Standards Vol. 1
Guitarist Stanley Jordan's extensive use of tapping, using each hand independently on the instrument's fret board to create separate parts simultaneously, was a major technical breakthrough for the instrument when he first appeared in the early '80s. He could play the instrument much like a piano, whether mixing lead and rhythm or adding bass lines to chords. The technique has never been more apparent than on this 1986 session of unaccompanied guitar, with Jordan crossing musical boundaries to play songs from both the jazz and pop idioms. The "standards" of the title might as easily refer to technical ones as to Jordan's mixed repertoire. His playing here is often simply dazzling; the ease and fluent invention of his runs would still be impressive if another guitarist were supplying the accompaniments. But there's real warmth, too, on "Georgia on My Mind" and "Silent Night." --Stuart Broomer