Tell me about Stanley Jordan

[MarkMcCombs]

I'm somewhat new to jazz, but love Dave Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, Stan Getz, and the Flecktones.

I just got a Stanley Jordan cd as a gift. Man, what's with this guy and his band? They're IN-CRED-I-BLE! I checked him out on allmusic.com, and it looks like his last album was some time ago, and they talked about him like he's dead. I think he's not.

What can you tell me about him?
Thanks,

Mark

[Christopher]

Legit jazzbos regard him as a circus freak. He also hurts his credibility a bit by jumping into smoovejazz mode now and then.

Still, it's no easy feat to improvise while tapping. Most people resort to patterns. He knows his stuff.

[JimK]

Supposedly, he was doing his thing on the street & got 'discovered'. He can intertwine bass lines, chords, melody, & solos pretty darn well.
His 1st 2 albums(one on Blue Note Records) I have...he did slide a little into the Adult Contemporary genre a bit. Ever catch him in Bruce Willis' Blind Date?
I did see Jordan perform outside at out Oceanfront a few Summers ago...for free.
It took me about 3 songs to get past the "technique". He did a helluva Hendrix & Shankar impression.
...and he did a helluva job on "Impressions", too!

[JMX]

He's on tour right now.

http://www.stanleyjordan.com/TourDates/itinerary.html