Mike Stern (born Michael Sedgwick, January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, releasing more than 20 albums.

Stern was named Best Jazz Guitarist of 1993 by Guitar Player magazine. At the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in June 2007, he was given the Miles Davis Award, which was created to recognize internationally acclaimed jazz artists whose work has contributed significantly to the renewal of the genre. In 2009, Stern was listed on Down Beats list of 75 best jazz guitarists of all time. He received Guitar Player magazine's Certified Legend Award on January 21, 2012.

Personal life

Stern was born Michael Sedgwick in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Helen Stern (née Helen Phillips Burroughs), a sculptor and art patron, and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V. His adoptive stepfather was Philip M. Stern, the son of businessman Edgar B. Stern Sr. His half-sister is actress Kyra Sedgwick. Stern is married to guitarist and vocalist Leni Stern.

Career

Stern grew up in Washington, D.C., and began playing guitar at age 12, emulating the likes of B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. However, it wasn’t until he entered the Berklee College of Music in Boston that he took guitar seriously. When he was twenty-two, he became a member of Blood, Sweat & Tears and spent three years with the band, appearing on the albums More Than Ever and Brand New Day.

Simultaneously, he was lead guitarist of a D.C. glam-rock band, the Dubonettes, who later became Charlie and the Pep Boys. The quintet released one album, the Nils Lofgren-produced Daddy's Girl, in 1976 before Stern left the group.

In 1979, he joined Billy Cobham's fusion band. Two years later he joined Miles Davis, making his public debut in 1981, a performance recorded on the album We Want Miles. He remained with Davis through 1983 until he was replaced by guitarist John Scofield. At the time, Stern was a heavy drinker and heroin user. In a 2009 interview, he said, "If Miles wants to put you in a rehab, you know you've got something wrong". From 1983 to 1984 he toured with Jaco Pastorius (a period also characterized by heavy drug use) and in 1985 returned to tour with Davis. Stern and his wife were in rehabilitation; they were also helped by Michael Brecker and others.

thumb|right|Stern performing in Munich, 2001

He was presented with Guitar Player magazine's Certified Legend Award on January 21, 2012. This was given to him at the Muriel Anderson All-Star Guitar night, where he performed with Lee Ritenour.

In 2014, Stern toured with guitarist Eric Johnson in the Eclectic Guitar Tour. They recorded an album of the same name.

In the summer of 2016, Stern reported serious injuries to his shoulders and right arm after tripping and falling. It ended his European tour, and he had to modify his playing technique to keep performing. In the summer of 2017 he returned to Europe on tour with a new formation called Mike Stern/Randy Brecker Band, featuring Randy Brecker (trumpet), Teymur Phell (bass guitar) and Lenny White (drums). In 2019, Mike Stern collaborated with the Jeff Lorber Fusion to release Eleven.

Equipment

An early and important guitar for Stern was a hybrid 1950s/1960s Fender Telecaster, previously owned by Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton, which was stolen from him in an armed robbery in Boston. This guitar is the basis for a custom-made guitar built by Boston-based luthier Michael Aronson.

The Aronson guitar is in turn the basis for the Yamaha PA1511MS, the Mike Stern signature model.

Stern uses a pair of Fender Twin amps or his Yamaha G100-212. Stern's recognizable chorused sound is created in part by a Yamaha SPX-90, split for stereo. His pedal board consists mostly of Boss pedals. He uses two Boss DD-3 digital delays, one of which is set to a long delay time for "big, spacey sounds."

  • Certified Award, Guitar Player (2012)

Discography

As leader/co-leader

  • High Standards with Steve Slagle, Teddy Saunders, Harvie Swartz, Victor Lewis (Polydor, 1982)
  • Neesh (Trio, 1983) – aka Fat Time
  • Upside Downside (Atlantic, 1986)
  • Time in Place (Atlantic, 1988)
  • Jigsaw (Atlantic, 1989)
  • Odds or Evens (Atlantic, 1991)
  • Standards (and Other Songs) (Atlantic, 1992)
  • Dedication with Bunny Brunel, Billy Childs, Vinnie Colaiuta (Musidisc, 1992)
  • Is What It Is (Atlantic, 1994)
  • Vertical Reality with Jerry Bergonzi, Andy LaVerne, George Mraz, Billy Hart (Musidisc, 1994)
  • Between the Lines (Atlantic, 1996)
  • Give and Take (Atlantic, 1997)
  • 55 Bar Sessions with Hiram Bullock, Haru Takauchi, Leni Stern (Paddle Wheel, 1998)
  • Play (Atlantic, 1999)
  • Voices (Atlantic, 2001)
  • These Times (ESC, 2004)
  • Who Let the Cats Out? (Heads Up, 2006)
  • Big Neighborhood (Heads Up, 2009)
  • All Over the Place (Heads Up, 2012) – rec. 2011
  • Eclectic with Eric Johnson (Heads Up, 2014)
  • Trip (Heads Up, 2017)
  • Eleven with Jeff Lorber Fusion (Concord Jazz, 2019)
  • Echoes (and Other Songs) (Mack Avenue, 2024)

