Stanley Jordan's discovery in the early '80s
rightfully earned a lot of headlines in the jazz world as he came
up with a new way of playing guitar. Although he was not the first
to use tapping, Jordan's extensive expertise gave him the ability
to play two completely independent lines on the guitar (as if
it were a keyboard) or, when he wanted, two guitars at a time.
He had originally studied piano, although he switched to guitar
when he was 11. After graduating from Princeton in 1981, Jordan
played for a time on the streets of New York. Soon he was discovered,
had the opportunity to play with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie
and, after recording a solo album for his own Tangent label, signed
with Blue Note.
Among his many albums, his best picks might be; 1985's Magic Touch,
1986's Standards, Vol. 1, 1990's Stolen Moments, 1994's Bolero,
2003's Dreams of Peace, and 2008's State of Nature.
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