Baryshnikov Arts Center & Jazz Foundation of America co-Present Stanley Jordan

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) and Jazz Foundation of America will co-present Stanley Jordan on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 8pm at BAC's Jerome Robbins Theater. Among the most gifted guitarists of his generation, Jordan is master of the two-handed tapping technique, using the neck of the guitar like a keyboard rather than strumming or picking. Applying this astonishing technique, or "touch style" in another setting, Jordan also performs on both guitar and piano at the same time, playing chords and melodies with his hands on separate instruments and uniquely melding the two sounds into one. More than a technical phenomenon, Jordan conveys an astounding depth of musical expression through a multi-faceted solo repertoire, ranging from bold reinventions of classical masterpieces to improvisational contemporary works. At BAC, Jordan will be joined for several songs by his daughter, New York City-based singer/songwriter Julia Jordan.

Stanley Jordan has produced more than a dozen albums, and has performed in over 60 countries on six continents. He has performed at many festivals, including the Kool Jazz Festival, the Concord Jazz Festival, and the Montreaux International Jazz Festival. During the 1980s he collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including performances with Art Blakey and Richie Cole and recordings with Stanley Clarke and Kenny Rogers.

Today, Jordan performs frequently as a soloist and with his band, as well as collaborating with other guitarists such as Kevin Eubanks, Sharon Isbin, and Muriel Anderson. He is also a frequent guest with jam bands such as the Dave Matthews Band, the String Cheese Incident, Phil Lesh, Moe and Umphrey's McGee. Jordan has received four Grammy nominations. His most recent album Friends was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote, "Genius is a word often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been rightfully applied to Stanley Jordan."

In 1981, Jordan earned a B.A. in music from Princeton University, where he studied theory and composition with composer Milton Babbitt and computer music with composer Paul Lansky. He came to prominence with the release of his 1985 album Magic Touch, a revolutionary project that placed him at the forefront of re-launching legendary Blue Note Records into a contemporary entity in jazz and beyond, and established the then-twenty-something Jordan as among the most distinctive and refreshing new voices of the electric guitar. Jordan is committed to music as an artistic, spiritual, and even health-promoting endeavor. He has been immersed for more than a decade in music therapy, towards which he is now working for a master's degree at Arizona State University. His involvement with music therapy leads him to do outreach in schools, hospitals and other venues wherever he tours. He is an artist-spokesperson for the American Music Therapy? Association, and he has done numerous lectures and demonstrations on the healing applications of music.

ABOUT BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER (BAC): BAC is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC's opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC's activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. For more information, please visit www.bacnyc.org.

Leadership support for music programming at BAC provided by the Anne and Chris Flowers Foundation and the Thompson Family Foundation.

ABOUT JAZZ FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: For 28 years, the Jazz Foundation of America has been dedicated to saving the lives and homes of elder jazz and blues musicians in crisis-musicians who have played with everyone from Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. JFA has grown to support over 6,000 cases a year across the country with emergency assistance and work opportunities. The organization's Emergency Assistance program provides social work services such as housing assistance, pro bono medical care, emergency financial support and much more. In addition, JFA helps to re-establish dignity and purpose by providing musicians with performance opportunities through the Jazz in the Schools program which brings music to schools, nursing homes, hospitals and other venues throughout the country. JFA's ongoing partnership with doctors and staff at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey over the past 20 years, as well as with JFA social workers and other caring professionals across the country has helped to save countless lives by providing crucial services that help keep musicians productive and doing what they love to do-playing music.

