Career
Honi Gordon sang as a member of the Gordons (with her father and two brothers) in the early 1950s. [1] Her first recordings, in 1953, were with them and Hank Jones (piano), Charles Mingus (bass), and Max Roach (drums). [2] They were released on Debut Records' Autobiography in Jazz. [2] The Gordons also appeared on recordings led by Lionel Hampton in 1956, and on the album Dizzy Gillespie and Stuff Smith in 1957. [2]
Henry Jones Jr., best known as Hank Jones, was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history, with a career spanning three decades and collaborations with other jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dannie Richmond, and Herbie Hancock.
Maxwell Lemuel Roach was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history. He worked with many famous jazz musicians, including Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and Booker Little. He was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1992.
Gordon herself sang on a few tracks led by Eddie Jefferson in 1959. [2] In 1962 she recorded, as a leader, the album Honi Gordon Sings , for Prestige Records. [1] This included well-known jazz musicians – Makanda Ken McIntyre (alto sax, flute), Wally Richardson (guitar), Jaki Byard (piano), George Duvivier (bass), and Ed Shaughnessy (drums). [1] [2] This was her only album as leader. [1] The Gordons recorded together again the following year, this time on Mary Lou Williams' Black Christ of the Andes, [2] but the group was not commercially successful and broke up, with Honi Gordon pursuing a solo career. [1]
Eddie Jefferson was a jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims that his main influence was Leo Watson. Perhaps his best-known song is "Moody's Mood for Love", though it was first recorded by King Pleasure, who cited Jefferson as an influence. Jefferson's songs "Parker's Mood" and "Filthy McNasty" were also hits.
Honi Gordon Sings is the only album recorded as a leader by jazz vocalist Honi Gordon.
Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under subsidiaries. In 1971, the company was sold to Fantasy, which was later absorbed by Concord.
Gordon again recorded with Williams in 1967. [2] In 1972 and 1973 she appeared on recordings led by Mingus. [2] These were released principally as the albums Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert and Mingus Moves . [2] Early in 1972 she also sang on Mary Lou's Mass, which was led by Williams. [2] Gordon reprised some of the material from this session in a 2007 memorial Mass for Williams. [3]
Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert is a live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus recorded at the Philharmonic Hall of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1972 and released on the Columbia label. The CD release added five previously unreleased performances from the concert.
Mingus Moves is a 1973 album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus.
