Stanley Jordan Plays Dead
"As a youngster Stanley absorbed plenty of Grateful Dead music but now, over the last 10 years or so, he's also become a frequent guest with Phil Lesh and Friends. Phil Lesh was, of course, the bassist with the Grateful Dead, and through these guest appearances Stanley has now become a part of that legacy. ""There's something to be said for carrying the energy by direct transmission,"" Stanley says. ""And over the years, getting to know and play with Phil has been very enriching. Many things that he's said have helped me to understand this music in a deeper way. For example he once told me, 'If you want to understand the Grateful Dead's music just think Dixieland. Each instrument is doing something completely different but it all fits together.' Wow, that was a revelation! From there I began to approach my role in a more melodic way and to not fixate so much on the chords.""
Stanley's connection to these songs runs deep because he was raised in the very environment that spawned the Grateful Dead. He says, ""When I was a kid growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60s and early 70s the Dead were a local as well as a national treasure. Their marathon happenings in San Francisco were an important part of what shaped that city's culture.""
STANLEY JORDAN was born in Chicago in 1959 and raised in Palo Alto, California-the very city in which the Grateful Dead was formed. He earned a bachelor's degree in music from Princeton in 1981. Gigs were scarce in the early days, but after a few lean years working as a New York street musician Jordan was signed to Blue Note Records in 1984. His Magic Touch album was an instant classic, and it stayed at #1 on Billboard's jazz chart for 51 weeks. He is widely regarded as the foremost exponent of the touch, or tapping technique on guitar. To date Jordan has been nominated for four Grammys, and he's performed in 70 countries. He made a cameo appearance in the movie Blind Date with Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger, and numerous TV appearances through the years, including Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon. He has collaborated on the stage or in the studio with a diverse array of artists including Phil Lesh, Miles Davis, Kenny Rogers, Herbie Hancock, Dionne Warwick, Dave Matthews, Sharon Isbin, and Carmen McRae."
