Stanley Jordan: The wizard of strings

There are guitar virtuosos of every kind. This was one of my favourite projects ever and I would like to take this idea further.” Looking back, Stanley says children naturally gravitate to music and he was no exception. Also getting plenty of sleep, but I confess I haven’t been doing well lately in that department,” he laughs and adds: “Music is also spiritual because it promotes mindfulness by grounding the artistes and the listeners in the here-and-now.” Displaying a musical persona that exudes bold reinventions of classical masterpieces, soulful jazz explorations and stylish compositions, the guitar legend veers away from conventional strumming and picking, where he applies piano principles to the guitar fretboard, from his training in classical piano. I love the rich textures of the piano as well as the expressiveness of the guitar, and the ‘touch technique’ combines those two in a seamless way.” Stanley also spends a good amount of his musical journey in the service of music therapy. That’s my true goal—to create an inspirational experience for my listeners.” He adds that at the heart of his music is “a desire to be one with the universe and to be a channel for divine grace.” To musicians in India, Stanley has an interesting message: “It’s understandable to be attracted to the “shiny object” of popular music and there’s nothing wrong with that.