Guitar World famously listed Stanley Jordan as one of 40 players who changed the post-1980 modern era of guitar playing, and by the sound of it, he’s about to do that again.
Jordan, a player we associate with the frontiers of jazz guitar, is working on a metal album.
And not only that. In a new interview with Guitar World, Jordan says he’s using James Hetfield’s signature ESP Iron Cross single-cut to do it. “It’s a great heavy metal guitar with a great feel for the right hand,” he says.
No doubt! But what’s this about a metal album?
“Yes, it’s coming! With my tandem guitars, I can run different distortion pedals and wah-wahs on both guitars at the exact same time,” he says. “It’s insane what you can do.”
The “tandem guitars” setup needs an explanation. This is all kinds of nuts. If you have seen Jordan perform live, then you’ll know exactly what this is. Jordan’s two-handed “touch technique” allows him to effectively play two guitars at once. And we thought one guitar was difficult enough to control. He says his Vigier is still his number one electric guitar, but why restrict himself to just one?
“I’ve recently gone back to my “tandem guitars” setup where I play two guitars simultaneously. For the right-hand guitar, I’m using a PRS Santana. I love its short-scale length. The strings feel loose, which makes the touch technique much easier.”
The other guitar in this setup right now is the Iron Cross. Jordan is getting it adjusted as we speak so that it fits better in this “tandem” setup.
It’s like every time Jordan picks up the guitar, the act of playing has been transformed in some way, like he’s turning conventional wisdom on its head.
Even his collabs are crazy. Sadly, B.B. King died before the pair for the chance to record together, but they had effectively shook hands and agreed they’d work together, and were – get this – going to cover the Doors’ Riders on the Storm. Seriously.
What will Jordan think of next? Well, he’s developing a DJ/guitar live setup involving two computers running Ableton Live with the intent of bringing is voluminous knowledge of jazz theory into electronic music. “I use a massive array of foot pedals to DJ with while I’m playing guitar with my hands,” he says.
But whatever you do, if you see him down at your local science museum, stand well back. He’s been exploring methods of controlling fire with his guitar.
“I’ve also wanted to do a flame technique,” he says. “I once visited a science museum where they hooked me up to a Rubens tube, meaning my guitar was literally controlling and shaping physical fire. You can find the video of it on YouTube.”
And you can watch it below.
You can read the interview with Stanley Jordan in full in the new issue of Guitar World, which is on sale now. Better still, Subscribe and save a heap of money.
