He hasn't actually mentioned Hurricane Katrina by name, nor does his voice betray the bitterness he must still feel, even two-and-a-half years after the disaster that nearly cost him members of his family.
There is gentleness in his delivery, but it's underpinned by steel, by a determination to press on in the face of unbelievable tragedy and to do so with an unpretentiously positive demeanor. “I even lost my Bird autograph," his voice rises as he remembers.
Matter-of-fact, spontaneous and brimming with emotion, Jordan's voice mirrors the way he approaches music. Freedom and tradition do not vie for prominence in his playing; they spur each other on as he reaches ever-increasing heights over varying trajectories, the notes pouring from him as the long bittersweet truth he's lived bursts from the personal to the general. In live situations and recordings, of which there are simply too few and even fewer still available, Jordan testifies to the varied nature of life and to the surging joy of continued growth and creativity born of liberation.
Check out Marc Medwin's insightful profile, Kidd Jordan: Freedom and Tradition at AAJ today!
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