These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly

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With all the attention accorded the great Huddie Ledbetter (a.k.a. Leadbelly) since the mid-'80s, how could a recording like this 1965-66 tribute from underaccorded tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan have stayed in the vaults? Jordan unfolds nine Leadbelly tunes, all of them richly arranged for jazz rhythm section (sometimes with pianist Cedar Walton, sometimes with banjoist Chuck Wayne) and a strong frontline of trombonist Julian Priester, trumpeter Roy Burrowes, and Jordan. "Take This Hammer" is played as a sultry swing powerhouse, sung by Sandra Douglass and riffed to the hilt by the brass players. Similarly, "De Gray Goose," made into magic by Sweet Honey in the Rock on the Folkways: A Vision Shared tribute to Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie, is a minor-key hard-bop gem--powered by the banjo, almost nonexistent in mid-'60s jazz. All the bluesiness of Leadbelly's originals is maintained, with horn solos that easily square with the best Jazz Messengers frontlines of the day. And to hear Sandra Douglass sing "Black Girl," made attractive in the early '90s by Nirvana on their Unplugged in New York, is to hear the best in folk-blues execution, a true display of genius. Shame on all interested parties for not reissuing this stunner while Clifford Jordan was alive, for it shows what his big band CD hinted: he was a top-notch genius. --Andrew Bartlett

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