Mike Stern is a great guitar player who plays jazz and fusion on a solid body electric guitar. For many years he had used a Fender Telecaster guitar, but now his main instrument is a signature Yamaha Pacifica guitar.
Mike Stern has studied on the Berklee College, he played with Blood, Sweat and Tears in the 70s. Later he played together with Billy Cobham and had a cooperation with Miles Davis. Finally he began with several of his own bands.
This is an exclude from the intruduction to an interview with Mike Stern (see below):
Mike Stern was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Washington, D.C. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston making important and life-long connections and friendships with Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, and others. He landed his first big break at the age of 22 playing with Blood, Sweat and Tears, which he followed up with a spot in drummer Billy Cobham’s powerhouse fusion group in 1979. In 1981, Miles Davis recruited him for Davis’s much anticipated comeback group that also featured Al Foster, Bill Evans, and Marcus Miller. After leaving Davis, Stern formed his first of many Mike Stern Groups.
Next weekend Mike Stern will play here in Freiburg together with Didier Lockwood (violin) and Alain Caron (bass) – two interesting musicians that I plan to present here in my blog within the next weeks. The group is completed by Lionel Cordew on drums.
This is a great video with Mike Stern on his Telecaster guitar:
Mike Stern -semplicemente stupendo-.wmv
E’ l’assolo di Mike che amo di pù poichè riesce a coniugare tecnica, velocità e fantasia: semplicemente stupendo!
Mike Stern about his equipement:
Finally a video with one of my favorite tunes – My Favorite Things from the musical Sound of Music. I hope that this video will not be removed due to copyright restrictions:
Mike Stern – My Favourite Things
Mike Stern – My Favourite Things
from the abum Giant Steps in Fusion Guitar
I have also listened to a concert with Mike Stern and Joe Lovano from NPR – a great performance. Mike Stern plays two of his pieces:
- Mike Stern Quartet
- “Tumble Home” (Stern)
- “Slow Change” (Stern)
More information about Mike Stern:
Homepage: http://www.mikestern.org/
Wikipedia (English) about Mike Stern: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Stern
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mikesternjazz
NPR – concert with Mike Stern and Joe Lovano: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91688674
Mike Stern Interview: http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/002213.html