in creating and presenting the master class "Two Sides of the Slide" for Jazz at Lincoln Center. The master class is available in its entirety as part of a streaming video series offered by the Education Department of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Gordon is the youngest member of the U.S. Statesmen of Jazz, and in many tour performances has served and continues to serve as a musical ambassador for the U.S. State Department.

Born in Waynesboro, Georgia, Gordon was first introduced to music by his late father, Lucius Gordon, a classical pianist and teacher. His interest in the trombone was sparked at age twelve by his elder brother who played the instrument in his junior high school band. Egged on by sibling rivalry, Gordon's relentless pleading of his parents led to his first trombone. A year later, an aunt bequeathed Gordon her jazz record collection, and so began his passion for jazz music. Show less

Wycliffe Gordon: What You Dealin' With?

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 2, 2023

Privy to the entire history of jazz trombone via the technological age in which we live, Wycliffe Gordon seems to have utilized this information in such a way that his own playing displays elements from various periods and a technical competence that is indeed remarkable. “I was most familiar, at first, with guys who played with Louis Armstrong, namely Trummy Young or Kid Ory and later on Jack Teagarden," says Gordon about the early years in his development. “Later I ...

Album Review

Diane Marino: I Hear Music

Read "I Hear Music" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
November 26, 2022

"I Hear Music," from Nashville-based vocalist, pianist and arranger Diane Marino, is a twelve-track retrospective of selections--famous and not so--drawn from the Songbook, as well as being associated with such great artists as Dakota Staton, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, and others. The opener, the rarely heard “I Hear Music," is Marino's fine upbeat take on an old Burton Lane & Frank Loesser tune from a forgetable pre-WWII film, “Dancing on a Dime" (Paramount Pictures, 1940). It is ...

Album Review

NYO Jazz: We're Still Here

Read "We're Still Here" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 14, 2022

The “NYO" in NYO Jazz is shorthand for National Youth Orchestra, a marvelous concept that should be cloned and shipped to as many cities, towns and villages as possible. NYO, comprising carefully chosen musicians, ages 16 to 19, from across the U.S.A. is based at Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in New York City, and We're Still Here marks its first full-length recording. The NYO's artistic director is trumpeter, composer and educator Sean Jones who is featured ...

Live Review

Wycliffe Gordon & Vincent Gardner At The Jazz Corner

by Martin McFie
November 12, 2019

Wycliffe Gordon & Vincent Gardner The Jazz Corner Hilton Head Island, SC November 8-9, 2019 Wycliffe “Pinecone" Gordon is an Armstrong-styled horn player and has won a Louie award to prove it. He displayed that same laid-back behind the beat timing as Louis Armstrong, which belied the clarity of phrasing and true importance weighted on every single note. He began on Yamaha tenor trombone with Duke Ellington's “It Don't mean a thing (If It ...

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Interview

Wycliffe Gordon: What This is All About

by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
September 1, 2010

Versatility is an important part of a well-developed artistic soul. The arts provide a wide range of outlets of expression that can be nurtured and grown into their finest results. Music could very well be a reason to believe in the extraordinary, and jazz musicians are no exception; they might even be a norm. It is the dream of every artist to create freely, as improvised notes are gathered in an instrument and then exposed to the world at a ...

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Interview

Wycliffe Gordon: Keeping the Spirit and the Letter Alive

by Marcia Hillman
September 16, 2009

Wycliffe Gordon is one of the busiest jazz trombone players in the business today. He has traveled the world performing with the Wynton Marsalis Septet and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, under his own name and as a duo with Jay Leonhart. As an educator he has performed and taught master classes at various schools.

All About Jazz: You started trombone at age 12. Did you study music formally? Wycliffe Gordon: I started trombone ...

