Ronny Jordan

Robert Laurence Albert Simpson, known as Ronny Jordan (29 November 1962 – 13 January 2014) was a British guitarist and part of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Jordan described his music as "urban jazz," a blend of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B.

Biography

He came to prominence after being featured on Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1, released in 1993. He was also one of the artists whose recordings are featured on Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool—a compilation album released in 1994 to benefit the Red Hot Organization.

Following 1992's The Antidote, recordings from Jordan have featured on the Billboard charts, especially his acid-jazz Miles Davis cover of "So What", which was a worldwide hit. He was also the recipient of The MOBO Best Jazz Act Award and the Gibson Guitar Best Jazz Guitarist Award. His 2000 release, A Brighter Day, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Jordan's song "The Jackal" (from his 1993 album The Quiet Revolution) gained prominence when actress Allison Janney in the role of C. J. Cregg lip-synched it in the episode "Six Meetings Before Lunch" of The West Wing. She also did so on Arsenio Hall's television show in September 2013.

Jordan died on 13 January 2014.

Discography

Solo albums

• The Antidote (1992)
• The Quiet Revolution (1993)
• Light to Dark (1996)
• A Brighter Day (2000)
• Off the Record (2001)
• At Last (2003)
• After 8 (2004)
• The Rough and the Smooth (2009)
• Straight-Up Street (2012)

Own album singles

London Lowdown consists of "Light On The Thames" and "Brixton Carnival".

Contributor

• Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (1993)
• Rebirth of Cool Vol. 1 (1993)
• Bad Brothers Remix EP with DJ Krush (1994)
• Ronny Jordan Collection (2002)
• Huge in Japan / "The Sound of my people" / Dario Boente & Huge in Japan Feat. Ronny Jordan (2006)