Stanley Jordan

In the early 1980s Stanley Jordan drew widespread notice across jazz circles by devising an original approach to the guitar. Though others had experimented with tapping before him, his command of the instrument enabled him to sustain two fully separate melodic lines at once, treating the guitar like a keyboard, or even to handle a pair of guitars simultaneously. Piano had been his first focus, yet he turned to guitar upon reaching age eleven. Following his graduation from Princeton in 1981, he performed for a period on the sidewalks of New York. Recognition followed quickly, bringing opportunities to collaborate with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie; after issuing a solo recording on his own Tangent imprint, he secured a contract with Blue Note. His path afterward proved remarkably unfocused. While capable of remarkable jazz performances, he has frequently applied his gifts to weaker repertoire, requiring listeners to choose his recordings with care. The resulting discography includes Magic Touch from 1985, Standards, Vol. 1 from 1986, Stolen Moments from 1990, Bolero from 1994, Dreams of Peace from 2003, and State of Nature from 2008. For the 2011 album Friends he assembled an all-star ensemble that featured saxophonist Kenny Garrett, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Kenwood Dennard. In 2015 he teamed with guitarist Kevin Eubanks on the relaxed, wide-ranging covers collection Duets, an outing that also highlighted his abilities at the piano.