Search - Mike Stern :: Big Neighborhood

Big Neighborhood
Mike Stern
Big Neighborhood
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Metal
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1

Mike Stern's music has always come from a colorful and diverse part of town - a place where numerous artistic styles converge to create a fresh sound that's rooted in jazz but refuses to adhere to rigid borders. Since his ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Mike Stern
Title: Big Neighborhood
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Heads Up
Original Release Date: 1/1/2009
Re-Release Date: 8/11/2009
Genres: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Metal
Styles: Jazz Fusion, Smooth Jazz, Bebop, Rock Guitarists
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 053361315726

Synopsis

Album Description
Mike Stern's music has always come from a colorful and diverse part of town - a place where numerous artistic styles converge to create a fresh sound that's rooted in jazz but refuses to adhere to rigid borders. Since his earliest recordings, this former bandmate of Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, Billy Cobham and other high-profile innovators has grafted elements of rock, blues, soul and more to his solid jazz foundations. On Stern's street, anybody who brings a sense of energy, eclecticism and passion to the craft of music is welcome to play.Stern invites fans and newcomers alike into his rich and diverse little corner of the world with the release of Big Neighborhood. Aiding Stern in this latest chapter of his never-ending quest for the new and better groove is a long list of talented guests: 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 and Lionel Cordew; bassists Chris Minh Doky and Lincoln Goines, and several others.With a crew this large and diverse, the idea of the album title should be pretty clear, says Stern. "Music is like a big neighborhood - a place where anything and everything can happen," he explains. "You can find all kinds of things in a big neighborhood - all kinds of different people, all kinds of different ideas and perspectives, and of course, all kinds of different sounds."Mike Stern's Big Neighborhood is an open community where everyone is welcome. Everyone has something worthwhile to say, and everyone is given plenty of room to say it. "The thing that really gets me going is listening to all these very different artists on this record interpret my songs," says Stern. "In the end, everything is unified by the mere fact that there's a lot of spirit and a lot of fun in the music. That's really the common thread. There's just that vibe that emerges when good musicians play their hearts out. Nothing else really matters as far as I'm concerned...I think anyone who likes any of these artists will really dig what they did on this record."

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CD Reviews

Varied and energetic. There's really something for everyone
bollywood | 08/24/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 55-year-old American is no rocker, but a Berklee-trained jazz musician. His musical acquaintances speak for his tastes: Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker, John Scofield and Dennis Chambers are among his collaborators over the years. And of all those names, it is Stern's that represents jazz's closest accommodation with rock.

He's very eclectic and the title of the record explains it all!

Over the years his music has been incorcorating into his music many genres: rock, jazz, Latin, African and Middle Eastern grooves and he has travelled the word: his playing transcends genres and he's just as likely to attract a rock crowd as much a discerning jazz audience. The world is his backyard.

That's the reason why he calls his music ... his "big neighbourhood"!

His playing transcends genres and he's just as likely to attract a rock crowd as much a discerning jazz audience

We can feel it in his latest abum, which at the first listen, may appear a little idiosyncratic, since it shows so many genres packed desparately together.

"Big Neighborhood" is firmly tied together by the excellent production by pianist Jim Beard and Mike's distinctive compositions.

It's a largely live in the studio sound, with the usual musicians dave Weckl, Lincoln Goines and Minh Doky, in order to keep the core rhythm section secure and his trademark bedrock sound ever-present, whoever the guest is.

He is joined by guitarists Steve Vai and Eric Johnson, bassist-vocalists Esperanza Spalding and Richard Bona, Medeski Martin and Wood, drummers Dave Weckl, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman and Lionel Cordew. And of course other "guests" - Franceschini, Beard - are all long time associates.

Randy Brecker (trumpet) and Bob Malach (saxophone) also lend a hand on a couple of tracks.

The record is fuelled and fiery, wavering between full on fusion through to tasty hard bop. The prodigious gunslinger fires out riffs ten to the dozen, bristling with indefatigable energy and pushing the harmonic limits where ever he can.

His sheer voluminous, virtuoso fretwork shines throughout and the natural rapport the band has is all too self evident,egged on by Stern's utter enthusiasm.

There really is something for everyone here.

Enjoy!

The album debuts at # 7 of the Billboard Top Jazz Albums.

Issue date: August 29, 2009

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More stunning work from one of the all-time greats
Thickerstrings | Washington state, U.S.A. | 09/02/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mike Stern, brilliant as always, usually includes several styles on every CD, as he does here. The vast range is sometimes difficult for casual fans to absorb, and that's fair. But I'd suggest being patient and listening a bit closer, because it's only a matter of time before you're mesmerized. He's an insanely talented guitarist and composer, and he surrounds himself with flamethrowing collaborators (Weckl, Tom Kennedy, Dennis Chambers, all the tenor players). I'll be the first to admit his CDs don't have quite the level of fire of his live shows, but that's true for just about every band. Live, he rips. On record, equally amazing."
Good, but far from his best work
Not A. Rockstar | United States | 10/22/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)

"There are some good tunes on here, but it's a bit of a let down from his last few releases. The songs with Esperanza are probably my favorite, but most of the others seem like slight variations of other previous works without the magic. Get his recent live DVD instead."