As a member

Blood, Sweat & Tears

  • More Than Ever (Columbia, 1976)
  • Brand New Day (ABC, 1977)

Steps Ahead

  • Live in Tokyo 1986 (NYC, 1994)

Bob Berg/Mike Stern Group

  • Games with Bob Berg (feat. Lincoln Goines, Dennis Chambers) (Jazz Door, 2008, Recorded live in USA 1990)

As sideman

With Miles Davis

  • The Man with the Horn (Columbia, 1981)
  • We Want Miles (Columbia, 1982)
  • Star People (Columbia, 1983)

With others

  • Randy Roos, Mistral (Spoonfed, 1978)
  • Billy Cobham, Stratus (Inak, 1981)
  • Michael Mantler, Something There (Watt, 1983)
  • Steve Slagle, High Standards (Polydor, 1984)
  • Harvie Swartz, Urban Earth (Gramavision, 1985)
  • Harvie Swartz, Smart Moves (Gramavision, 1986)
  • Lew Soloff, Yesterdays (Paddle Wheel, 1986)
  • Kimiko Kasai, My One and Only Love (CBS/Sony, 1986)
  • Bob Berg, Short Stories (Denon, 1987)
  • Shunzo O'no, Manhattan Blue (Projazz, 1987)
  • Harvie Swartz, In A Different Light (Bluemoon, 1990)
  • Jukkis Uotila, Live (Stunt, 1991)
  • Chroma, Music On The Edge (CTI, 1991)
  • Dieter Ilg, Summerhill (Lipstick, 1991)
  • Brecker Brothers, Return of the Brecker Brothers (GRP, 1992)
  • Tiger Okoshi, Echoes Of A Note (JVC, 1993)
  • Motohiko Hino, It's There (FunHouse, 1993)
  • Jerry Bergonzi, Vertical Reality (Musidisc, 1994)
  • Steps Ahead, Live In Tokyo 1986 (NYC Records, 1994)
  • Jim Hall, Dialogues (Telarc, 1995)
  • Les Arbuckle, The Bush Crew (AudioQuest, 1995)
  • Arturo Sandoval, Swingin' (GRP, 1986)
  • Hue & Cry, Jazz Not Jazz (Linn, 1996)
  • Jaco Pastorius, Live in New York City Volume Five - Raca (Big World Music, 1997)
  • Pat Martino, All Sides Now (Blue Note, 1997)
  • Jukkis Uotila, Avenida (Stunt, 1998)
  • Ron Thaler, Grain (Hot Wire Records, 1998)
  • Michael Brecker, Don't Try This At Home (Impulse!, 1998)
  • Charles Blenzig, Charles Blenzig (Chase, 1989)
  • Alex Riel, Rielatin' (Stunt, 2000)
  • George Coleman - 4 Generations of Miles (Chesky, 2002)
  • Michael Brecker, Jazz Academy: Pure Essentials for Jazzaholics (C&B Productions, 2006)
  • DR Big Band, Chromazone (EMI, 2008)
  • Yellowjackets, Lifecycle (Heads Up, 2008)
  • Cindy Blackman, Another Lifetime (4Q, 2010)
  • Jan Gunnar Hoff, Jan Gunnar Hoff Group feat Mike Stern (Losen, 2018)
  • Steve Bailey, Carolina (Treehouse, 2020)
  • Harvie S Trio, Going For It (Savant, 2021)
  • Michael Brecker Band, Live At Fabrik 1987 (Fabrik, 2022)
  • Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Bass Extremes, S'low Down (Vix, 2022)
  • Derek Sherinian, Vortex (Inside Out Music, 2022)
  • Dan Costa, Beams (Dan Costa, 2023)
  • Roman Miroshnichenko, Roman Miroshnichenko plays Stas Namin (SNC, 2023)
  • Varre Vartiainen, Head & Heart (Eclipse Music, 2025)

References

  • Official website