Customer Reviews

Mike Stern Band: New Morning - The Paris Concert

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mike Stern is a jaw-dropping musician, and he surrounds himself with blindingly talented players; in this case, Dave Weckl, Bob Franceschini and Tom Kennedy. This band swings and slams equally well; I've seen Stern groups several times and he simply wails. Great stuff. One minor quibble: the title of this DVD is almost identical to the one Stern released a couple of years with Dennis Chambers and Richard Bona (also great), so ordering it was slightly confusing. Other than that, brilliant from the first riff.

What a group! Being a drummer, I bought it mainly because of Dave Weckl. but everyone is magnificent. Dave has matured into one of the greatest drummers of all time. Visual effects, lighting and sound are all great. I never tire of playing it. Highly recommended.

Stern is in good form here (as always). The backing band is top shelf. If you are a fan of Stern, go ahead and get this. Weckl does not disappoint. Franceschini is always in the right place/right time. A first for this viewer is seeing Tom Kennedy with Stern, which is worth the price of admission. I enjoyed the Soundcheck Sketches feature. Thanks, Mr. Stern -- all the best to you and everyone involved!

Let me just start with some background. I've listened to and loved Stern's playing since the late 80's. I have seen Mike live numerous times here in Los Angeles ( 8 times). Mike is one of the great jazz fusion live acts. My greatest recommendation is that you get to hear the true SOUND of JAZZ when you hear Mike live. This said, this DVD is no exception. Stellar sound, playing, improvisation, solos are all part of any Mike Stern show and this is no exception either. I will make one minor complaint though, while I have always enjoyed any group that Mike tours with, and have always enjoyed Dave Weckl, I will say that this isn't my favorite Dave Weckl performance. He seems a bit full of himself, a bit over the top, and generally too much of the same stuff on each tune. Dave is a great drummer/percussionist and technician, however he seems more the technician on this outting, and in my opinion, would have been better served with a less is more mentality. Too much long winded soloing, that at times seemed to have little to do with the arrangements kind of drug things out, and frankly, bored me. Usually when I've seen Mike live he used drummer Dennis Chambers, who I must say is always musical, amazing and seemingly quite humble. In spite of this complaint of mine, this is an extraordinary live show, the playing of Mike, Bob Franceschini, and Tom Kennedy are all the stuff of legend. Dave Weckl's playing on the songs is clean, crisp, and tasteful, just too many long, technical solos for me. If you have never seen Mike live, or never heard Mike Stern, you really need to check this out. This shows why he is a 30 year legend among guitarists and jazz/fusion afficianados. This CD has a great vibe with the Paris crowd, great songs, great sound, great photography, lots of useful close ups during solos, awesome soloing, everything that makes a Mike Stern show a must see event for any music or jazz lover.

Why, oh why didn't they have a music consultant in the editing room! The video and sound are hopelessly out of sync, which renders this totally unwatchable. Unless ... if you happen to have a fairly laggy HDTV and a surround sound receiver that allows you to create a time offset, you can get it fairly locked in. So, for the whole first tune I just had to look away. Then I realized it's all off by the same amount, at which point I knew there was hope. So with a difference of 105ms between when I see the video and when I hear the sound (sound before video), it got pretty good. If I could have gone further I would have, but my TV lags 105ms.

Dave Weckl absolutely kills at 1hr10mins! And everyone else is great as well. If you make the adjustment described above, this is well worth a viewing. Otherwise, it's still worth a listen.

... been a Stern fan for many years. I've seen him live just once here in Santa Cruz CA. This DVD is outstanding - cam angles, performance of all players, the recording , audience levels are just right, smiles, pretty girl in the 2nd row... and Mike is always amazing! Send this one thru your stereo system!

Here's your chance to see arguably the greatest electric guitarist on the planet do his thing with a typical Stern band of extraordinary sidemen. Those of us fortunate enough to live in or around NYC are spoiled by having the opportunity to see Mike perform almost weekly at the 55 Bar whenever he is in town. Now everyone can check-out his otherworldly talents. If you've never seen Mike do his thing, this is your chance to catch-up to what his fans already know. Not only is he a supremely gifted improviser and, perhaps, the best exemplar of "Bop n Roll", but Mike Stern is also one of the most talented songwriters to ever come down the pike. His originals stand-up to anyone's and the only question in my mind is why so few people have covered his tunes - especially his beautiful ballads. So, hold onto your seat, you are in for a treat.

Great performance, great selection of tunes, and great audio/video. A couple of shots were out of synch, but overall really great. Weckl plays like a freak of nature.

Amazing musicianship & beatiful music! Stern, like always, very energetic and full of musical expression. The dynamic-duo of Weckl and Kennedy...how could you go wrong, they complement each other so well!