Should artists make social statements? It's dangerous to get involved with something you don't know very much about. That's why I feel that it's important to ally yourself with experts. But there are universal causes that people just need to be reminded of, which makes it important to say something. You play a number of styles. Why were you so quickly adopted by a jazz oriented audience? Jazz fans respect a good instrumentalist. I didn't consciously intend to become identified with a particular style or a "Stanley Jordan sound." I just want to be known as a fine player. In jazz, it's okay to be a strong musician, whereas in pop, musicality is always overshadowed by the fact that you have to sell a zillion records. So, aiming for the jazz field seemed like the best way for me to be accepted on my own terms. I've always listened to jazz. When the blues and funk things I was playing started to feel a little too comfortable, I began looking for a new challenge. Playing classical music inspired me to want to be really excellent on my axe, and through listening to Hendrix, I realized that even within a pop format, you could still be a virtuoso. But even though a lot of my music is jazz-based, it's a lot of other things, too. For instance, I've opened for Bill Cosby, which goes beyond the boundaries of jazz. "The Lady In My Life" [Magic Touch], which was recorded by Michael Jackson, is one of the less jazzy songs on the album, yet it's the one that caused it to cross over to the pop charts. As a solo specialist, do you ever miss playing with other musicians? Yes. Often, I'm the opening act for a band, and they'll have me sit in later. I've played with [trumpeter] Wynton Marsalis and [saxophonist] Grover Washington that way. However, I would like to have my own group and do session work--not for just anyone, but for hip musical projects. I do miss the contact and inspiration that you get from other musicians, although there are advantages to playing solo. For instance, you have total control and can take the music anywhere you want. It takes a long time to be able to do that with a group. Also, it's easy to tour as a soloist, and the money is better. What was playing on the street of New York like? The way you were discovered sounds like it's right out of a Hollywood script. Since 1980,I had gone to New York several times to try making some contacts in the music business and getting some exposure. In May of `84, I moved there--that's when I played on the streets. Mainly, I used to set up at the corner of 7th Avenue and 48th Street, where all of the music stores are. Occasionally, I'd get hassled. Once I got doused with water because someone in the building above didn't want me down there. I also had a lot of hassles with the police. Any time you draw a crowd, it blocks traffic, and if you do well, then you might be making more money than the police, which can create hard feelings. Most of the time it was fun. Nothing really bad ever happened, although I got pretty scared from time to time. One reason I didn't get bothered as much as I could have is that I used to take along this weightlifter friend of mine. Being heard on the streets by helpful people was how I got to play the Kool Jazz Festival in '84 so it was certainly worth it. Why didn't you become well-known sooner? One of the main reasons is that I never had a tape that showed all I could do. There was Touch Sensitive, but since it's all solo-oriented, it doesn't give you a good idea of how I sound with a group. When I recorded a representative demo, "The Lady In My Life" proved to be the missing link that really made Magic Touch happen. Were you intimidated working with Al Di Meola? A little bit. On one hand, it was great--he has a lot of studio experience--but on the other hand, it was distracting because we didn't know each other, and I kept thinking of stuff I wanted to talk to him about. He especially helped in getting the right sound for each song. I could already handle selecting the material and getting the best performance, although he did make a few good suggestions. | ||
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