Stanley Jordan -Multifaceted Musician
TRYING TO DESCRIBE STANLEY JORDAN IN SIMPLE TERMS is like trying to explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity in ten words or less. No matter what you say, you'd be leaving a lot out. And yet, that is probably what you've already done if you haven't heard the whole story. Best known as a guitarist who has made major technical and musical contributions to his instrument, Stanley Jordan has already made a name for himself as one of the most significant guitarists of the latter 20th century. After seeing him perform with his trio at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather was prompted to write, “Genius is a word too often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been rightfully applied to Stanley Jordan.”

The Technique
Stanley uses a technique called the “Touch” or “Tapping” technique to achieve a level of orchestral complexity equaling that of a keyboard instrument. He can sound like two or three guitarists at the same time with no overdubs or other studio techniques. He says, “Basically, I use 'hammer-ons' and 'pull offs.' These techniques have been around for a long time.” But Stanley Jordan has raised this art to an unprecedented musical level, and has used it to express his unique musical vision. Other players, such as Jimmy Webster, Lenny Breau, Edward Van Halen and Emmett Chapman have also used the technique, but Stanley Jordan discovered and developed it independently, and today he is widely regarded as the first “Touch Virtuoso.” He also uses traditional flat-picking and finger picking. A good example is “When Julia Smiles” from the album Flying Home. Much of the attention surrounding his sudden rise to fame in the mid 80s was based on his technique. Because the technique is so startling, so strikingly unusual, it is easy to see how it can make a dominating first impression. But what has become more and more clear through the years, is that he has the musicianship and creativity to match. His music is embued with a combination of passion, sensitivity, humor and shear brilliance. His technique never overwhelms his music. In fact, he says that since the early 80s he has been focusing much more on expressiveness than on speed and complexity. Could it be then, that many of his listeners still have not heard the full range of his abilities? Certainly what they have heard has made his live concerts legendary.

The Music
Stanley Jordan plays with an uncommon depth of feeling. Many who see him perform for the first time are struck by the emotional intensity of his playing. There are times when he seems totally immersed in the music. As a listener, it is hard not to be affected by this feeling. Before you know it, you aredrawn in to a new musical world with its own rules and its own seemingly limitless possibilities. And whether he's spinning outever-new variations on songs he's played for years, or creating new songs on the spot, his shows are dependably unpredictable. You could see him play twice in the same night and it would be a different experience. So, what kind of music does Stanley Jordan play? Although he was originally marketed as a jazz artist, his direction has boldly evolved into a broad synthesis of styles. How do you classify an artist who freely mixes baroque and blues in the same phrase? Or who can lay down a jazzy walking bass line plus chords with one hand on one guitar while simultaneously playing a rock lead with distortion and feedback on another guitar with the other hand?

Career Beginnings
The story of Stanley Jordan's career seems as legendary as his unique playing technique. He had earned a degree in music theory and composition from Princeton University, yet he chose to make his a living as a street musician, playing in New York, Philadelphia and various towns in the Midwest and the South. Before long, word began to spread about the incredible guitarist playing for pocket change. Stanley auditioned for record executive Bruce Lundvall, who was then heading the Elektra Musician label. Lundvall offered him a record deal on the spot. But Stanley felt that he wasn't quite ready, and he continued to focus on his music and his new family (with the recent birth of his daughter). It was a year and a half before he was ready to sign. Bruce Lundvall had moved to the newly-reactivated Blue Note Records, and Stanley Jordan became the label's first new artist. The album that followed, Magic Touch (1985), was a phenomenal success (#1 on Billboard's jazz chart for 51 weeks, two Grammy nominations and certified Gold in U.S. and Japan). Offering an intelligent, sensitive synthesis of jazz styles, Magic Touch touched a nerve in the general public. His cover of Michael Jackson's “The Lady in My Life” is considered a definitive standard for the genre known as contemporary jazz. In 1986, Stanley made a cameo appearance in the movie “Blind Date,” with Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. He made frequent appearances on TV shows such as The Tonite Show with Johnny Carson, Late Nite with David Letterman and Regis and Kathy Lee. His music videos were widely seen, appearing on national channels such as VH-1 and BET. Video proved to a good medium for Stanley because of the visual impact of his unique technique. He released the album Cornucopia (Blue Note) in 1990. Critically-acclaimed and Grammy-nominated, Cornucopia left no doubt that Stanley Jordan was continuing to grow musically. A live set followed—Stolen Moments (Blue Note 1991), recorded at the Blue Note in Tokyo with Charnett Moffett on bass and Kenwood Dennard on drums. Jordan then moved to Arista Records, and in 1994 he released Bolero, which includes a groove-oriented remake of Ravel's “Bolero.”

Two reissues on Blue Note followed—The Best of Stanley Jordan, and Stanley Jordan Live in New York. The “Best Of” was Blue Note's compilation of some of Stanley's biggest selling previously-released tracks, while Live in New York contained alternate mixes from the Cornucopia live session plus some previously-unreleased material.

