reprinted from Billboard.com
Ronny Jordan, Jazz Guitarist, Dead at 51
By Kevin Rutherford | January 14, 2014 9:05 PM EST
- The musician was a leading player in the acid jazz movement
Ronny Jordan, a guitarist and leading player in the acid jazz movement of the '80s and '90s, has died. He was 51. Jordan's cause of death is currently unknown.
The guitarist's death was confirmed on Facebook (Jan. 14) after Jordan's siblings set up a page in his honor. "We appreciate that Ronny has got many fans around the world and so we ask that you keep an eye out for further announcements in relation to his funeral arrangements," Jordan's brother and sister, Rickey and Denise, wrote on the page.
Born Nov. 29, 1962, in London, Jordan rose to prominence due to his standing in a subset of jazz known as acid jazz, which blends its parent genre with elements of soul, disco, hip-hop and funk -- though Jordan called his contributions "urban jazz."
The musician's career took off with 1992 solo album "The Antidote," as well as a spot on 1993's "Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1," Mojo writes. His 2000 album "A Brighter Day" hit No. 10 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, while the song "A Brighter Day," featuring Mos Def, peaked at No. 20 on Rap Songs.
Later in his career, Jordan's claim to fame was his 1993 song "The Jackal," which was lip-synched by actress Allison Janney on the "Six Meetings Before Lunch" episode of "The West Wing" in 2000.
He will be missed and had yet to make his greatest musical statement(s).
Footnote: I had the chance to work on one tune with Ronny, a remake of his 'After Eight' track we called 'Way After 8':
To actually download these tracks, most browsers allow you to Right Click on the Playbar, and then you have the option to Save 'Video' as.....
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