Stanley Jordan Live at Jazz Alley

I finally had a chance to see Stanley Jordan Weds August 16 at Jazz Alley in Seattle. Stanley blew me away with his tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

If you’re not familiar with Stanley Jordan, checkout his debut Magic Touch. I’ve been wanting to see Stanley live and I am thankful I had the opportunity to check out such an incredible guitar player. This guy is one of the truly gifted guitar players of our time. His tribute to Jimi Hendrix was one of the best tributes I’ve had the pleasure of attending. He played for two hours non stop….covering classic Hendrix tunes with note for note clarity and then adding his finger tapping wizardry to fill out and add even more feel to Jimi’s songs.

Stanley playing Hendrix reminded me of when I was starting to get into learning the guitar. I was kicked out of my high school guitar class for “spinning my wheels” when in reality I was more into learning Purple Haze than Michael Rowed His Boat Ashore. Some of my Hendrix faves are Machine Gun (Live in Berkeley), Dolly Dagger, All Along the Watchtower, Star Spangled Banner (Woodstock). Jimi’s chord phrasing and soulful jams taught me a lot about being a better rhythm player in addition to learning the foundations of blues. The beauty of hearing Hendrix play is in how he communicates with his playing. It reaches inside and you can feel the melodies and his soloing as if it was an extension of his voice.