Stanley Jordan

Classic Jazz Series Opens at Whitaker

by Brian Phillips

Sometimes talent, pure unadulterated talent, is enough. In today’s pop culture and with all of the glitz and glitter of Britney Spears and *NSYNC, it is hard to talk about music outside of the context of production and marketing. And with the recent Grammy performance of Eminem and Elton John it is difficult to believe that American music can be taken very seriously.

But in moments, there are glimmers of hope.

Whitaker Center for Science and the Performing Arts in Harrisburg is doing much to educate the area to the great things that are going on in American music — as well as the other performing arts — and graciously steering clear of all things tritely commercial.

The Classic Jazz Series is a fine example of this sort of dedication to the Arts. The Series consists of three concerts over four months, all of which feature some of the greatest talents in the world of Jazz today. This year’s series opened on February 11 with an Evening with Stanley Jordan.

Stanley Jordan exploded onto the Jazz scene in 1985 when his first record, Magic Touch, spent an unbelievable 51 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Jazz charts. The Princeton-educated former street musician has been called everything from trailblazer to genius, but none of this gets to the heart of what Stanley Jordan is. He is pure music.

His self-designed ‘touch technique’ requires the use of both hands on the guitar. And while that is that true of all guitar playing, Jordan uses his hands a little differently than most. His dominant hand, the right hand, does not just strum — in fact, during the course of his Whitaker Center concert, he strummed his guitar a total of three times — it picks. And what is special is what he does with his other hand — he uses it to pick, as well. Put them together and you have two hands picking notes simultaneously. Stanley Jordan can play two music lines at the same time — dueling hands, so to speak. On the same guitar, he can produce both a bass and a lead line. He can play a melody line with his right hand and respond with the left. All of which are feats not easily accomplished. In fact, what Jordan does with one hand most guitarists would aspire to, but the fact that his one hand is only half of what he does just makes him even more amazing.

Jordan’s technical abilities, which are indeed magical and new, are only a part of what and how he defines his music. Jordan’s take on music is very spiritual and the boundaries between he and his craft are very unclear. On stage while performing, it is obvious that he not only loves his instrument, but that the music is part of him. His body moves and his head turns constantly. You get the sense that the guitar is truly just an extension of what he is and how feels. And when he takes a popular song like Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” or the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” he transforms it, making it both personal and expressive, mixing classical themes and Jazz improvisations to show his respect both to great music and life itself. An evening with Stanley Jordan is a celebration and a window into the soul of a man who believes in the power of music and the human spirit. What a great way to open a terrific series.

The remaining concerts in the series feature the great Jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson on March 19, and one of the pioneers of Jazz music, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton on May 3. These names are legends not only in the Jazz world, but in the music world as a whole. And to think that they are coming to Harrisburg and to a wonderful venue like the Whitaker Center is a tribute to the quality of culture that our area supports.

I am sure that the announcement that *NYSNC is the headline of this summer’s Hershey Concert series doesn’t exactly make everyone warm and fuzzy, but while our teenage counterparts are on top of the world we can take great comfort in knowing that there is more out there than just bubble gum pop.

For tickets for both shows call the Whitaker Center box office at 214-ARTS or check out their website at whitakercenter.org. For more information on Stanley Jordan log on at stanleyjordan.com.