Jon Gordon

Jon Gordon is a world-renowned artist and one of the most successful, accomplished and in-demand alto and soprano saxophonists of his generation. Having performed with some of the world's greatest musicians, Gordon has been hailed "a master... His compositions, improvisation, tone, and technical vistuosity set him apart as an elite musician of our time." (Brandon Bernstein, Jazz Improv Magazine)

  • In the faculty

    • Associate Professor
    • MPS Instructor, Jazz Saxophone
    • Jazz Composition and Arranging
    • Small Jazz Ensembles Coach

Education

  • The High School of Performing Arts, New York, New York
  • BMus, Manhattan School of Music
  • MMus, SUNY Purchase
I'm thrilled to be a part of the world class jazz faculty here at the University of Manitoba! The Jazz Studies Program, jazz camp, and guest artists are all exceptional. The weekly jam session at the Hang is something special to this program and sets it apart from most others. The students get a shot at on the the job training by playing in a club with members of the faculty- there's only so much you can do in the practice room without the chance to perform on a regular basis, and our students get that extra experience that helps that going forward.
Jon Gordon Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music

Performance highlights

Gordon's career includes performances and recordings spanning three decades with the NY Pops Orchestra, The Prism Sax Quartet, The Carolina Symphony, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, as well as artists such as Ray Barretto, Tony Bennett, Bob Brookmeyer, Dave Brubeck, Benny Carter, Bill Charlap, Roy Eldridge, Aretha Franklin, Al Grey, Chico Hamilton, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Barney Kessell, Mel Lewis, Eddie Locke, Ronnie Mathews, Mulgrew Miller, Ben Monder, Lewis Nash, Joshua Redman, Red Rodney, Maria Schneider, John Scofield, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Stewart, Clark Terry, Mark Turner, Kenny Wheeler, and Joe Williams.


He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Beacon Theater, The Royal Albert Hall, Sweet Basil, The Village Vanguard, Ronnie Scott's, The Oslo Concerthus, The Sydney Conservatory, Juilliard, and most of the major jazz clubs and concert halls in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia et al.

Awards

Gordon's album Stranger Than Fiction was nominated for a 2022 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year (Solo).

In 2020, Gordon's book Jazz Dialogues, a series of interviews with and about renowned jazz musicians, debuted at number one on Amazon's list of new jazz releases.

Ongoing research and creative works

In 2013 Jon's book, "For Sue", was published by Chimbarazu Press, and "Foundations for Improvisers and Further Concepts", was published by Colin Music. In 2014, Jon was commissioned by the Carolina Philharmonic, to write an arrangement for the orchestra on John Coltrane's piece, "Naima". In December of 2016, Jon released Jazz Standards, an album that focused on compositions by jazz musicians. His album Stranger Than Fiction (2021) was nominated for a 2022 JUNO award for Jazz Album of the Year (Solo). Gordon recently completed his book Jazz Dialogues (2020), a series of interviews with and about renowned jazz musicians.