One of the most esteemed electric guitarists of his generation, Mike Stern has distinguished himself over a four-decade career that has encompassed musical partnerships with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Billy Cobham, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers and Joe Henderson, as well as 16 recordings as a leader (six of which were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards). An electrifying soloist whose blistering chops combine rock-fusion firepower with sophisticated jazz harmonies and his inherently bluesy string bending prowess, Stern has the ability to instantly elevate the proceedings on any gig or session he plays by channeling the spirits of his own personal guitar heroes Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall and Albert King. Born in Boston on January 10, 1953, Stern grew up in Washington, DC, then returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. He got his first big break with Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1976 at age 23. After touring and recording for two years with the popular rock band he was recruited by drummer Billy Cobham for a stint in his powerhouse fusion band Glass Menagerie from 1979 to early 1981. Stern was subsequently recruited by Miles Davis and was part of the jazz legend’s celebrated comeback band (with bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Al Foster, percussionist Mino Cinelu and saxophonist Bill Evans), making his public debut with Miles on June 27, 1981 at the KIX nightclub in Boston, a performance documented on the 1982 live album We Want Miles. During his three-year period with Miles, Stern appeared on two other recordings with the jazz maestro – 1981’s Man with the Horn and 1983’s Star People. He later toured with Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth Band from 1983 through 1985 then returned to Miles’ lineup for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year. In 1985, Stern made his recording debut as a leader with Neesh on the Japanese Trio label. A year later, he made his Stateside debut as a leader on Atlantic Records withUpside Downside, which featured such celebrated colleagues as alto saxophonist David Sanborn, tenor saxophonist Bob Berg, bassists Mark Egan, Jeff Andrews and Jaco Pastorius, keyboardist Mitch Forman and drummers Dave Weckl and Steve Jordan. Over the next two years, Stern was a member of Michael Brecker’s potent quintet, appearing on the tenor titan’s Don't Try This At Home. In the summer of 1986, Stern took to the road with David Sanborn and later joined an electrified edition of Steps Ahead, which featured Mike Mainieri on midi vibes, Michael Brecker on the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI), Darryl Jones on electric bass and Steve Smith on drums. That powerhouse fusion outfit was documented on Live in Tokyo 1986. Stern’s second Atlantic album, 1988’s Time In Place, featured drummer Peter Erskine, keyboardists Jim Beard and Don Grolnick, bassist Jeff Andrews and percussionist Don Alias. He followed in 1989 with Jigsaw, which included Mike’s menacing ode to Miles, “Chief,” and in 1991 with Odds Or Evens, the latter featuring the working group that Stern co-led with saxophonist Bob Berg and which also featuredste drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Lincoln Goines. In 1992, Stern joined Michael and Randy Brecker in a reunited Brecker Brothers Band, appearing on that year’s acclaimed release, Return of the Brecker Brothers. Stern’s own 1993 release on Atlantic,Standards (And Other Songs), earned him the pick of Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine. He followed that up with two hard hitting releases, 1994’s Is What It Is and 1996’s Between The Lines, both of which scored GRAMMY® nominations. In 1997, Stern recorded Give And Take with bassist John Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. Their freewheeling covers of Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” Cole Porter’s “I Love You” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Who Knows” helped Stern earn the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist that year. His ninth release for Atlantic, 1999’s Play, was a six-string summit featuring his friends and colleagues Bill Frisell and John Scofield. Then in 2001, Stern made his first foray into vocal music on the GRAMMY®-nominated Voices, which featured key contributions from singers Richard Bona, Arto Tuncboyaciyan and Elisabeth Kontomanou. 