Editing Stanley Jordan

{{short description|American jazz guitarist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Stanley Jordan
| image               = File:Stanley Jordan 01 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Stanley Jordan, October 3, 2017
| background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name          =
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1959|7|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
| genre               = [[Jazz]], [[jazz fusion]]
| occupation          = Musician
| instrument          = Guitar
| years_active        = 1982–present
| label               = [[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]/[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]/[[EMI Records|EMI]], [[Arista Records|Arista]]/BMG, [[Mack Avenue Records|Mack Avenue]]
| associated_acts     = [[Paul Lansky]], [[Milton Babbitt]]
| website             = {{URL|www.stanleyjordan.com}}
}}

'''Stanley Jordan''' (born July 31, 1959)<ref name="LarkinJazz">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-580-8|page=235/6}}</ref> is an American jazz guitarist noted for his playing technique, which involves tapping his fingers on the fretboard of the guitar with both hands.

== Music career ==
Jordan was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> When he was six, he started on piano, then at eleven switched to guitar.<ref name="am">{{cite web|title =Stanley Jordan: Biography |first=Scott|last=Yanow |website=[[AllMusic]]| url ={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=stanley-jordan-p6862/biography|pure_url=yes}} |access-date =November 28, 2011}}</ref> He later began playing in rock and soul bands. In 1976, he won an award at the Reno Jazz Festival.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> At [[Princeton University]], he studied [[music theory]] and composition with [[Milton Babbitt]] and [[computer music]] with [[Paul Lansky]].<ref name="W. Craig 1983" /><ref name="C. Deffaa 1986" /> He also took freshman calculus with [[Edward Nelson]].<ref name="ed nelson" /> While at Princeton, he played also with [[Benny Carter]] and [[Dizzy Gillespie]].<ref name="am" />

In 1985, Bruce Lundvall became president of [[Blue Note Records]] and Stanley Jordan was the first person he signed. The label released his album [[Magic Touch (Stanley Jordan album)|''Magic Touch'']], which sat at No.1 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s jazz chart for 51 weeks, setting a record.

=== Touch technique ===
Normally, a guitarist uses two hands to play each note. One hand presses down a guitar string behind a chosen [[fret]] to prepare the note, and the other hand either plucks or strums the string to play that note. Jordan's touch technique is an advanced form of two-handed [[tapping]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> The guitarist produces a note using only one finger by quickly tapping (or [[Hammer-on|hammering]]) his finger down on the appropriate fret. The impact causes the string to vibrate enough to sound the note, and the volume can be controlled by varying the force of impact. Jordan taps with both hands, and more [[legato]] than is normally associated with guitar tapping. His technique allows the guitarist to play [[melody]] and [[Chord (music)|chords]] simultaneously.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> It is also possible, as he has demonstrated, to play simultaneously on two different guitars, as well as guitar and piano.

He plays guitar in [[all-fourths tuning]], from bass to treble EADGCF (all in [[perfect fourth]]s as on the bass guitar) rather than the standard EADGBE. He has stated that all-fourths tuning "simplifies the fingerboard, making it logical".<ref>{{harvtxt|Ferguson|1986|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3idLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Stanley+Jordan%22,+%22all+fourth%22+OR+%22perfect+fourth%22,+guitar+tuning 76]}}: {{cite book|chapter=Stanley Jordan|first=Jim|last=Ferguson|pages=68–76?|title=New directions in modern guitar|series=''[[Guitar&nbsp;Player]]'' basic library|editor1-first=Helen|editor1-last=Casabona|editor2-first=Adrian|editor2-last=Belew|editor-link2=Adrian Belew|publisher=Hal&nbsp;Leonard Publishing Corporation|year=1986|isbn=978-0-88188-423-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3idLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Stanley+Jordan%22,+%22all+fourth%22+OR+%22perfect+fourth%22,+guitar+tuning}}</ref>

Jordan's main guitar was built by [[Vigier Guitars]] in 1984: it is an Arpege model on which Vigier made a flat fingerboard, allowing it to have a very low action (0.5/0.7mm). The low action facilitates the tapping technique.

=== Recording ===
[[File:19890600-33-StanleyJordan.jpg|thumb|Stanley Jordan, 1989.|alt=]]Among the artists Jordan has worked with are [[Quincy Jones]], [[Stanley Clarke]], [[Onaje Allan Gumbs]], [[Michal Urbaniak]], [[Richie Cole (musician)|Richie Cole]], [[The Dave Matthews Band]], [[The String Cheese Incident]], [[Phil Lesh]], [[Moe (band)|Moe]], and [[Umphrey's McGee]].

He has performed at many jazz festivals, including [[Kool Jazz Festival]] (1984), [[Concord Jazz Festival]] (1985), and the [[Montreux International Jazz Festival]] (1985).

In 2004, he released the album ''Dreams of Peace''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dreams-of-peace-mw0000709372 |title=Dreams of Peace – Stanley Jordan &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] | date=2003-06-24 |access-date=2017-07-21}}</ref> with the Italian band [[Novecento (group)|Novecento]]. The album was produced by Lino Nicolosi and Pino Nicolosi at [[Nicolosi Productions]] and was released in the U.S. on [[Favored Nations]]. He signed with [[Mack Avenue Records]] and released ''State of Nature'' in 2008 and ''Friends'' in 2011. The latter was nominated for an [[NAACP Image Award]]. He has four Grammy nominations.
Jordan made the startup sound for the [[Macintosh]] computer models the [[Power Macintosh 6100]], [[Power Macintosh 7100]], and [[Power Macintosh 8100]].