Expectations
When Jordan first rose to fame in the mid-80s, there was a flurry of critical acclaim and opportunities for major appearances in TV and film. The range of his talents was so broad that there seemed to be no limit to his potential. Competing expectations were placed on him, with many separate musical factions claiming him as their own, and wanting him to follow in the footsteps of their favorite artist. But his music proved to be beyond categorization. The real core of his sound was something new that didn't fit neatly into any preexisting label. He was one the only young musicians who truly had a sound of his own.

But how do you market such an original artist in a world of copy cats, tight formatting, and rigid adherence to previously entrenched musical categories? How do you capitalize on the enormous commercial potential without killing the music by fitting it into a prefab format? His audiences were obviously not concerned about these issues, as they continued to pack his concert venues regardless of what “direction” his music was taking. But finding the right marketing approach still proved to be a challenge.

"I always had a lot of great advisers around me—experts in the business. But when you're dealing with something as vast as music, there is really no such thing as an expert, none of us. So I was getting all this expert advice, but at the same time, my own inner voice was telling me something else.

"Whenever I played conventional styles, such as straight-ahead jazz or blues, production went smoothly, but when it came to some of my more unusual musical ideas I found it difficult to get the help and support I needed to carry them out.

"Musicians and business people speak very different languages, and this often causes problems. I think if the music industry is to live up to its true potential as both an artistic and a commercial medium something really has to be done about this. We need a common language."

Stanley was also somewhat paralyzed by his own perfectionism. He explains, "I have this sound inside me that is greater than anything I have ever played on my guitar. Developing a new technique helped me get closer to it, but that only took me so far. I also had to develop a new notation system, and some new approaches to music theory, and I had to assemble some pretty sophisticated production tools. But even all that was not enough. I found that I had to look inward and develop myself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually so that I could overcome absolutely all roadblocks to making that inner music, that deep sound that had tormented me since my youth and had become the measure of all things. Until I had achieved that, nothing else would do. I didn't want to release any music at all if it wasn't going to be my best." So even though he made a lot of music in the 90s, very little of it was ever recorded and released to the public.

New Directions
Beginning in the late 80s, Stanley's lifelong interest in health was rekindled when a chiropractor got him back on his feet in one session after a week of crippling leg pain. This intervention saved a major European tour and altered Stanley's concept of health and healing. He explains, “The textbook definition of pain is that it's the experience of tissue damage. We assume the pain will diminish slowly as the tissue heals. But pain could just as easily be caused by an imbalance in the energy flow within the body, which can be corrected sometimes within a matter of minutes. This is why five physicians could not find the problem, yet the sixth one actually healed it. It was actually a strain from running in an airport carrying heavy baggage. A casualty of the rat race.

“He also gave me some advice about cleaning up my diet and detoxifying my body. I was amazed at how much better I felt. This led me to investigate other areas of natural healing as well as conventional medicine. I came to realize that we are in the midst of a paradigm shift from disease treatment to disease prevention and ultimately to health enhancement. Around that time I also met a music therapist who sent me a huge stack of literature about her profession. I could see it was all coming together. I realized that a part of my calling in life was to enhance the healing process through my music, for others as well as for myself. This also coincided with a strongly felt need to get out of the rat race and focus on my spiritual growth.”

“I believe music therapy will become one of the breakthrough healing systems of the 21st century.”
Stanley Jordan

In the 90s Stanley disbanded his entire management, touring and production organization and went into deep study. He eventually left New York for a quiet reclusive life in the mountains of the Southwest. He then joined the AMTA (American Music Therapy Association) and became an artist spokesperson. He became actively involved in promoting the cause, observing music therapists in action and seeking out whatever information he could find. Ultimately he enrolled at Arizona State University where he is currently working toward a degree in music therapy.

“If we stay open and keep learning, a lot of things start to fall into place. I began to see a connection between the paralysis in my leg and the paralysis in my music. In both cases, I was trying too hard, rushing too fast, trying to do everything at once. I had to learn to be more patient and realize that some things take time, just like playing a song at the correct tempo. If you rush it you destroy the music. Everything is in divine order, and when we think about it musically, that order is easy to perceive.”

Finding A Balance
Today Jordan is busier than ever, although with a cooler and more relaxed attitude. He is still deeply involved in his music therapy studies. He has a busy touring schedule, which is posted on his Web site at www.stanleyjordan.com. He feels that his break in the 90s and his new knowledge and skills have been good for his music and he is eager to share the results of this growth with his fans. He summarizes, “Spirituality often works in cycles. The quest to find your inner self and your Spirit may require you to make a decisive break with the outside world. Then again, that same quest could lead you right back into the mainstream, because Spirit is found in community as well. I think probably most people, if and when they find their calling, come to see themselves in some sort of a service capacity. Right now, I feel a strong desire to bring my music to the people—not just for entertainment, but also for inspiration and healing. And I feel I've found a good balance. I'm working with more discipline and devotion than ever, yet I'm actually less attached to the results. I'm finding out I can play better when I don't take it all so seriously. I feel good about the music I'm making these days For the first time, I can truly say there is absolutely nothing stopping me from putting together the music just as I hear it and feel it inside.” It's surely a good sign when even the relentless perfectionist is pleased.