Jon Gordon talks about learning from great musicians, like the improviser who blew his mind as a teen. He frames life as a spiritual experience inside a human body, urging people to choose positive thoughts each morning. He also mentions how luck and hard work helped him meet supportive friends and keep moving forward.
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Jon Gordon is a basketball player from the United States, best known for The Hard Hat for Kids.
Quick Facts About Jon Gordon
Born
January 20, 1971
Nationality
United States
Profession
Basketball Player
Notable works
The Hard Hat for Kids
About Jon Gordon
He opened a restaurant and bar in Buckhead, Atlanta, and later ran for a seat on the Atlanta City Council.
![“Bob [Gordon] died young tragically.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b76/jon-gordon-1655_bob_bob-gordon-died-young-tragically-2203889_2203889.png)
![“I was in choir [at school].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7a7/jon-gordon-1655_choir_i-was-in-choir-at-school-2164567_2164567.png)
![“I love to see people recognized [me on scene].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a47/jon-gordon-1655_love_i-love-to-see-people-recognized-me-on-sc_3163122.png)
![“There were a lot of great things you could go and hear for very little money at the time [ '80s]. Mike Stern is still playing at the 55 Bar on Mondays or Wednesdays.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/56b/jon-gordon-1655_80s_there-were-a-lot-of-great-things-you-cou_3062425.jpg)
![“We listened [with my mother] to [Frank] Sinatra and Glen Campbell and we had some Beatles records that I liked. This was in the '70s.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/d11/jon-gordon-1655_frank_we-listened-with-my-mother-to-frank-sina_351080.png)
![“[Winning the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition]definitely opened some doors.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/1d3/jon-gordon-1655_competition_winning-the-thelonious-monk-internationa_658906.png)
![“When I was 13, 14, 15, I had played in a couple of jazz ensembles. I didn't know anything about harmony, about II-V-I, though I had learned my scales with Caesar [DiMauro].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7d4/jon-gordon-1655_couple_when-i-was-13-14-15-i-had-played-in-a-co_2097195.png)
![“[Manhattan School Of Music] didn't' have a jazz undergraduate program at the time so I played a semester in the big band. There was a graduate program. But I wasn't really that involved in jazz yet.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/196/jon-gordon-1655_band_manhattan-school-of-music-didn-t-have-a_2867269.jpg)
![“Phil [Wood] was very passionate. Very committed. He felt very blessed that the people that cared about him and took him aside... if he was out of line or drinking too much, being too surly.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/802/jon-gordon-1655_blessed_phil-wood-was-very-passionate-very-commi_1490080.png)
![“The light went on when I heard Phil [woods] play, and I went like, "That is why I'm playing the instrument." So I got very inspired, I started going to clubs through a friend's mom in the city, again, another person who just completely opened all these doors for me and it was amazing how kind she…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/844/jon-gordon-1655_cities_the-light-went-on-when-i-heard-phil-wood_443064.png)
![“[Larry Laurenzano] gave me a junior high school saxophone to take to high school, because I was always taking one of our school horns home to practice and I couldn't afford to buy one. He gave my friend, Tyrone, a tuba and he gave me a junior high saxophone for each of us to use at Performing Arts…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/217/jon-gordon-1655_art_larry-laurenzano-gave-me-a-junior-high-s_1950287.png)
![“I remember [Joe] Lovano came around to me at that time [of Monk competition]. And I had taken some lessons with Joe and I had seen Joe on the scene. He had always been so great to me, such and inspiration and so kind. One lesson that I had with Joe was just amazing. I'm just such a fan and an…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/c0f/jon-gordon-1655_admirer_i-remember-joe-lovano-came-around-to-me_2231915.jpg)
![“[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg, Berg and Webern? Are you listening to that music and what do you feel about it?" These were the conversations that he was having. And he also said, what he…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/d1a/jon-gordon-1655_asks_charlie-bird-parker-would-sit-down-and-a_1110923.png)
![“[Charlie Parker] was kind of a sponge and intrigued by it all.That's similar to what Phil [Woods] told me about Bird, too. Like he was into cooking. He was just into a lot of things. Yeah, it's about dealing with bebop and jazz and Trane [John Coltrain] and post-Trane and knowing the history. But…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a35/jon-gordon-1655_art_charlie-parker-was-kind-of-a-sponge-and_2500883.png)
![“I got to talk to people like Mel [Lewis] and Milt Hilton and Benny Carter and Clark Terry and... Jay McShann. I just found myself in some circumstances, on some gigs or sometimes in clubs, with the ability to talk to some of these people. Just being around their energy and being around that…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/661/jon-gordon-1655_ability_i-got-to-talk-to-people-like-mel-lewis-a_3052492.jpg)
