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UID:6b9860a9-7526-45fc-8eca-4ee6e1b1a2fc@findlocal.community
DTSTAMP:20261015T153835Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261212T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261212T210000
SUMMARY:MIKE STERN BAND
DESCRIPTION:Mike Stern’s Debut Release With Mack Avenue Music Group/Artis
 try Music Features Collaborations With Christian McBride\, Chris Potter\
 , Antonio Sanchez\, Dennis Chambers and Richard Bona Produced By The Lat
 e Jim Beard\, Stern’s Longtime Collaborator and Friend Mike Stern's new 
 album Echoes\, And Other Songs marks his debut release on Mack Avenue Mu
 sic Group/Artistry Music. Echoes delivers all the elements that longtime
  Stern fans want\, and then some: the hook-filled rapid-fire bebop writi
 ng\; the gorgeous melodic sensibility culled from African music\, gospel
  and other influences\; the breakneck improvisations that pepper hornlik
 e bop virtuosity with rock fire. Along with the announcement\, Stern has
  shared the lead single “Stuff Happens\,” which features the 9-time Gram
 my Award winner Christian McBride. “It’s definitely got a Blues vibe\, a
 nd it opens with a short but really wonderful solo from Christian McBrid
 e\,” Stern says of the track. “He is definitely not only one of the grea
 test upright bass players ever\, but he plays amazing electric bass. Of 
 course\, I knew that going into this project\, so I asked him to play a 
 lot of electric bass and he did that so beautifully on this tune. He pla
 yed great on everything.” Stern has been celebrated for his versatile pl
 aying style since he first hit the scene in the 1970s\, transcending gen
 res by performing with Blood\, Sweat & Tears\, Miles Davis\, Jaco Pastor
 ius\, The Brecker Brothers\, David Sanborn\, Béla Fleck\, Yellowjackets 
 and more. With Echoes and Other Songs\, Stern brings together an all-sta
 r group of musicians\, including Christian McBride\, Chris Potter\, Anto
 nio Sanchez\, Richard Bona & Dennis Chambers\, for 11 brand-new original
 s that will captivate and unite guitar and jazz fans of all generations.
  This is Stern’s first release since the loss of longtime producer and k
 eyboardist Jim Beard (who played on and produced the album)\, the closur
 e of Stern’s beloved 55 Bar\, and his 2016 injury\, from which he contin
 ues to face physical hurdles. Echoes and Other Songs is a powerhouse doc
 ument from one of the finest guitarists in jazz history\, at a time in h
 is career when he overcame immense physical struggles and experienced pr
 ofound loss. In the sheer might of these performances\, Echoes is a defi
 ant record — not so much a victory lap as a call to arms. Echoes and Oth
 er Songs could be considered a loving farewell to Jim Beard\, who passed
  away in March 2024. Beard acted as Stern’s go-to producer for over thre
 e decades\, and as a favorite keyboardist for even longer. “I’m not exag
 gerating when I call Jim Beard a genius\,” Stern says. “People would say
 \, ‘You should change up your producer — you know\, just mix it up.’ And
  I would say\, ‘Why?’ Everybody loved Jim. He was just great at what he 
 did — how he used technology\, how he produced\, how he mixed.” Stern go
 es on to describe Beard’s touch as a player. “Incredible.” He pauses. “R
 idiculous… Everything he did was perfect. The records he came out with w
 ere amazing\, but I think he could have done even more as a piano player
 .” In the end\, though\, Stern was most affected by Beard’s devotion as 
 a friend. “When I had the blues\,” he recalls\, “when I felt low and wan
 ted to talk to somebody\, he’s one of the people I would reach out to. I
 t would be short\, but he would know exactly what I was talking about. I
 t’s a heartbreaker.” Echoes also marks the first album Stern has release
 d as a leader since the West Village jazz haunt 55 Bar closed its doors 
 in 2022\, a casualty of the pandemic. Stern’s regular gig there was lege
 ndary\, enduring and advantageous\; it was at 55 where Michael Brecker b
 ecame interested in hiring the guitarist. His 55 residency also provided
  a physical-therapy regimen of sorts after Stern broke both of his humer
 us bones in 2016. He stumbled over construction materials on the street 
 in New York and fell\, and the aftermath included potentially career-end
 ing nerve damage that threatened his picking hand. The road to recovery 
 has been long\, hard\, and ongoing. Stern has had the abiding support of
  his wife\, Leni\, to help him\, as well as godsends like Dr. Alton Barr
 on\, an orthopedic hand specialist recommended by a friend\, fellow guit
 ar master Wayne Krantz. Advised by another pal\, the drummer Ray Levier\
 , Stern came up with an efficient system for holding his pick\, using wi
 g glue and tape. “It was a challenge and a half\,” Stern says\, “and it 
 still is\, sometimes\, just to accept it. It gets me really upset and fr
 ustrated because I used to play stuff with my fingers. I had to change c
 ertain things about my technique.” But Stern pushes on and rises above\,
  as he has throughout his career — like when he rejoined Miles Davis’ ba
 nd in 1985\, having found sobriety. Throughout Echoes\, you’d be hard-pr
 essed to find a second in which Stern’s chops are less than sublime. In 
 terms of expressivity\, his flatpicking has no limitations. “I’m gonna k
 eep trying with whatever I got\,” Stern says. “You know I got to. Becaus
 e I love it\, and love means that some days you hate it\; those two side
 s are on the same coin. But the love is definitely winning out.” Conside
 r Mike Stern’s Echoes and Other Songs his love letter to jazz\, to the g
 uitar\, to bandstand camaraderie\, and to his own undefeated will. Sonny
  Bailey-Lemansky (sonny@missingpiecegroup.com)\n\nTickets: https://www.e
 tix.com/ticket/p/49683638/mike-stern-mon121426-oakland-yoshis\n\nhttps:/
 /findlocal.community/event/6b9860a9-7526-45fc-8eca-4ee6e1b1a2fc
LOCATION:Yoshi's Oakland\, 510 Embarcadero West\, Oakland\, CA 94621
URL:https://findlocal.community/event/6b9860a9-7526-45fc-8eca-4ee6e1b1a2f
 c
STATUS:CONFIRMED
SEQUENCE:0
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