Baryshnikov Arts Center is grateful for the support of its generous individual and institutional annual fund donors in 2016-­­-2017. Anonymous (7), Pierre Apraxine, Darcy Bacon, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, Dr. Phillip Bauman, Carol Baxter and Loren Plotkin, Talia Bilodeau, Leon and Debra Black, Tina and Jeffrey Bolton Family Fund, Catherine Brennan, Clyde Brownstone, Valentino D. Carlotti, Lydia and Mats G. Carlston Charitable Fund, Carroll Cartwright, Meredith Caruso, Fadi, Terri, and Claudine Chartouni, Mirjana Ciric and Dino Buturovic, Lori Cohen and Christopher Rothko, Brian Coleman and Olga Smagarinskaya, Frank and Monique Cordasco, Nancy Dalva, Edoard Dejoux, Michael and Denise Deleray, Richard and Jennie DeScherer, Michael Devins, Joseph and Diana DiMenna, Katie Dixon and Richard Fleming, Elizabeth Doud, Debbie and Harry Druker, James H. Duffy, Cheryl Lee and Steven C. Dupré, Jennifer and Russell Echlov, Gwen Edelman, Ehrenkranz Family Foundation, Brittawnee Enos, Daniel Ezralow, Barbara File, Michele Lee Fine, Barbara Fleischman, Richard and Nicole Fortson, Sandra Foschi, Natasha Frank, Randy Gaugert, Edward Geffner and Suzanne Spinrad, Philip Giambanco, Paola Gianturco, Jon Gilman & Brad Learmonth, Brianna Gitnik, Slavka B. Glaser, Rebecca Gradinger, Peter Greenleaf, Louise Guenther, Agnes Gund, Dr. Ayele Hadero, Annie and John Hall, Elaine M. Halpin, Charles Hamlen, The Hare Family, Nicole and Paul Harman, Elisabeth Hayes, Brian and Tania Higgins, Roger and Joan Hooker, In Honor of Roger Hooker, Sarah Hooker, Huong Hoang, FredEricka Hunter, Mary Anne Hunting and Thomas Remien, Susan Israel, Laith and Adele Jazrawi, Carine Joannou, Stephanie Joel, Annie Jordan, Zuzana Justman, Julia and Michael Katz, Colleen Keegan, Drs. Nadine and Leo Keegan, Donald M. Kendall, Paul and Teresa Kim, Joan Konner and Alvin Perlmutter, Sonja Kostich, Herman Krawitz, Sali Ann Kriegsman, Mark Ladner and Julie Ross, Tania J. Leon, The LeRoy Family, Charlie and Lorie Levy, Jarrett and Maritess Lilien, Julie Lilien, Topper Lilien, Jane Lipton, Lew Lloyd, Nicholas Lloyd and Megan Craig, Marianne Lockwood and David Bury, Nick and Cass Ludington, David M. and N. Heller McAlpin, Sarah and Alec Machiels, Cheryl Yeager Marshall, Patrick A. Meere, MD and Ingrid E. Weigel, MD, Jane & Richard Mescon, Adam Miller, Valerie and Stuart Mogul, In Honor of Natalie Moody, Aidan Mooney, Mark Morris, Cheri Mowry, Marion Nestle, Elizabeth Osha, Hubert and Joanna Parzecki, Steven and Michèle Pesner, Steve and Randi Piaker, Darryl Pinckney, Lily Potter, Tamar Quillen, Aidan and Elizabeth Quinn, Judith Regan, Laila Robins, James Roe, John S. Rockwell, Leslie Ruff, David Saltonstall, Dorothy Scheuer, Natasha Schlesinger, Laura Schoen, Fiorenza Scholey, Sherry Schwartz, Tatiana Segal, Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan, Wallace Shawn, Jeremy Smith, Ellen Sorrin and David York, Christina Sterner and Steve Poses, Keith Stubblefield, Lev Sviridov, Rosalie Swedlin, Jennifer Tipton, Rosanna and John Troiano, Igor Tsukanov, Robert Warshaw and Debbie Schmidt, Mary R. Waters, Suzanne Weil, Roger Weisberg and Karen Freedman, Carolyn F. Wiener, World Wide-Holdings Fund in The New York Community Trust, In Honor of Victor Elmaleh, and Yelena Yoffe and Serge Troyanovsky.

Affirmation Arts Fund, American Chai Trust, Anonymous (2), Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust, Blavatnik Family Foundation, Capezio-Ballet Makers Dance Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Enoch Foundation, Ferriday Fund Charitable Trust, Anne and Chris Flowers Foundation, Ford Foundation, Marshall Frankel Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Irving Harris Foundation, Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust, The Jim Henson Foundation, Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation, Kent-Lucas Foundation, Kiwi Partners, The Luce Della Vite Estate in Montalcino, Italy, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation, The Mark E. Pollack Foundation,The Muriel Pollia Foundation, Princess Grace Foundation-USA, rag & bone, The Reed Foundation, Renova USA, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, St. John, The Thompson Family Foundation, Trust for Mutual Understanding, UNIX Gallery, and the Walter Family Foundation.

Lead support of dance programming at Baryshnikov Arts Center is provided by the Rudolf Nureyev Endowment.

Baryshnikov Arts Center is also grateful for support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Funding is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Yamaha is the official piano of the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

As of January 19, 2017