He may have passed away more than 30 years ago, but the music of pioneering jazz saxophonist and bandleader Louis Jordan holds a special place in the heart of local musician Jerry Maccoux.

“A lot of my ideas I have stolen from Louis Jordan over the years because he’s influenced my life,” Maccoux says.

Jordan would have turned 100 on July 8, and Maccoux thinks “The King of the Jukebox” deserves a tribute. So he’s gathered up a few musical friends to help present the “Tribute to Louis Jordan” concert at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Missouri Theater. Tickets are $15.

Louis Jordan was a popu­lar jazz and R&B artist from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. He was one of the first crossover artists to ap­peal to both black and white audiences with boogie-woo­gie rhythms, big band sound and humorous lyrics, with hits like “Saturday Night Fish Fry,” “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens,” and “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby.”

Even though he was primarily a jazz and blues musician, Maccoux says Jordan was instrumental in shaping popular music.

“If you listen to Bill Haley (and His Comets) and Chuck Berry, a lot of those licks are in his songs,” Maccoux says. “Without Louis Jordan, the face of rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues would be way dif­ferent.”

Maccoux’s band, featuring him­self on piano and vocals, Charlie Shanks on drums, Bob Long on alto sax, Richard Yeager on tenor sax, Barry Springer playing trumpet and Brahm Wijnands playing bass, will play some of Jordan’s most well­known hits and novelty songs in each two-hour performance.

But the performance won’t be a song-by-song tribute.

There will be a bit of act­ing, too.

Maccoux, along with Tracey Whitmill, will play a nameless couple per­forming Maccoux-written dialogue based on Jordan’s “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby” to give songs a transition and add another dimension to the perfor­mances.

“It gives it an element of mystery,” Whitmill says.

“It just enhances it a little bit, just to make it funny.” The humor and innova­tion of Jordan’s music is something Maccoux hopes those familiar with Jordan’s work and first-time lis­teners will connect with. He has a hard time hiding his excitement for the event, and he hopes that when people see the show, they won’t be able to hide their own.

“If I walk out of the theater and I look at somebody, I want to see them laughing,” Maccoux says.

“Everybody will get their own take on Louis Jordan.”

BLAKE HANNON| ST. JOE LIVE STAFF

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With­out Louis Jordan, the face of rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues would be way dif­ferent.

JERRY MACCOUX