Clifford Jordan - Royal Ballads (Criss Cross, 1987)

This post is by Dan

Clifford Jordan (ts); Kevin O'Connell (p); Ed Howard (b); Vernel Fournier (d)

Recorded December 23, 1986

Clifford Jordan's Royal Ballads continues a "purple patch" of outstanding 1980s recordings. Thanks to Criss Cross, Jordan and other American artists found a receptive label for their mid-career recordings. If you ever wanted to hear these classic songs played straight, without pretense or artifice, this is the album for you. 

Ed Howard and Kevin O'Connell may not be familiar names. Howard was a regular member of Jordan's groups at a relatively young age. He was 26 at the time Royal Ballads was recorded. He's credited on about 100 recordings beginning in 1984. Kevin O'Connell has a lower profile as a recording artist, but he has sustained an active career playing live with numerous artists. Both he and Howard make solid contributions to Royal Ballads, and it's a shame that O'Connell does not have more records.

The surprise member of the quartet is New Orleans drummer Vernell Fournier, who joined Ahmad Jamal’s trio in 1957 and remained with the group until 1962, appearing on a series of recordings including the bestselling Live at the Pershing (Chess, 1958). He was 58 at the time of the Royal Ballads session and lived to age 72. 

For a change, the expanded CD version offers two additional royal ballads, as shown on the back cover image. It's the same group on the same day and new songs instead of retakes. Thank you, Mr. Teekens. 

The sound is rich and detailed, as registered in Rudy Van Gelder's studio. I especially like the bass on this all-digital recording. It has a deep, round sound. A first-class production all the way.