Mike Stern, guitar
Workshop
Dec 06, 2011 - 11:30 AM
MU35
FREE
Guitarist Mike Stern, known for his work with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Jaco Pastorius, and Blood Sweat and Tears, as well as for numerous critically acclaimed solo albums, leads a clinic/workshop with UW jazz students.
ARTIST BIO
Mike Stern, guitar
In a career that spans three decades and a discography that includes more than a dozen eclectic and innovative recordings, six-time Grammy nominee Mike Stern has established himself as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers of his generation.
Born in Boston in January 1953, Stern grew up in Washington, DC, then returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. After college, he got his start as a guitar player with Blood, Sweat & Tears. Following a brief stint with Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band, he moved to New York City, where he was recruited by Miles Davis to play a key role in Davis's celebrated comeback band of 1981.
In 1985, Stern recorded Neesh, his first recording as a leader, for the Japan-based Trio label. A year later, he made his debut on Atlantic with Upside Downside, featuring such celebrated colleagues as David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, saxophonist Bob Berg, bassists Mark Egan and Jeff Andrews, 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 Don't Try This At Home.
His acclaimed 1993 release, 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 offerings - Is What It Is in 1994 and Between The Lines in 1996 - both of which scored Grammy nominations. In 1997, he recorded Give And Take with bassist John Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. That same year, Stern earned the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist. His ninth release for Atlantic was a six-string summit with colleagues Bill Frisell and John Scofield, entitled Play. In 2001 his first foray into vocal music, Voices, was another Grammy nominee.
After 15 years with Atlantic, Stern shifted to ESC for the 2004 release of These Times, an eclectic set that included guest appearances by high-profile session players - 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 Who Let the Cats Out? Included on the guest roster were bassists Richard Bona, 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. Stern received his 4th Grammy nomination for Who Let The Cats Out?.
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, Michael Brecker and Charlie Haden. Stern was also the artist in residence.
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.
In August 2009, Stern released Big Neighborhood, which was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
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