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Mike Stern New Morning: The Paris Concert HUDV7166
UPC: 053361 716691
Release Date: March 24th 2009
Includes Bonus Soundcheck Footage
GUITARIST MIKE STERN
MAKES THE FRENCH CONNECTION
ON NEW HEADS UP DVD
New Morning: The Paris Concert is due at retail on March 24, 2009
Guitarist Mike Stern, a five-time GRAMMY® nominee and a pivotal figure in the later years of the Miles Davis saga, is regarded as one of the most innovative jazz musicians on any continent in the past three decades. A frequent world traveler, Stern took his trio 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 (HUDV 7166), a live DVD scheduled for worldwide release on March 24, 2009, on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Filmed in high-definition TV, the DVD captures nearly two hours of riveting performance footage, as well as clips from the soundcheck and an interview with Stern about the trio, the performance, the celebrated French club and the passionate audience on hand for the show. Backing Stern on this gig is the expert crew of saxophonist Bob Franceschini, bassist Tom Kennedy and incredible world renowned drummer Dave Weckl (who also mixed the DVD) – all of whom take the viewer on what DVD producer/director Daniel Farhi calls “a journey of pure musical delight.” read more
GUITARIST MIKE STERN
MAKES THE FRENCH CONNECTION
ON NEW HEADS UP DVD
New Morning: The Paris Concert is due at retail on March 24, 2009
Guitarist Mike Stern, a five-time GRAMMY® nominee and a pivotal figure in the later years of the Miles Davis saga, is regarded as one of the most innovative jazz musicians on any continent in the past three decades. A frequent world traveler, Stern took his trio 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 (HUDV 7166), a live DVD scheduled for worldwide release on March 24, 2009, on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Filmed in high-definition TV, the DVD captures nearly two hours of riveting performance footage, as well as clips from the soundcheck and an interview with Stern about the trio, the performance, the celebrated French club and the passionate audience on hand for the show. Backing Stern on this gig is the expert crew of saxophonist Bob Franceschini, bassist Tom Kennedy and incredible world renowned drummer Dave Weckl (who also mixed the DVD) – all of whom take the viewer on what DVD producer/director Daniel Farhi calls “a journey of pure musical delight.”
Kennedy and Weckl – both St. Louis natives – have been working on and off as a unit since their teenage years, which makes for a seamless groove throughout the New Morning performance. “There’s an incredible chemistry between those two,” says Stern. “You can’t recreate that by putting any two guys together. Just based on the number of years they’ve played together, what they are as a whole is bigger than the two of them individually.”
Likewise, a similar chemistry among all five musicians in the current Stern lineup had emerged by the time cameras were rolling in Paris. “We had been playing together so much on that tour, it just seemed like there was always something cool happening at every gig,” says Stern. “We knew the music very well, so it was pretty much a given that we’d be able to play the stuff without any confusion. But whether or not it will be inspired is something you never know until the night of the performance. But it seemed like this particular gig had some cool stuff happening that everyone got into spontaneously.”
The eight-song set opens with “Tumble Home,” a minor blues piece that runs the gamut of dynamics and emotions. “It starts out with Dave on brushes,” says Stern. “He knows I really like that, and I love the way he plays brushes. He brings it way down. It gets kind of lyrical, and there are plenty of places to go. And then he picks up the sticks and we start swinging for a while, and by the end of it, it’s pretty rocking. It goes to a lot of places in a single song, which I like, and it’s very spontaneous. I like a lot of dynamics, and the song definitely has that.”
“Tumble Home” is immediately followed by “KT,” a song written for drummer Kim Thompson, who appeared on Stern’s 2006 Heads Up debut, Who Let the Cats Out? “Actually, I had already written the song before we made that record, but I didn’t have a title for it,” says Stern. “Kim said, ‘I want that tune to be for me.’ So I said, ‘Okay, I’ll call it KT.’”
“That’s All It Is” is a brand new song that is as simple and direct as the title implies. “Miles used to say that about some of his tunes,” says Stern. “He’d come up with something very short and very simple and then he’d say in his usual raspy voice, ‘That’s all it is,’ and we were supposed to make something out of it. But it was usually pretty clear what he wanted. This tune is like that. It’s a simple, fun tune.”
In the home stretch, Stern and company serve up energized renditions of two songs that predate the Heads Up era, yet merge seamlessly with the material from Who Let the Cats Out? earlier in the set: “Wing and a Prayer,” from Between the Lines (1996), and “Chromazone,” from Time In Place (1988). Both tracks serve to balance the equation that defines the live Stern experience: a masterful guitarist, a top-shelf crew of musicians and an audience in perfect tune with the music.
“It was just one night – the only night we played there,” says Stern. “But the crowd was really responsive. It was a special night, one of those moments when the band and the audience connect on a level that you can’t even explain. The best part is that, with this DVD, we’re able to capture that moment and bring it to an even bigger audience.”
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.
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 at age 22. Following a brief stint with Billy Cobham’s powerhouse fusion band from 1979 to 1980, he moved to New York City, where he was recruited by Miles Davis to play a key role in Miles’ celebrated comeback band of 1981 (which also included bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Al Foster, percussionist Mino Cinelu and saxophonist Bill Evans). During his three-year period with Miles, Stern appeared on three recordings with the jazz maestro – Man with the Horn, Star People and the live We Want Miles. He toured with Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth Band from 1983 through 1985 and returned to Miles’ lineup for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year.
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.
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.
Stern’s second Atlantic album, Time In Place (1988), delivered on the promise of his debut. He followed with Jigsaw (1989) and Odds Or Evens (1991), both of which ably showcased his legendary guitar prowess and musicality. During this period he also formed a touring group with Bob Berg that included drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Lincoln Goines. They remained a working unit from 1989 to 1992, at which point Stern joined Michael and Randy Brecker in a reunited Brecker Brothers Band, appearing on Return of the Brecker Brothers, released in 1992. Other notable sideman credits include work with the late tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and the live recording 4 Generations of Miles, in which he joins other Miles Davis alumni George Coleman on tenor sax, Jimmy Cobb on drums and Ron Carter on bass.
The ‘90s proved to be a prolific and critically successful period for Stern. 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. 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. Stern’s ninth release for Atlantic was a six-string summit with colleagues Bill Frisell and John Scofield that was appropriately titled Play. His Voices (2001) release, his first foray into vocal music, was also 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 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? Regardless of who let them out, the cats are indeed loose on this album, and making a serious noise. 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 (who also mixed the DVD).
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