"[2] Zydeco musician Clifton Chenier hailed from the same area, as did tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet (whose music teacher also instructed Jordan).

[2] While in high school, Jordan began performing "stock arrangements for three or four saxophones" with some older musicians, and immersed himself in the music of Charlie Parker.

[2] Jordan majored in music education at Southern University in Baton Rouge, attending the school at the same time as his brother-in-law, Alvin Batiste.

He indicated a preference for playing "outside" music (for example, free improvisation) on tenor, because he closely associated the alto with his earlier study of classical repertoire, tone, and technique.

[3] Jordan performed and recorded with a wide selection of musicians in styles ranging from R&B to avant-garde jazz, including Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, R.E.M., William Parker, Alvin Fielder, Archie Shepp, Fred Anderson, Ornette Coleman, Ellis Marsalis, Cannonball Adderley, Ed Blackwell, and Cecil Taylor.

Jordan taught Donald Harrison and Branford Marsalis while the two were teenagers, and was an instructor at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA).

[2] As an instructor of jazz studies at Southern University at New Orleans, Jordan encouraged his students to pursue new approaches to traditional musical forms.

[3] In 2007,[7] Kidd Jordan went west with Alvin Fielder and William Parker to play with Prince Lasha and John Handy in The Eddie Gale All Star band for the San Jose Jazz Festival.