“I’ll be presenting my tandem guitar setup in India for the first time ever; it comprises two guitars, and I play both at the same time,” says Stanley Jordan. “One is on a stand and I hold the other and the result is a fuller range of sounds and textures.”
Even while playing a single guitar, Stanley, now 66, has a signature style — an advanced form of two-handed tapping that allows him to play the melody and chords simultaneously. Stanley can play simultaneously on the guitar and piano.
The American jazz guitarist will be joined by drummer Kenwood Dennard and the duo will be performing in Hyderabad and Bengaluru this weekend. “Ken is my favorite drummer in the whole world and I’m so blessed he’ll be joining me. His musical style is similar to mine — he plays the drums and keyboard at the same time.”
Stanley adds this is not a performance gimmick. “It is not a circus trick. We do this to expand our musical palette; even though just the two of us will be performing, we create the effect of a larger group. However, it holds a lot of intimacy because it is still only two people.”
Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
That’s how I met my drummer
An association spanning decades is the reason these two musicians are so in sync. Stanley says Kenwood was already a famous musician in New York when they met. “He had performed with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and others. That day, he was scheduled to perform with Jaco Pastorius at a nightclub in New York and I was playing on the street outside.”
Stanley says Kenwood showed up late for his sound check because he was listening to him. “After I finished he said, “Wow, that was really good, but can you play the blues?” When I said I could, Ken said he’d be my drummer for life.”
That was in 1983 and since then, the duo have been making music singly and together. For their gigs in India, the duo will be performing a mix of covers and original compositions. “We’ve been playing together for so long now, we have a huge repertoire we will be drawing from, apart from two recent projects — a Grateful Dead tribute and a Jimi Hendrix one — so we’ll probably showcase some of that music as well.”
Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Kenwood is very creative, and I love to improvise so there’s always magic and spontaneity. I am sure there will probably be some songs that we create completely from scratch at the venue,” he says.
Driving force
“Music is definitely my passion, and I believe that it is quite obvious when I play. It’s more than entertainment for me, I find a spiritual upliftment from music and a vibe with the audience that is undeniable and unmistakable. Kenwood feels the same way too, and at every performance we try to get the music to go beyond mere melodies.”
It is similar to a poet using words to go beyond prose, he explains. “That is the same thing we are trying to achieve with music.”
Stanley talks about a friend of his, Jai Kishore, who taught him about Indian classical music. “He studied under Annapurna Devi, and plays the sitar as well as the guitar. We have this special thing where we combine the ragas with jazz, developing a hybrid. It is one of my favorite projects and I do hope the two of us return to perform in India.”
“Many of my favorite jazz musicians have collaborated with Indian musicians, and as a teenager, I saw John Handy perform with Ali Akbar Khan. All this has had an impact on me, and while I don’t claim to be an expert, it is important to me, and maybe audiences will hear some of that in my guitar playing.”
Stanley Jordan and Kenwood Dennard will play at Windmills Craftworks in Hyderabad on May 15, and in Bengaluru at Windmills Craftworks on May 16 and 17. Tickets from ₹1770 on BookMyShow.