Though Jordan Chassan began by studying classical piano, violin, and guitar, at the tender age of seventeen he was leading his own band Stuart's Hammer in regular weekend gigs at the now legendary underground dive CBGB in New York City. Atlantic Records showed some interest in the blossoming scene and the band (first ever to be called 'country-punk') appeared on the Live at CBGB anthology. Rolling Stone magazine called the Chassan-penned tune "Everybody's Depraved" the "best song on the album." Said young Chassan "I'll be rich and famous!" The recording was recently reissued by Atlantic to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of CBGB.

Next came a succession of bands with independent releases, most notably It's the Hendersons and The Young Hegelians, the later touring England and garnering rave reviews as "the best unsigned band in New York" while popping up frequently in NY Post gossip columns. After the demise of that highly promising band (whose excellent live recordings are now available on the new indy label Strong Recordings.com), Chassan decided to go it alone and began performing as a solo artist, first in Greenwich Village nightspots like Folk City, Tramps, and The Lone Star, but eventually building a wider Northeast base.

Fortune smiled again when record producer and impresario Davitt Sigerson heard a live recording and immediately signed Chassan to an exclusive contract with Polydor Records. The resulting album was recorded live in the studio direct to two tracks, featuring his distinctive songwriting, acoustic guitar, and vocals. The 1992 release won him many new fans and long deserved national attention. To quote one critic: "His fretwork is beautifully allusive, yet rendered so seamlessly and unobtrusively that it's true quality may not be fully appreciated, even by those who find it pleasant enough. There is more there than meets the eye." Another said, "…nearly everything he does comes across with a breezy, playful intelligence and a kind of studied effortlessness."

During the mid 90's Chassan relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he now lives and works. Most recently he has been consumed with all aspects of recording, having built the Inglewood SoundBarn out of an old barn on his property. The studio features vintage analog equipment and an old school approach, and has been the center of lots of activity lately. In the related world of TV and film production, Chassan worked with the legendary musical historian Peter Guralnick as location sound recordist for the A&E Biography presentation "Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock n' Roll" which recently had its debut at the Museum of Television & Broadcasting in New York City.

Chassan is involved as producer with several projects in various stages of completion. Amy Allison's album The Maudlin Years (Koch International) got lots of attention when it was released and recently popped up on Elvis Costello's list of 500 albums "essential to a happy life" as published in a special music issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Also completed is a solo album (vocal and guitar recorded live to stereo) by the late Walter Hyatt, much loved but as yet unreleased.

"When I finished construction on the Inglewood SoundBarn a few years back, the first guy I ran into in a trip back to New York was the great renegade writer / artist Mark Johnson" says Chassan. "His album 12 In a Room is an underground classic. To make a long story short, I kind of kidnapped him and brought him down to Nashville for the maiden voyage of the SoundBarn. We hung out and wrote some songs together and I got to really stretch out in terms of production quality." That project is now complete, and Mark’s new mini-album “Green Summer Rain” is available on Strong Recordings.com.

Chassan has also recently worked with Molly Thomas, a relative newcomer who hails from Mississippi. "Molly has a great voice, and a really unique approach to lyrics and melody. I think she's got something to say."

Other recent production credits include former United Artists recording artist and Hollywood actor George Gerdes, hipster-revivalist Greg Garing, and Holly Yarbrough (daughter of folk legend Glenn Yarbrough).

The finishing touches have finally been made on Jordan Chassan’s new album “East of Bristol, West of Knoxville”, which is also available on, you guessed it, Strong Recordings.com. It features ten new songs, and Chassan is joined by many of his Nashville pals. The record was produced and engineered in part by Flash Flood, of whom Chassan says “he’s definitely one of the most pseudonymous producers around”. Highlights include a spirited vocal duet with Gillian Welch on the track “Wound Up Way Too Tight”, and more of the live ensemble to 2-track studio recordings Chassan is known for, recorded by ace engineer Roger Moutenot.