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, including bassist Richard Bona, saxophonist Kenny Garrett and banjoist Bela Fleck. Stern joined Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, with the August 2006 release of WhoLet the Cats Out? Included on the guest roster of this GRAMMY®-nominated recording are bassist-singer Richard Bona, bassists 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 virtuoso Gregoire Maret and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard. At the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in June 2007, Stern was honored with the Miles Davis Award, which was created to recognize internationally acclaimed jazz artists whose body of work has contributed significantly to the renewal of the genre. Previous recipients include Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker and Charlie Haden. Stern was also the artist in residence at the festival that summer of 2007, joining the renowned Yellowjackets for some electrifying live performances. Their kinetic chemistry was later documented on the 2008 studio collaboration Lifecycle, which was nominated for a GRAMMY® for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. 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 club in Paris with saxophonist Bob Franceschini, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Dave Weckl. This electrifying show in front of a capacity-plus crowd in May 2008 was captured on film for the DVD New Morning: The Paris Concert, released in March 2009. In February 2009, in the first in a series of articles to celebrate DownBeat’s 75th anniversary, Stern was named to the venerable jazz magazine’s list of 75 Great Guitarists. The list spotlights many all-time great jazz, blues and beyond guitarists and shows the wide-ranging influence that the guitar has had on music since it made its way into jazz in the 1920s. In August 2009, Stern released his ambitious, GRAMMY®-nominated Big Neighborhood, which featured a long list of talented guests, including guitarists Steve Vai and Eric Johnson, bassist-vocalists Esperanza Spalding and Richard Bona, jamband godfathers Medeski Martin & Wood, drummers Dave Weckl, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman Santana and Lionel Cordew, bassists Chris Minh Doky and Lincoln Goines, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, trumpeter Randy Brecker and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard. Stern was presented with Guitar Player magazine’s Certified Legend Award on January 21, 2012. This was given to him at the Muriel Anderson’s All-Star Guitar night where he performed with Lee Ritenour. Past GP Legends include Les Paul, Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, Larry Carlton, and Tommy Emmanuel. In June of that year, Stern released All Over the Place, which featured trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonists Kenny Garrett, Chris Potter, Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, drummers Dave Weckl, Keith Carlock, Lionel Cordew, Al Foster, Kim Thompson, keyboardist/producer Jim Beard and Mike’s wife, guitarist-vocalist Leni Stern. A delegation of high-caliber electric and acoustic bass players, including Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Victor Wooten, Anthony Jackson, Dave Holland, Tom Kennedy, Will Lee and Victor Bailey rounded out the all-star cast. On his latest recording, Eclectic, Stern goes toe-to-toe with Texas guitar slinger Eric Johnson in a scintillating, six-string summit meeting that is manna for guitar aficionados. And as the title suggests, these two modern day guitar heroes cut a wide stylistic swath on eleven originals while showcasing their mutual love of Hendrix on the iconic blues, “Red House.” Unlike his previous recording, All Over the Place, which featured a sprawling cast of characters, Eclectic was recorded in three days at Johnson’s studio in Austin with a core group of the two celebrated guitarists, bassist Chris Maresh and drummer Anton Fig (with only a few selected guests, including Mike’s wife Leni Stern on n’goni and vocals and singer-songwriter Christopher Cross on backing vocals). “My records lately have been with a whole bunch of different people, but this was really cool to just have one group and barely add any overdubs,” says Stern. “It was really kind of live, which I have always liked to do. We just set up and played. And because it was Eric’s studio, no one was looking at the clock. So the record really went down fast, but we had plenty of time to do it.” “The guitarist Mike Stern chases an elusive kind of modern fusion: hard-hitting yet nimble, precise but not technique-obsessed. At its best it’s a style that combines bop-like ensemble flexibility with the ruggedness of classic rock.” - New York Times “Few guitarists have managed to straddle so effectively the line that separates fusion and straight-ahead jazz as Mike Stern has done over the years, and his latest album is a typically thrilling blend of scratchy funk, swinging jazz, soulful blues and even calypso-flavored numbers. Guest musicians on this all-original program include bassists Anthony Jackson and Meshell Ndegeocello, drummer Dave Weckl, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove, among others. Brilliant.” - CD HotList Click here to contact Janet Williamson for artist availability and booking information.