Stanley Jordan Previews Stanley Plays The Dead Project With Grateful Dead Live Staple

Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan shared a preview of his Stanley Plays The Dead project. The first taste of Jordan’s “cosmic vible variations on the music of the Grateful Dead” comes in the form of the GD classic “Eyes of the World.”

Jordan — who has played frequently with Phil Lesh & Friends over the past decade and grew up in Palo Alto where GD formed in 1965 — announced Stanley Plays The Dead in March and also detailed the project.

“The Dead’s repertoire is an important part of the Great American Songbook. Over time people are realizing this more and more,” the guitarist stated, and added, “One mark of a good song is that it can be reinterpreted in many ways and it still holds up. These songs definitely fit that description.”

“Eyes of the World” — first appearing in a studio capacity on the Grateful Dead’s 1973 album, Wake of the Flood — is a prime example of a song that has been reinterpreted time and again, even by the Dead themselves. A live staple that evolved over the course of more than 20 years and well over 300 plays, the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter composition is ripe for interpretation.

As such, Stanley Plays The Dead’s version of “Eyes” sees the guitarist putting his own spin on the tune along with bandmates drummer Kenwood Dennard (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), bassist Greg Koerner (Vince Welnick, Crimson Rose) and keyboardist/guitarist Jesse Hiatt (Cedric Burnside).

Watch an accompanying video for Stanley Plays The Dead’s take on “Eyes of the World” below:

Stanley Plays The Dead will perform for the first time on April 4 in Washington D.C. Check out the band’s 2024 dates below.