Stanley Jordan - Standards Volume 1.

Stanley Jordan grabbed the music world by the ears when he arrived in New York in 1984. Musicians and critics alike were blown away by the guitarist’s radical approach to the instrument, which left listeners shaking their heads in disbelief. Jordan’s technique of using both hands to tap the fingerboard like a pianist (as opposed to the traditional method of strumming with one hand and fingering with the other) allows him to play chords, melodies, and bass lines simultaneously. Players like Jimmy Webster and Eddie Van Halen had previously used the tapping technique to embellish their solos. But never before had anyone been as innovative with the concept as Jordan, who, according to guitarist Al DiMeola in Guitar Player magazine, "has taken tapping into another dimension. He has to be twenty years ahead of his time."

Guitarist Stanley Jordan's extensive use of tapping, using each hand independently on the instrument's fret board to create separate parts simultaneously, was a major technical breakthrough for the instrument when he first appeared in the early '80s. He could play the instrument much like a piano, whether mixing lead and rhythm or adding bass lines to chords. The technique has never been more apparent than on this 1986 session of unaccompanied guitar, with Jordan crossing musical boundaries to play songs from both the jazz and pop idioms. The "standards" of the title might as easily refer to technical ones as to Jordan's mixed repertoire. His playing here is often simply dazzling; the ease and fluent invention of his runs would still be impressive if another guitarist were supplying the accompaniments. But there's real warmth, too, on "Georgia on My Mind" and "Silent Night." --Stuart Broomer

Recorded live with no overdubs on a Travis Bean Guitar, Recorded at Power Station Studios except for "Moon River". 

 Tracklist

1 	The Sound Of Silence 	3:57
2 	Sunny 			5:00
3 	Georgia On My Mind 	6:03
4 	Send One Your Love 	3:48
5 	Moon River 		5:48
6 	Guitar Man 		6:12
7	One Less Bell To Answer 4:26
8	Because 		4:13
9 	My Favorite Things 	3:57
10	Silent Night 		3:46