“Sometimes there are no gigs, but the main thing is the music. You can’t take that away. The only person who can take that away from you is you.”
– Mike Stern
Mike Stern (born Michael Philips Stern; January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with drummer Billy Cobham and then broke through with trumpeter Miles Davis’ comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Following that he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums. He was hailed as the Best Jazz Guitarist of 1993 by Guitar Player magazine, and in 2009 was listed on Down Beat’s list of 75 best jazz guitar players.
Mike Stern is a wonderful guitarist and musician. There are so many guitarists in the world who are inspired by Mike Stearns sound, timing, feeling and technique. Mike Sterns first solo album Neesh (1983) has been hard to get (I bought it when it was released from Japan) but it´s a great album and I highly recommend it to you all. The album was produced by Hiram Bullock and the other musicians are; Victor Lewis (dr), Tom Barney (b), David Sanborn (sax), Bugsy Moore (perc). There are two sound clips from the album below.
The first album I heard Mike Sterns guitar playing was on the Japanese trumpet player Tiger Okoshi first album “Tiger´s Baku” from 1981. It´s a master piece as well and I can imagine that the rumors about Mike´s guitar playing increased a lot after that album. If you are interested, the album was released by JVC (label) in Japan. Other musicians on the album are; Vinnie Colaiuta (dr), Quinous Johnson (dr), Steve Forman (perc), Robert Gonzales (perc), Tim Landers (b), Gerry Etkins (keyb). There are two sound clips from this album as well. Vinnie´s drumming is excellent!
I hope you will like the different examples below that are presenting more than 30 years of Mike Sterns musical career.
Enjoy!
Tiger Okoshi – “Robot” from the album “Tiger´s Baku” (1981)
Musicians are; see the text above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCRQn8SCekE
Tiger Okoshi – “From Time To Time” from the album “Tiger´s Baku” (1981)
Musicians are; see the text above
Miles Davis Band – “Fat Time” live at Montmartre, Copenhagen, DK (1982)
Musicians are: Miles Davis (tr), Marcus Miller (b), Bill Evans (sax), Mike Stern (g), Al Foster (dr) and Mino Cinelu (perc)
Miles Davis Band Live in London (1982)
Musicians are same as above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7PgMdM-t5U
Mike Stern – “Zee Frizz” from the album “Neesh” (1983)
Musicians are; see the text above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKq3nF5H3HM
Mike Stern – “Fine Line” from the album “Neesh” (1983)
Musicians are; see the text above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUlcYo_3Xuw
Jaco Pastorius with Mike Stern – “Mood Swings” from the album “Live in New York City, Vol. 5: Raca” (1984)
Musicians are; Mike Stern (g), Jaco Pastorius (b), Steve Slagle (sax) and Adam Nussbaum (dr)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ALqKAYihg
Mike Stern & Bob Berg Band – live at the china club, NY (1991)
Musicians are; Mike Stern (g), Bob Berg (sax), Lincoln Goines (b), Dennis Chambers (dr)
Track list:
01. Chromazone
02. Common ground
03. Snakes
Brecker Brothers – Live In Barcelona (1992) / Full Concert
Musicians are; Michael Brecker(ts/EWI), Randy Brecker (tr), James Genus (b), Mike Stern (g), Dennis Chambers (dr), George Whitty (keyb)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_8kohu4EI
Track List:
1 Above and Below
2 Spherical
3 Some Skunk Funk
4 Common Ground
5 Song for Barry
6 Inside Out
Mike Stern Band – “Yesterdays” live at Umea Jazz Festival in Sweden (1995)
Musicians are; Mike Stern (g), Dave Weckl (dr), Jeff Andrews (b)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr92HEslHU4
Mike stern & Richard Bona – “Still There” live in Paris (2004)
Musicians are; Mike Stern (g), Richard Bona (b), Dennis Chambers (dr), Bob Franceschini (sax)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CogCZ5f5mdI
Mike Stern and Victor Wooten – “Mr. PC” live at the Iridium, NY (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eWn0rDlG1c