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Album Review

Wycliffe Gordon / Eric Reed: We 2

by Jim Santella
November 5, 2007

WyclifWycliffe Gordon and Eric Reed give one of the best jazz performances of 2007 in this expressive and highly creative program of eleven familiar pieces. Armstrong, Ellington, Sinatra, Monk and Stevie Wonder are represented with deep respect and musical purity; yet, both artists carve into the modern mainstream with free-flowing thoughts. Gordon and Reed came onto the modern jazz scene at about the same time, but from different geographical directions. Musically, they've pursued the same goals while ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wycliffe Gordon

Source: Michael Ricci
May 29, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Wycliffe Gordon's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Dawn Weber, Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective, "Honoring Our Own" with Wycliffe Gordon, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
May 16, 2018

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features plenty of brass, with performances headlined by one local trumpeter and singer; one visiting trumpeter who's become quite familiar to local listeners; one star trombonist who's helping pay tribute to some St. Louisans; and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, May 16 Cabaret Project St. Louis has found a new home for their monthly “Broadway Open Mic," which starting this week will take place at Sophie's ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wycliffe Gordon

Source: Michael Ricci
May 29, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Wycliffe Gordon's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...
read more

Performance / Tour

A robust sound rooted in early jazz

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
March 27, 2017

Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is a modern-day ambassador for classic jazz dating back nearly a century. He digs the repertoire and style, putting his own stamp on it whether performing vintage songs or his own newer material. Such was the case on Friday, March 24 when Gordon performed at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers as part of its Jazzy Nights concert series. He was backed by four Southwest Florida jazz all-stars: tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto, ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Wycliffe Gordon

Source: Michael Ricci
May 29, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Wycliffe Gordon's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...
read more

Performance / Tour

Emmanuel Baptist Church Welcomes Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon To Their Next Jazz Vespers

Source: Emmanuel Baptist Church Jazz Vespers
April 5, 2013

Brooklyn, NY: Extraordinary and Award-winning jazz artist Wycliffe Gordon will be performing at the next edition of Emmanuel Baptist Church’s highly popular Jazz Vespers series. He will be bringing his unique hard-swinging, straight-ahead style to a diverse audience of true jazz lovers. The Jazz Vespers service will take place in its standing home at the historic Emmanuel Baptist Church, 279 Lafayette Avenue, located in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, New York, on April 28, 2013 at 3:00 PM. Currently ...
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Performance / Tour

Juilliard Jazz Presents "An Evening with Wycliffe Gordon" on Monday February 4

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
January 21, 2013

Juilliard Jazz presents “An Evening with Wycliffe Gordon” on Monday, February 4 at 8 PM in Juilliard’s Paul Hall. Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is artist-in-residence this season at Juilliard Jazz and performs with Juilliard Jazz Ensembles. The program features arrangements by Wycliffe Gordon, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and James Brown. The two Juilliard Ensembles performing on the February 4th concert have been coached by Juilliard faculty members Frank Kimbrough and Xavier Davis. Xavier Davis’ ensemble features Gabriel Medd (trumpet), ...
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Event

Trish Richardson "The Soul of Jazz" Book Signing at Wycliffe Gordon Concert on May 2

Source: Trish Richardson
April 25, 2012

Author Trish Richardson will be signing copies of her book, The Soul of Jazz: Stories and Inspiration from Those Who Followed the Song in Their Souls prior to Wycliffe Gordon and the Bothell High School and Mercer Island High School Jazz Bands’ performance at Eastside Foursquare Church in Bothell on Wednesday, May 2nd at 7 pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. Tickets to the concert can be purchased at mihsband.com. For this special event, half the profits from each book sale ...
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Event

Wycliffe Gordon's Jazz á La Carte May 12, 3:00 & 8:00pm Harlem Jazz Shrines Fest

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations
April 24, 2012

2012 Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival Presents Wycliffe Gordon’s Jazz á la Carte Saturday, May 12, 3:00 and 8:00 pm Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival Runs May 7-13, 2012 All Tickets Just $10 or Free! The prestige of the past. The pulse of the present. HARLEM, NY: For eight decades, the world-famous Apollo Theater has been the premiere showcase for African-American music: from vaudeville, blues, jazz, R&B, soul, mambo and hip-hop. One of its most popular long-running shows was the Jazz á ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz Arts Group presents world premiere of "Beyond the Blackberry Patch" led by Wycliffe Gordon

Source: Scott Vezdos
February 26, 2012

Columbus, OH—The Jazz Arts Group's Inside Track series returns to the Lincoln Theatre with the world premiere performance of “Beyond the Blackberry Patch," March 2-3, 2012 led by critically-acclaimed trombonist, renowned composer, and jazz ambassador Wycliffe Gordon with an all-star cast featuring Aaron Diehl, the Bobby Floyd Trio and many more homegrown artists. The Blackberry Patch is a folkloric name given to the area on Columbus' near east side where many settled during the Great Migration. Once known as the ...
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