Big Neighborhood

Mike Stern | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 11, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Heads Up
• ASIN: B002BO26LO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,271 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 11-AUG-2009

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Varied and energetic. There's really something for everyone here., August 23, 2009

By 

bollywood (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Neighborhood (Audio CD)

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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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More stunning work from one of the all-time greats, September 1, 2009

By 

Thickerstrings (Washington state, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Big Neighborhood (Audio CD)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another solid Stern album but...., September 6, 2009

By 

Charles W. Mott III - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big Neighborhood (Audio CD)

Another very good album from what we would expect from Mike Stern. Rock and roll attitude, but still jazz. Steve Vai is incredible, reminds me that anyone that has written him off as just another guitar wanker overlooks the fact that this guy is an incredible musician, and ungodly talented at that. Eric Johnson is on here too, although this may not be his best playing on record, but still solid. Two of my personal heroes from the eighties, these were guys who sent me back to the woodshed with my guitar. Sorry SAtriani couldn't make it :). But the guitar interplay between Stern and Vai is a match made in guitar player heaven (on the limited songs that Vai is on). Stern is in incredible form on here. That said, there is not a lot different here, no surprises from a compositional standpoint, that makes this stand out from any other Stern album. Very good but not great (Play was the last great Stern album). Worth buying. What Mike Stern isn't?