Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. A major player on the scene since his breakthrough days with Miles Davis' comeback band, circa 1981, Stern's sideman credits include work with such jazz icons as saxophonists George Coleman and Joe Henderson, bassist Jaco Pastorius, guitarists Jim Hall and Pat Martino, trumpeters Tom Harrell, Arturo Sandoval and Tiger Okoshi and saxophonists Michael Brecker, Bob Berg and David Sanborn as well as Steps Ahead and the Brecker Brothers Band.
Stern's role of bandleader-composer and recording artist has made his most significant and lasting contribution.
Personal life
Stern was born Mike Sedgwick in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Helen Burroughs and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V.[1] He is the half-brother of actress Kyra Sedgwick;[2] his full sister, Holly, is the mother of actor Philip Nozuka and singers George Nozuka and Justin Nozuka. Stern is married to guitarist and vocalist Leni Stern.
Career
In a career that spans three decades and a discography that includes more than a dozen eclectic and innovative recordings, five-time GRAMMY nominee Mike Stern has established himself as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers of his generation.
At the Berklee College of Music in Boston his focus shifted to jazz. Stern landed a gig with Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1976 and remained with the band for two years, appearing on the BS&T albums More Than Ever and Brand New Day.
In 1979, Stern joined Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band. Two years later he joined Miles Davis group, making his public debut on June 27, 1981 at the Kix nightclub in Boston (a performance that was documented on the CBS live album, We Want Miles). He remained with Davis through 1983. From 1983 to 1984 he toured in Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth band and in 1985 he returned to Davis for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year.
His solo debut, Upside Downside, was released on Atlantic Records in 1986 It features performances by Pastorius, David Sanborn and Bob Berg. From 1986 through 1988, Mike was a member of Michael Brecker's potent quintet, appearing on Don't Try This At Home.
Stern's second Atlantic album, 1988's Time In Place, featured Peter Erskine on drums, Jim Beard on keyboards, Jeff Andrews on bass, Don Alias on percussion and Don Grolnick on organ. He followed with 1989's Jigsaw, which was produced by fellow guitarist Steve Khan and included Mike's menacing Miles Davis tribute, "Chief". In 1989, Stern formed a cooperative touring group with Bob Berg that also included drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Lincoln Goines. They remained a working unit through 1992 and are featured on Mike's Atlantic release, Odds Or Evens.
Stern joined a reunited Brecker Brothers Band in 1992 and became a factor in the success of that popular group for the next two years. His acclaimed and decidedly jazzy 1993 Atlantic release, Standards (And Other Songs) led to Stern being named Best Jazz Guitarist Of The Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player. He followed that up with 1994's Is What It Is and 1996's Between The Lines, both of which received Grammy nominations.
In 1997, Stern returned to a jazzier aesthetic with Give And Take, a looser, more spontaneous session featuring bassist John Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. He won the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist.
After 15 years with Atlantic, Stern shifted to ESC for the 2004 release of These Times, an eclectic set that included guest appearances by some high-profile session players – bassist Richard Bona, saxophonist Kenny Garrett and banjoist Bela Fleck.
Stern joined the Heads Up label with the August 2006 release of Who Let the Cats Out? Included on the guest roster are bassists Richard Bona (who handles vocals on two tracks), Anthony Jackson, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chris Minh Doky and Victor Wooten, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, drummers Dave Weckl and Kim Thompson, harmonica player Gregoire Maret, and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard.
A frequent world traveler, Stern took his group to Europe, Asia and elsewhere throughout much of 2008 – an ambitious itinerary that included a memorable one-nighter at the New Morning, the longstanding and highly celebrated club in Paris, France. This electrifying show in front of a capacity-plus crowd in May 2008 was captured on film for posterity, and is presented in New Morning: The Paris Concert, a live DVD scheduled for worldwide release in March 2009. Backing Stern on this gig is the expert crew of saxophonist Bob Franceschini, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl.
In 2008, Stern collaborated with the Yellowjackets for their Lifecycle release, contributing two compositions and performing on most of the tracks. He has been touring with the Yellowjackets for much of 2008 and 2009.
A Mike Stern signature model was manufactured by Yamaha as part of their Pacifica range. The guitar is based on Mike's heavily modified Fender Telecaster.
Gear
Mike plays a guitar made for him by a boston based luthier, Michael Aronson. It has a Telecaster style body with an original 50's Broadcaster neck. There is a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck position and a Bill Lawrence single coil in the bridge. This guitar replaced a Telecaster that was stolen from him in an armed robbery several years ago. The Yamaha Pacifica Mike Stern model is a replica of this guitar. On this guitar, the neck position pickup is a a Seymour Duncan '59 and there is a Tele Hot Rail in the bridge. His other gear is surprisingly inexpensive. His guitar amp is a discontinued Yamaha G-100 , with 2 12" EV speakers. He also owns a Pierce GR-1 with a Hartke cabinet and JBL 10 inch speakers. His trademark chorused sound is created by a Yamaha SPX-90 which he splits between two amps. He uses the Harmonizer patch to create this sound. He uses two boss delays, a dd-3 and a dd-6, one of which he states he leaves on all the time to create the ambient sound he is also known for. The other is used to create more "out there sounds" and he uses this rarely. His distortion pedal is a Boss DS-1. He also uses a boss octave divider, an old OC-2 on occasion, and the occasional autowah.
Discography as Leader
- Neesh (1983)
- Upside Downside (1986)
- Time in Place (1988)
- Jigsaw (1989)
- Odds or Evens (1991)
- Standards and Other Songs (1992)
- Is What It Is (1994)
- Between the Lines (1996)
- Give and Take (1997)
- Play (1999)
- Voices (2001)
- These Times (2004)
- Who Let the Cats Out? (2006)
- Big Neighborhood (2009)
References
External links