=== Film and television ===
Jordan made a cameo appearance in the movie ''[[Blind Date (1987 film)|Blind Date]]'' (1987). In 1995 he wrote the score for the short film ''One Red Rose''. In 1996 he wrote the score for the ABC TV afternoon special, ''Daddy's Girl''.

Since the mid-1980s he has performed on numerous television shows, including ''The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson'', ''The David Letterman Show'' and ''the Grammy Awards''.

== Personal life ==
Stanley Jordan was briefly married and has one daughter, Julia Jordan, who is a singer and songwriter.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|title=Biography|url=http://www.stanleyjordan.com/en-us/biography|website=The Official Stanley Jordan Site|access-date=November 8, 2015}}</ref>

In a 2023 interview, Jordan praised author and then-presidential candidate [[Marianne Williamson]] for "bringing politics into the 21st-century".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/480/239121.html |title=#MusicExchange: Guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan to perform at Cape Town Jazzathon, speak at #MEX23 |website=BizCommunity Music Interview South Africa|last=Myers |first=Martin |date=June 8, 2023 |access-date=November 7, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Discography ==
=== As leader ===
* ''Touch Sensitive'' (Tangent, 1982)
* ''[[Magic Touch (Stanley Jordan album)|Magic Touch]]'' (Blue Note, 1985)
* ''Standards Vol. 1'' (Blue Note, 1986)
* ''[[Flying Home (Stanley Jordan album)|Flying Home]]'' (EMI-Manhattan, 1988)
* ''Cornucopia'' (Blue Note, 1990)
* ''Stolen Moments'' (Blue Note, 1991)
* ''Bolero'' (Arista, 1994)
* ''Live in New York'' (Blue Note, 1998)
* ''Dreams of Peace'' (Nicolosi, 2003)
* ''Relaxing Music for Difficult Situations I'' (Manifold Music, 2003)
* ''State of Nature'' (Mack Avenue, 2008)
* ''New Morning: The Paris Concert'' (Inakustik, 2008)
* ''Friends'' (Mack Avenue, 2011)
* ''Duets'' with [[Kevin Eubanks]] (Mack Avenue, 2015)

===As sideman===
* [[Muriel Anderson]] & [[Phil Keaggy]], ''Uncut Gems'' (CGD Music, 2003)
* Muriel Anderson, ''Wildcat'' (Heartstrings Attached Music, 2005)
* [[Burt Bacharach]], ''Blue Note Plays Burt Bacharach'' (Blue Note, 2004)
* [[Anthony Branker]], ''For the Children'' (RPC, 1980)
* [[Dennis Chambers]], ''Groove and More'' (Soul Trade, 2013)
* [[Stanley Clarke]], ''Hideaway'' (Epic, 1986)
* [[Billy Cobham]], ''Drum 'n' Voice Vol. 4'' (Nicolosi, 2016)
* [[Stu Gardner]], ''Presents Total Happiness: Music from the Bill Cosby Show Vol. II'' (Columbia, 1987)
* [[Rebbie Jackson]], ''R U Tuff Enuff'' (Columbia, 1988)
* [[Charnett Moffett]], ''Net Man'' (Blue Note, 1987)
* Charnett Moffett, ''Treasure'' (Motema, 2010)
* Charnett Moffett, ''Music from Our Soul'' (Motema, 2017)
* [[Novecento (group)|Novecento]], ''Secret'' (Nicolosi, 2008)
* [[Kenny Rogers]], ''The Heart of the Matter'' (RCA, 1985)
* [[Dionne Warwick]], ''Sings Cole Porter'' (Arista, 1990)
* [[Muriel Anderson]] & [[Phil Keaggy]], ''Precious Gems'' (Independent Release, 2020)

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
* <ref name="W. Craig 1983">W. Craig: "Stanley Jordan: Two-handed Jazz Technique," GP, xvii/9 (1983)</ref>
* <ref name="C. Deffaa 1986">C. Deffaa: "Stanley Jordan," Coda, no.208 (1986)</ref>
* <ref name="ed nelson">{{cite web|title=Reflections on Retirement by Ed Nelson|url=https://web.math.princeton.edu/~nelson/papers/retirement.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://web.math.princeton.edu/~nelson/papers/retirement.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|website=Web.math.princeton.edu|access-date=July 29, 2021}}</ref>
}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite magazine
  |last=Ferguson
  |first=Jim
  |title=Stanley Jordan: Revolutionizing Guitar With The Touch System
  |journal=Guitar Player
  |volume=19
  |issue=10
  |location=Cupertino, CA
  |date=October 1985
  |issn=0017-5463
  |pages=82-83, 85-86, 88, 93-94, 96, 149}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.stanleyjordan.com/}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Stanley}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African-American jazz guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:American jazz guitarists]]
[[Category:African-American guitarists]]
[[Category:American street performers]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Pupils of Milton Babbitt]]
[[Category:Pupils of Paul Lansky]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:American lead guitarists]]
[[Category:Smooth jazz guitarists]]
[[Category:Mack Avenue Records artists]]
[[Category:Arista Records artists]]