Jordon Hamilton

Watching Jordan Hamilton set up his gear (a lot of gear for a cellist), calmly test out his loop pedals, have some coffee and with no further ado, start a guest artist class session with an audience of 200 still sleepy undergrads is a thing to behold. Jordan’s artistry is mind-boggling. The 24 second video clip on this page captures a moment I especially love. He’s playing his wild, complete with bird calls, version of Paul McCartney’s 1968 song Blackbird (credited Lennon/McCartney). He reaches a crescendo, pauses, and suddenly we are transported into Bach’s Cello Suite #1. It’s one of Jordan’s older pieces but a perfect one for class because of the back story (as related by McCartney) that invokes the the Little Rock Nine and their enrollment in the school originally known as the Little Rock (Arkansas) Senior High School. (In 2002, McCartney visited Little Rock and posed for a photo with Elizabeth Eckford and Thelma Mothershed, two of the Little Rock Nine.) Students are also eager to ask Jordan Hamilton about how he creates some of his crazy sound; how he became - at first, a classical cellist,: and sometime about the hats he wears. Jordan obliges by demonstrating how he uses a digital cello, loop pedals, a sampling device, and his own sweet voice to make music never before heard.

Jordan is also a songwriter nonpareil. And: he is part of the insanely talented band, Last Gasp Collective, led by Jay Jackson and Shayla Watson. The day I recorded the clip of Jordan doing Blackbird, all of Last Gasp were also on stage in the DEARTS auditorium.

http://www.jordanhamiltonmusic.com/

http://www.lastgaspcollective.com/