(NEWARK, NJ)-- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents two guitar virtuosos in a single evening! Four-time Grammy nominee Stanley Jordan and Emmy winner Billy McLaughlin to perform groundbreaking music at Victoria Theater Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 8:00pm. Tickets range from $49 to $89.
Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility and maverick daring. Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys to the unexpected, whether through bold reinventions of classical masterpieces; soulful explorations of pop-rock hits; blazing, straight-ahead jazz forays; or ultramodern improvisational works – solo or with a group. He came to prominence with the release of his 1985 album Magic Touch, which established him as among the most distinctive and refreshing new voices of the electric guitar.
Guitarist Billy McLaughlin is an Emmy Award-winning composer and inspirational keynote speaker who has appeared on Billboard’s Top 10 chart. He is credited with 14 CD releases, three National Campus Entertainer of the Year Awards and five Minnesota Music Awards. In 1999, his career crumbled due to focal dystonia, a neuro-muscular disorder. After suffering several years without a cure or diagnosis, this right-handed guitarist embarked on an unlikely attempt to regain his career by relearning his instrument, left-handed. His remarkable comeback is captured in the documentary film Changing Keys and a concert film, Coming Back Alive.
But in 1999 McLaughlin vanished from sight as his career crumbled due to a little-known neuro- muscular disorder called Focal Dystonia. After suffering several years without a cure or even a diagnosis, this right-handed guitarist embarked on an unlikely attempt to regain his career by re- learning his instrument....left-handed! His remarkable comeback is captured in the independent documentary film Changing Keys (seen on PBS stations in 2010) and a concert film called Coming Back Alive featuring McLaughlin with string orchestra and a reunion of his longtime rock band. KPBS (San Diego) produced the 2013 Emmy Award winning live concert program called Starry Night – Billy McLaughlin with Orchestra Nova highlighting McLaughlin’s extraordinary talent as both guitarist and inspirational speaker.
NJPAC is located at 1 Center Street in Newark, NJ.
