Wycliffe Gordon
Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano. His nickname is "Pinecone".
Wycliffe Gordon

Frank Kramer Moordrecht, the Netherlands · Slide Factory · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Wycliffe Gordon
- Birthplace
- Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S.
- Born
- 29 May 1967
- Occupation
- Jazz musician, composer and educator
- Education
- Florida A&M University
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz · Dixieland jazz
- Honours
- Louis Armstrong memorial prize
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Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano. His nickname is "Pinecone".
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wikidata · Q367487 · wikipedia · Wycliffe Gordon
In this article
Biography
Biography
Wycliffe Gordon studied at Florida A&M University and Butler High School. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are jazz and Dixieland jazz. Places of work recorded in the authority are New York City. Distinctions recorded are Louis Armstrong memorial prize.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Wycliffe Gordon • Birthplace — Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. • Born — 29 May 1967 • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Jazz musician, composer and educator • Instrument — Trombone • Alias — Pinecone • Education — Florida A&M University • Label — WJ3, Chesky, Criss Cross • Website — www.wycliffegordon.com • Illustration — Gordon in Denmark, 2018 • Illustration — Gordon in 2008
Early life and education
Early life and education
Gordon was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, into a religious and musical background that influenced the early direction of his music. His father, Lucius Gordon (1936–1997), was a church organist at several churches in Burke County, Georgia and a classical pianist and teacher. Gordon took an interest in jazz in 1980 when he was 13 years old, while listening to jazz records inherited from his great-aunt. The collection included a five-LP anthology produced by Sony-Columbia. In particular, he was drawn to musicians such as Louis Armstrong and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens. At the age of 13, he was attending Sego Junior High School in Augusta, Georgia, where his band director was trombonist Don Milford. Gordon graduated in 1984 from Butler High School in Augusta. He performed in New York City as part of the McDonald's High School All-American Band. He then studied music at Florida A&M, where he played in the marching band.
Career
Career
His early works as a professional were with Wynton Marsalis, but in 2010 he has expanded beyond swing and has experimented with new instruments. The strongest example of this might be The Search where he plays didgeridoo and covers Thelonious Monk songs. He has also played Gospel music. In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the theme song for NPR's All Things Considered. Gordon's arrangement and orchestration is the third version of the melody composed in 1971 by Donald Joseph Voegeli (1920–2009). On September 24, 2004, Gordon conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the premiere of his new, original score for Body and Soul, the 1925 silent film directed by Oscar Micheaux. He has recently gained more worldwide popularity, being featured in South Australia's Generations In Jazz 2016 and 2017, playing alongside artists such as James Morrison, Jazzmeia Horn, Gordon Goodwin and Ross Irwin among others. For more than a decade, he has also worked with visual artist and educator Ligel Lambert on numerous collaborative projects. Gordon is currently an assistant professor at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, where he is the Director of Jazz Studies. He has been named the Jazz Trombonist of the Year 13 times by the Jazz Journalists Association, and Best Trombone by DownBeat magazine six times.
Blues Back Records
Blues Back Records
Blues Back Records was an American independent jazz label founded by Gordon in 2006, coinciding with the release of his album Rhythm on My Mind, a collaboration with bassist Jay Leonhart. His desire for artistic control was the impetus for creating Blues Back. During a meeting with Leonhart, with Gordon's "I Want My Blues Back" playing in the background, the two laughed and decided on the name for the company. Blues Back produced other artists who met Gordon's criteria for originality. The company became inactive in 2011.
As leader
As leader
• Bone Structure (Atlantic, 1996) • Slidin' Home (Nagel-Heyer, 1999) • The Search (Nagel-Heyer, 2000) • The Gospel Truth (Criss Cross, 2000) • What You Dealin' With (Criss Cross, 2001) • We (Nagel-Heyerr, 2002) • United Soul Experience (Criss Cross, 2002) • The Joyride (Nagel-Heyer, 2003) • Dig This!! (Criss Cross, 2003) • In the Cross (Criss Cross, 2004) • Cone's Coup (Criss Cross, 2006) • Standards Only (Nagel-Heyer, 2006) • This Rhythm on My Mind (Blues Back, 2006) • A Tribute to Storyville (Sidney Bechet Society, 2007) • We, Vol. 2 (WJ3, 2007) • BloozBluzeBlues, Vol. One (Blues Back, 2007) • Boss Bones (Criss Cross, 2008) • You and I (Blues Back, 2008) • I'm Glad There is You (Blues Back, 2010) • Cone and T-Staff (Criss Cross, 2010) • Hello Pops!: Tribute to Louis Armstrong (2011) • The Word (Blues Back, 2012) • Dreams of New Orleans (Chesky, 2012) • The Intimate Ellington: Ballads & Blues (Criss Cross, 2013) • Signature Series (2014) • Somebody New (2015) • Within These Gates of Mine (2016) • The Co-Op (Brown Brothers Recordings 2017)
As sideman
As sideman
With Faye Carol • Faye Sings The Blues (Getdown Records, 2026) With John Allred • John Allred & Wycliffe Gordon: Head to Head (Arbors, 2002) With the B# Big Band • United In Swing – Wycliffe Gordon with the B# Big Band (2019) With Maurice Hines • Maurice Hines: To Nat King Cole With Love (Arbors, 2006) With Bob Kindred • Bob Kindred Trio Live at Cafe Loup (Conawago, 2006) With Wynton Marsalis • Big Train (Columbia/Sony Classical, 1999) With Ted Nash • Sidewalk Meeting (Arabesque, 2001) With The Herbie Nichols Project • Strange City (Palmetto, 2001) With Marcus Roberts • Deep in the Shed (Novus, 1989) With Randy Sandke • The Music of Bob Haggart Featuring His Porgy and Bess Arrangements (Arbors, 2002) With Ron Westray • Wycliffe Gordon & Ron Westray: Bone Structure (Atlantic Jazz, 1996) With Chip White • Double Dedication • More Dedications • Personal Dedications & Percussive Tributes
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Where the work is held
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Institutional holdings are recorded as follows.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Feather, Leonard (1914–1994). Eɴᴛʀʏ: "Gordon, Wycliffe A. (Pinecone)". Oxford University Press LCCN. 266–267. 1999.
- 2.The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second edition, Vol. 2, edited by Barry Dean Kernfeld, London: Macmillan Publishers (2002) .
- 3.Berger, Ed. Wycliffe Gordon: The Beautiful Soul of. Jazz Times. May 2006.
- 4.Nathan, Dave (February 1, 2001, "Wycliffe Gordon: The Search", All About Jazz.
- 5.Theme Music, 30th Anniversary Celebration of All Things Considered, NPR
- 6.All About Jazz. 'Body and Soul' By Oscar Micheaux, 1925 New original score by Wycliffe Gordon article @ All About Jazz. 12 March 2004.
- 7."Ligel Lambert with Wycliffe Gordon (2008 - Present"), Ligel & Wycliffe, December 25, 2019.
- 8."Wycliffe Gordon", Augusta University.
- 9.Berlanga-Ryan, Esther. Interview — "Wycliffe Gordon: What This is All About", All About Jazz, 1 September 2010.
- 10.Wycliffe Gordon Album Discography. AllMusic.
References
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References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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