Lewis Jordan

Born in San Francisco, grew up in Chicago, with the blues, learning to associate creative musicians with the advancement of society as we know it.

Jordan is an international touring and recording musician; poet; actor and playwright. He was a founding member of United Front, the seminal San Francisco Bay Area ensemble known for its originality, aggressive imagination and cultural synthesis. As a performer he has bridged the worlds of music and the written word -through composition, saxophone and poetry. He is featured on WordWind Chorus's new CD we are of the saying.

In his career, he has focused on creative structures for improvisation, which has led to his work with artists from a range of disciplines. He has performed with dancers, poets, actors and musicians -including Brenda Wong Aoki, Anthony Braxton, Juan Ceballos, Scott Davis III, Lisle Ellis, Sara Felder, Danny Glover, Q.R. Hand, Mark Izu, Jon Jang, Kash Killion, Genny Lim, devorah major, James Newton, many presented in his Music At-Large series.

His interest continues to be meeting and working with performers delving into their deeper resources for modes of expression that honor their traditions while speaking to the urgency of the present. If that's in B-flat, fine. If it's in time, that can work too. If it's outside, it must be honest.

For the upcoming performance at Meridian Gallery, through his music, improvised from the private and public domains, and poetry, Jordan will be present and address his current resonance.