It was more than fortunate that drummer Mark Lomax II and saxophonist Eddie Bayard looked up saxophonist Kidd Jordan when they were in town for a residency at Loyola University. These two hugely talented, Ohio-based artists, who obviously share Jordan’s passion for creativity, arrived in New Orleans just before the coronavirus cast its ugly spell, otherwise this session might never have happened. Keyboardist Darrell Lavigne, who has played with Jordan for decades, got the call and flew in from his home in Houston, Texas to join Kidd and his son, trumpeter Marlon Jordan. The band is captured live on Last Trane to New Orleans, recorded at McDonough 35 High School and released on Kidd’s daughter, Rachel Jordan’s RJ Records label.

The configuration of the group changes throughout the album with the opening cut, “Lion in Winter,” offered in a trio setting—the two saxophonists and the drummer. Lomax gives it the African flavor that he is known for by employing mallets primarily on the tom. All three are roaring.

Marlon Jordan’s trumpet quietly calls out to his bandmates on “Ben’s Reflection (Tina’s Tune)” with each musician responding until all are onboard building excitement. Like so many of the works of tenorist Kidd Jordan, this tune has familiar touch stones—a quote, a rhythm—that further draw the listener in, who then has the opportunity to be more fully involved in the outer realms of the journey.

Lavigne’s piano is often featured, including on several “interludes” such as the quietude of “Kent,” named for Kidd’s flautist son, which is in a section of the album called the “Holy Ghost Suite.”

Throughout his long career, Kidd Jordan has played in all realms of music. It shows on the diversity he and the like-minded members of the band bring to the project as heard on the fun and danceable “Re-Rebirth of Cool,” and the bluesy “Come Ye (The Revival).” Kidd’s great knowledge and sound come together under his signature passion for freedom of expression on Last Trane to New Orleans.