Sure, it’s been almost a decade since Stanley Jordan has released an album, but who cares? He can still pack the house at Catalina’s, and he doesn’t even need a backing band other than his ten digits and electronic ideas. Taking the idea of using the guitar as a piano, Jordan showed that during his 100 minute concert that his pioneering technique is not just a gimmick, but an entirely new language and approach to not only playing the guitar, but in listening.
His opening pair of unnamed improvisations displayed a delicate and introspective lyricism, fluid and almost Mozartian in style and fragrance. His revisitation of “The Lady In My Life” and “All The Children” showed a harp-like beauty , with the dynamics waxing and waning like the reflection of a full moon on the ocean. His deft fingers are able to tap, strum, pick and dance on the strings to evoke sonic images ranging from a baroque lute to a full modern orchestra.
A journey through “House of the Rising Sun” was filled with textures of blues, whereas his musical worldview took “The Sounds of Silence” mixed ambient wallpaper with spacey droplets of dew. Jordan even tapped into his inner bohemia as his wordless vocals on a dreamy ballad mixed bop, folk, R&B and funk into a self described “spontaneous sound world”.
His latest incarnation of his most popular piece, “Eleanor Rigby” was filled with surprises, ranging from relentless rivulets to ethereal echoes, leaving the audience both appreciative and exhausted in the surfeit of emotional sounds.
Between songs, Mr. Jordan mentioned how he’s spent time teaching the younger generation both in school and in private. The lessons taught at Catalina’s were just as appreciated by fans of not only the guitar, but of the future of jazz.
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Mark Winkler 01/25, Simon Phillips Protocol V 01/27-28, Patti Austin & Gordon Goodwin, Andy Garcia 01/02-03