Stanley Jordan

If you have not heard of Stanley Jordan, don’t feel left out. A lot of people have never heard of Stanley Jordan. But hopefully after you read this and take a look at the video, you’ll know who he is and perhaps tell a few other people as well. Stanley Jordon is simply one of the most unique guitar players I have ever heard or seen.

You can check out his website here, but it’s not a fancy website and looks more Stanley built the site himself and updates it on the weekends. Regardless of what you think of his website, take the time to investigate some of the articles and educational stuff he works with. It is fascinating and pretty cool. I’ll get back to discussing Stanley’s music in a bit, but first, I’d like you to take a few minutes and watch this video of Stanley playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ so you can see how he plays and hear what his technique can produce:

I “discovered” Stanley Jordan’s music for myself back in the late 80’s when I purchased a copy of his 1986 cd ‘Standards.’ This cd contains solo tracks including titles: The Sound of Silence, Sunny Georgia On My Mind, Send One Your Love, Moon River, Guitar Man, One Less Bell to Answer, Because, My Favorite Things, and Silent Night. I was mesmerized by the sounds this guy could get out of his guitar. Sadly, now this album is out of print, but you still might be able to find a copy on eBay or some used cd store.

One of the cuts on the ‘Standards’ album that I want to single out for notice is his version of ‘Silent Night.’ When I first bought the cd, I put it in my cd player in my car and didn’t think too much about it other than playing it. Most of the other songs were instantly familiar, but I kept noticing that the last song on the record was hauntingly familiar, but I just couldn’t place it. Finally, I got the cd and the liner notes together at the same time and realized that the song I couldn’t place was Stanley’s jazz version of ‘Silent Night.’ It was amazing to me that a song that was so familiar to me that I should have know it anywhere was so fresh and enjoyable in this new style.

Stanley Jordan says of this album, “I was extremely busy in those days. This music was my calm within the storm.” I have to agree with him, this is one of the most relaxing albums I own. However, don’t worry. Even though this cd is out of print, there are plenty of Stanley Jordan cd’s still in print and available and they are all just as enjoyable.

Try your local record store first and if you can’t find him there or they can’t order for you, try Amazon or some of the online outlets. I promise, if you like popular tunes with a jazzy feel, you can’t go wrong with Stanley Jordan.