Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-05-14
Photo: Courtesy of Stanley Jordan
Today, we’re excited to premiere a special new collaboration from virtuoso jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, who announces his long-awaited album Feather in the Wind by sharing his version of “Meditation,” originally written by the late Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim.
Recorded in collaboration with the legendary Brazilian singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento, the single arrives as both the realization of a dream Jordan first conceived fifty years ago and a document of a generation of Brazilian musical giants.
Nascimento was born and raised in Minas Gerais, where music occupies a central place in Brazilian culture. Widely regarded as the quintessential voice of the region, his singing reflects a landscape of rolling hills, lush terrain, and echoing canyons. His voice lingers on individual notes with a delicate beauty that has drawn collaborators from across the jazz world, including the landmark 1975 project Native Dancer with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.
It was Stanley’s first hearing of that album in 1976 that brought Nascimento’s voice to his attention. “I was still a teenager then, and that album was deeply moving for me and very inspiring,” Jordan recalls. “That’s when the seed for this project was planted, because that’s when I first dared to dream that Milton and I would collaborate someday.”
This recording of “Meditation” was made in 2014 at a boutique studio in the heart of Minas Gerais—nearly four decades after that seed was sown.
For this recording, Jordan was joined by three musicians he describes as his “Brazilian dream team”: Dudu Lima, Ricardo Itaborahy, and the late Ivan Conti, known widely as Mamão. Lima and Itaborahy were frequent collaborators of Nascimento at the time, lending the session a natural ease and familiarity. Mamão, a founding member of the legendary jazz-fusion group Azymuth, had been a fixture of Brazilian music for decades before his passing in 2023.
“We had a lot of history together, having traveled and performed throughout Brazil,” Jordan says. “I was thoroughly honored and overjoyed for everyone’s contribution to this project.”
The arrangement weaves together both the original Portuguese lyrics and their English counterpart. Jordan had initially envisioned a more intricate interweaving of the two languages, but Nascimento proposed a different approach in which the Portuguese carries most of the song, with English appearing only at the close.
“Milton’s idea keeps the languages more separate so each can breathe on its own,” Jordan explains. “His solution was better, so we went with it.”
Jordan is well known for his distinctive touch technique, but on this track he plays the guitar conventionally, using a pick. “I played mainly with a pick before developing the touch technique, so this takes me back to my roots as a guitarist,” he says.
Despite this approach, his musical voice remains unmistakable—something he attributes to his focus on melody. “I’ve always placed a high value on melodicism, which is something that sometimes gets lost in today’s jazz world,” he explains.
Jordan’s guitar work also reflects a lineage he holds dear. His first exposure to “Meditation” came through Joe Pass’s recording on the album Intercontinental. “Joe was one of my favorite guitarists,” he says. “I hope you can hear the influence and my loving regard for his playing on this track.”
With Mamão now gone and Nascimento retired from large-scale touring, this recording stands as a rare and deeply meaningful reunion of voices across generations.
Feather in the Wind is forthcoming, with “Meditation” officially arriving May 15.
