Stanley Jordan Plays the Dead - 5:30PM

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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.

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 vibe 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."

PERFORMER BIO:

STANLEY JORDAN was born in Chicago in 1959 and raised in Palo Alto, California—the very city in which the Grateful Dead was formed. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Princeton in 1981. Gigs were scarce in the early days, but after a few lean years working as a New York street musician Jordan was signed to Blue Note Records in 1984. His Magic Touch album was an instant classic, and it stayed at #1 on Billboard’s jazz chart for 51 weeks. He is widely regarded as the #1 exponent of the touch, or tapping technique on guitar. To date Jordan has been nominated for four Grammys, and has performed in 70 countries. He made a cameo appearance in the movie Blind Date with Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger, and numerous TV appearances through the years, including Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon. He has collaborated on the stage or in the studio with a diverse array of artists including Phil Lesh, Miles Davis, Kenny Rogers, Herbie Hancock, Dionne Warwick, Dave Matthews, Sharon Isbin, and Carmen McRae.

Drummer KENWOOD DENNARD is a Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum recording artist. He’s unique among drummers, and he’s influenced multiple generations of musicians of all instruments. He’s played with jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Dizzy Gillespie. He pioneered the jazz fusion improvisational movement in the 70’s with Pat Martino (Joyous Lake) and Brand X (Livestock), and later with Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth Band and PDB (Pastorius, Dennard and Bullock). He’s also been a longtime collaborator with Marcus Miller, Stanley Jordan and Vernon Reid. He’s performed with many other popular artists, including The Allman Brothers Band, Phish, The String Cheese Incident, Derek Trucks, Moe., Sting, Taj Mahal, Maceo Parker, Warren Haynes, Esperanza Spaulding, and John Scofield. He recently retired as a tenured professor at Berklee College of Music, allowing him to return to full-time composing, recording and performing.

Bassist GREG KOERNER brings a lifetime of experience playing Grateful Dead music. He played with Crimson Rose, one of the first Dead cover bands in New York, and he toured extensively with Vince Welnick, the Dead’s last keyboardist. He’s played with Dark Star Orchestra, Unlimited Devotion and countless other Dead tribute bands. He’s also toured with Charles Neville, Henry Butler and The Band’s Garth Hudson. Greg has recorded five albums of original music and he’s toured extensively with his own project Gent Treadly and his trio The Joint Chiefs.

JESSE HIATT is the band’s keyboardist and second guitarist. He, like Stanley, was raised in the Bay Area, where he got his start on the blues circuit and he recorded his album Choose Your Road. He then spent 10 years in New Orleans, touring with Mississippi blues legend Cedric Burnside, and producing Burnside’s album The Way I Am. In addition to his longtime experience playing Grateful Dead music, he brings influences of West-African, Brazilian, and classic New Orleans funk and R&B.

BAND MEMBERS:

Stanley Jordan - Guitar

Kenwood Dennard - Drums

GREG KOERNER - Bass

JESSE HIATT - Keyboard/Guitar