Usually in a persons life, there are only a handful of defining moments that occur, which we relive in our minds... usually because we know of the profound effect it has had on us. For me i've only had a handful of these, and in all honesty most of them have been on the other side of the spectrum (ie. bad, painful, soul-breaking).
Tonight was one of the few that will always remain in my mind as a truly amazing evening which i'm sure will be the result of positive actions soon made by myself in the coming days.
I got to see a guitar player whom i've known of for a very long time, and admired and been inspired by many a time, but never imagined i'd get to see live... and of all places in Cairo Egpt.
I am of course talking about the virtuoso musician Stanley Jordan.
Stanley is one of these people that trancends mere lables. Calling Stanley a guitar player would be like calling a gunshot to the head a minor flesh wound... Stanley has transcended the concept of being a player.... he doesn't play the instrument... he is at One with the instrument.
Watching Stanley perform, you see the music flowing through and from himself... His soul is communicating with every ounce of movement and inflection.. He's not bound by the instrument, but freed by it.
Musically to call Stanley a jazz musician would be a gross misjudgement.... Stanley is just a musician, not bound by his instrument or his influences or the surrounding world of music... Stanley has found his sound, and it is simply music, pure, formless, and encompassing all the art forms which allow a musician to express and create something unique.
The workshop included pieces he is known for, and afew which i hadn't heard or seen before. For me, i think my euphoric state reached it's peak when Mr.Jordan walked over to the piano and proceeded to play the guitar and piano, at the same time. He did not do so for flamboyance.. he did so for the composition... to have the guitar and piano become one sound, one instrument if you will.......and that's exactly what i heard.. these beautiful dynamic phrases intertwining... it's almost as if the two instruments were alive and were living out a moment of clarity....
I've seen and met allot of astounding musicians... but Stanley hands down is something else entirely... only way i could describe it would be to say that he is the Paginnini (not sure i spelt that right!) of guitar. Paginnini Did things on the violin which made the audience assume he was the devil.. Now.. Stanley is way too nice of a guy for that... But what he did on the instrument today was truly just beyond what people do on guitar.
I've been playing for 11 years... my two handed abilities are not up to scratch... and i know that even if i did spend 8 hours a day practicing... i'd just get tendonistis... I couldn't fathom where to being to build such a full connection with the music & the instrument. And in all reality if by some miracle i manage to get atleast 1/10 of that ability... in all reality.. i'd just be mimicking instead of creating.. which i guess will be my excuse for not trying to achieve such a unique command of the instrument.
After the concert, after bumping into some friends, i went over to the blue nile, where i met raquy!! was great seeing her, and meeting her two friends, Natalia & Adamaa. I had a beer for dinner since my head was a mess... and after helping the ladies with their luggage, got my sorry ass back to heliopolis and typed this lond winded thread. It's 3am... i have work in afew hours... guess it's going to be another sleepless night. Actually i could try and get some sleep, but i know that's not going to happen. so intead of kidding myself, i might have some Baileys Irish Cream, listen to Jeff Buckleys Grace, and think soothing thoughts.....
Thanks Bill for coming with me tonight! And thanks to you Stanley, I'll remember this night with fond memories for as long as i am allowed to.
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