In conjunction with the release of guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan's new album, Friends (available now), Mack Avenue Records announces an 18-city worldwide tour for Jordan from late September through March 2012. The performances will feature Jordan's longtime musical collaborators, bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Kenwood Danard (with various special guests to be announced per location).
In a career that took flight in 1985 with both immediate commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility, respect and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz forays and ultramodern improvisational works-solo or with a group-Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys into the unexpected.
On his latest Mack Avenue recording, Friends, Jordan takes the time-honored path of inviting a handpicked cadre of guests: guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Russell Malone and Charlie Hunter; violinist Regina Carter; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; trumpeter Nicholas Payton; bassists Christian McBride and Charnett Moffett; and drummer Kenwood Dennard. The results proved truly outstanding on numbers ranging from a Bela Bartok piece to a Katy Perry pop smash, a heady original blues and three jazz classics spanning swing, cool and modern. There's a listener-friendly samba, an airy spirit song and an astounding nod to the atonal. Jordan plays some serious piano on a couple of songs, revisiting his seminal instrument with a seasoned technique underscored by strong, purposeful invention.
Reflecting on the wealth of music inspired by collaborating with chosen peers on Friends, Stanley Jordan concludes, "I am so humbled and grateful to all of the wonderful musicians who graced this project. This collection truly speaks to my belief in the integrationist spirit of music. I'd like to move beyond 'fusion' and explore the concept of 'integration.' When you integrate styles, you combine them into something new while still remaining true to the original sources. The same principal holds for our friendships, which require mutual respect. Our friends are a mirror revealing the diversity within us, and at the same time they give us the courage to share our true selves with the world."
For more information on the Stanley Jordan, visit http://www.stanleyjordan.name/en/
Check back here soon for a review of the new album and the show in Denver on Saturday, November 12th.
SOURCE: Press release from DL Media 9/28/11
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