The younger brother of flutist Kent Jordan and the son of avant-garde saxophonist Kidd Jordan, Marlon Jordan gained a great deal of attention early in his career, recording as a leader for Columbia when he was 19, before he had an original sound of his own. He started playing trumpet in the fourth grade and knew Wynton Marsalis (a major influence) and Terence Blanchard when he was a child. Jordan was a featured soloist with the New Orleans Symphony when he was 15, studied at the now-legendary New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and recorded as a sideman with his brother Kent (1987) and Dennis Gonzalez (1988). He cut three albums as a leader for Columbia, toured with Jazz Futures (1991) alongside Roy Hargrove, and showed potential. Whether he will someday develop into a jazz giant is not known, but Marlon Jordan certainly has the technical skills, if not the musical individuality.