To a generation of contemporary jazz guitar aficionados, Mike Stern is one of the true greats. The “field” feels that way too! DownBeat named Mike one of the 75 best guitarists of all time and Guitar Player dubbed him a “Certified Legend.” A player of remarkable facility whose searing lines are informed by bebop and blues while carrying a rock-tinged intensity, Stern made his mark with Miles Davis in the early ‘80s before launching a solo career in 1985.
Since then Mike has performed all over the world, released 17 recordings as a leader, with six nominated for GRAMMY® Awards. His latest, Trip (2017), is his first since recovering from a serious accident in the summer of 2016 that left him with two broken arms and nerve damage in his right hand that prevented him from even holding a pick.
Miraculously and after a lot of hard work, Stern is back and on top of his game, playing with authority and prodigious chops. His arduous journey culminated in 2017 in the triumphant comeback release of Trip, featuring trumpeters Randy Brecker and Wallace Roney, saxmen Bob Franceschini and Bill Evans (a bandmate of Mike’s in Miles Davis’ ‘comeback band’ of 1981), bassists Victor Wooten and Tom Kennedy and drummers Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers and Lenny White.
Here is a little taste of Trip live from the Jazz Showcase in Chicago.
Keep an eye out for the Fall 2019 release of, Eleven, with the Mike Stern/Jeff Lorber Fusion band on the Heads Up label.
At Litchfield’s 24th annual Jazz Festival, Mike Stern will do our first ever “double header” and close two Festival days. He performs on Saturday, July 27 at 7P and again on Sunday at 2:45P. Appearing in his quartet are Danny Walsh, sax, Edmond Gilmore, bass, and Richie Morales, on drums (Richie was in Mike’s 2015 band at Litchfield, and they brought the house down!)
Don’t miss either of these performances at Emerson Performing Arts Center at the Gunnery, Washington, CT.