(RAHWAY, NJ) -- As part of their new All That Jazz series at Hamilton Stage, UCPAC, WBGO, & Smooth Jazz NJ Present: Stanley Jordan: Stanley Plays The Grateful Dead on Saturday, June 1, 2024. He will perform shows at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.
Guitarist Stanley Jordan has formed a new band called Stanley Plays The Dead. Jordan has always loved the Grateful Dead’s music and Jerry Garcia’s playing in particular, and this 4-piece unit was founded to share that love with the fans.
"Stanley Jordan playing the Grateful Dead-wait, what?" Actually, while this may seem surprising to some, anyone who really knows Stanley well won't be fazed in the least. Stanley has always held a diverse array of influences including classical, rock, World music and Americana. The Grateful Dead fits in there perfectly.
Stanley says, "The Dead's repertoire is an important part of the Great American Songbook. Over time people are realizing this more and more." One thing that's helping folks to appreciate it is the growing number of bands doing Grateful Dead tributes, and in many cases taking the music in new directions. Stanley Plays The Dead is definitely part of that trend. Jordan explains, "One mark of a good song is that it can be reinterpreted in many ways and it still holds up. These songs definitely fit that description."
Of course Jordan always puts a unique spin on things, and this project is no exception. So what's the spin? Stanley describes it as "Cosmic vible variations on the music of the Grateful Dead." He explains, "We're expanding the harmonic structure and adding more jazz elements, while preserving the original feel and flavor of the music. And most importantly, we're keeping the trippy vibe-maybe even deepening it."
As a youngster Stanley absorbed plenty of Grateful Dead music but now, over the last 10 years or so, he's also become a frequent guest with Phil Lesh and Friends. Phil Lesh was, of course, the bassist with the Grateful Dead, and through these guest appearances Stanley has now become a part of that legacy. "There's something to be said for carrying the energy by direct transmission," Stanley says. "And over the years, getting to know and play with Phil has been very enriching. Many things that he's said have helped me to understand this music in a deeper way. For example he once told me, 'If you want to understand the Grateful Dead's music just think Dixieland. Each instrument is doing something completely different but it all fits together.' Wow, that was a revelation! From there I began to approach my role in a more melodic way and to not fixate so much on the chords."
Stanley's connection to these songs runs deep because he was raised in the very environment that spawned the Grateful Dead. He says, "When I was a kid growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60s and early 70s the Dead were a local as well as a national treasure. Their marathon happenings in San Francisco were an important part of what shaped that city's culture."
That time and place was a musical melting pot in which jazz and rock freely influenced each other. Many of the Grateful Dead's edgier compositions, such as "Dark Star" and the epic "Unbroken Chain," captured the imagination of younger musicians such as Jordan, whose musical minds and hearts were incubating in a vast unfolding world of musical possibilities.
Jerry Garcia held a special place in young Stanley's world. "Don't get me wrong," Jordan says. "I was a huge Hendrix fan, but Jerry's clean melodic style was a nice alternative to Jimi's frequent use of distortion. And I've often felt that Garcia was influenced by Les Paul, another one of my favorites.
"When I was a kid I didn't get to attend any of the Dead's performances but I would hear about them on a regular basis. I finally did see the band twice in '94, and I attended all the Fare Thee Well performances in Chicago in 2015."
One thing that made the Grateful Dead's concerts so special was that their extended improvisations and huge songbook made each show unique, and it gave concertgoers a reason to come back again and again. This made each event a full-on happening and not just a concert. Listeners began following the band around on tour, leading to the growth of a huge nomadic tribe that has become an enduring segment of American society. Although Stanley didn't follow the band he nonetheless felt connected to this community. For this reason, when he started guesting with Phil Lesh and Friends he felt right at home.
That feeling was a big motivation to launch this project. Stanley explains, "Since I've been playing with Phil a lot of his fans have started coming to my shows. I wanted to reward them with something that I knew they would like. I also wanted to bring new people in to share in the spirit of openness and belongingness that this music brings about."
Tickets to this event are sold exclusively through SmoothJazzNJ.com. Click here to purchase tickets for the 7:00pm show and click here to purchase tickets for the 9:30 show.
Stanley Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began his music career at age six studying piano, then shifting his focus to guitar at age eleven. He then began playing in rock and soul bands. In 1976, while still in high school, Jordan performed with Quincy Jones and tied for first place as a soloist at the Reno International Jazz Festival. In 1981 he earned a BA in music from Princeton University, where he studied theory and composition with composer Milton Babbitt and computer music with composer Paul Lansky. While still at Princeton, Jordan performed with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie.
Jordan has received four Grammy nominations. His most recent album “Friends” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote, “Genius is a word often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been rightfully applied to Stanley Jordan.”
Don’t miss your chance to see this incredible performer in this intimate setting. Come early and enjoy a cocktail at the WBGO Piano Lounge, starting at 5:00pm.
Hamilton Stage is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway, New Jersey. Hamilton Stage is an boutique space (199 seats) with state-of-the-art sound and lights. It is part of the Union County Performing Arts Center.
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