Jordan Gonzalez appears distressed.

His face is contorted, eyes shut tight, his mouth curls toward his nose. Gonzalez, head lifted, rocks on his heels.

Brant Sanderlin/AJC (ENLARGE)

Jordan Gonzalez, 15, plays with Chicago Joe Jones and his band at Maddy's Rib & Blues Joint in Decatur.

Top 5 Influences (in alphabetical order) • Sean Costello • Buddy Guy • Chicago Joe Jones • Otis Rush • Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan Top 5 Favorite Songs • "Third Degree," Willie Dixon • "I Can't Quit You Baby," Otis Rush • "It Hurts Me Too," Elmore James • "Got My Mojo Workin,'" Muddy Waters • "Cuttin' In," Johnny "Guitar" Watson What he plays • A yellow 1996 American made Fender Stratocaster is his main guitar. "We get along really well," he says about his relationship with the guitar. His back-up is a 1980s Fender Telecaster made in Mexico. Check for future gigs at: http://www.myspace.com/jordangonzalezblues

The guitar tells the sordid story. The strings seem to scream with pain as his fingers run from high-to-low extremes. The minute-long intro brings a once-chatty crowd to near silence.

Finally, with the pent up aggression of a man separated from his woman too long, he steps to the mic: "Well, it's flooding down in Texas, and all the telephone lines are down. I said, it's flooding down in Texas baby, and all of the telephone lines are down. I've been trying to call my baby, but I can't get a single sound."

After his stirring rendition of "Texas Flood," Jordan flashes a quick smile at his parents. They applaud wildly, as does everybody else in the place, at the performance their 15-year-old son had put on.

"I'd say he's definitely one of those people who was born to play the guitar," Andrew Black, a local musician said. "A lot of kids know the notes, but they just don't have the feel for it. He does."

Jordan, a 10th grader at Pace Academy in Atlanta, is a self-proclaimed "shy guy" at school. But after the final bell of the day rings, he causes quite a stir with his guitar.

His musical abilities are not exactly a surprise as his mother, Micki Gonzalez has multiple degrees in music and is a choral director. Jordan has taken lessons since he was 11 and been on stage since he was 12, playing wherever he could. Juggling school work with his budding music career is something he enjoys.

"That's what's really special about Jordan," said Chicago Joe Jones, Jordan's former guitar teacher. "He's committed to the music. He's really committed to being a part of the music."

Jordan's parents have also made a commitment to his music, which is especially helpful because he doesn't have a driver's license. He won't be 16 until March, so one – or both – of his parents accompany him to every gig.

"I'm the driver and part-time roadie," joked his father, an attorney. "I also double as an equipment guy too, I guess."

There are some places Jordan's not allowed to play, because of his age. The young musician hopes that will be the only age-related barrier that will get in his way.

"I really want people to enjoy the music because it's good, not because it's good for someone my age," he said.

This particular night at Maddy's in Decatur, Jordan isn't the youngest one on stage. Jones hosts a jam on Thursdays and encourages his students to come and play before a live audience. Jordan is, however, the youngest in the house band, led by Jones. Jordan performs with Jones' group several times a week, when his schedule allows.

"This kid really is something special," Jones said. "And he's only getting better."

Last year, Jones needed a rhythm man in his band for the 2006 Atlanta Blues Challenge. He asked Jordan to join the band and retire his student status. It was the first time Tommy Brown, an Atlanta blues artist, saw him.

"He was really green," Brown recalled. "At that time he didn't know much about stage presence and things like that."

A year later, "Fantastic!" is how Brown describes Jordan's progress.

Over the past three years Jordan has thrown himself into his music. He's started a band of his own, Swagger, with three of his friends and taken to the live performances he used to not be so fond of. He's also focused on being a better rhythm player, one of the harder aspects of playing guitar, he said.

"If you really want to be good, you've got to learn how to back somebody up," Jordan said. "You've really got to know when to pull back and how to stay out of the way. There's no substitute for learning that, you've just got to get out there an embarrass yourself a few times and then you'll get it."

"I've done that a lot," he added with a laugh.

Jordan's growth also includes the depth and breadth of the music he plays and enjoys. He's decided he wants to make a career out of being a musician and he plans to add song writing to his list of talents. He's looking forward recording some of his work and "really branching out as an artist," he said.

"When you play with people who are so much better than you, it really makes you want to get better, you know?"