Customer Reviews

Voices

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mike Stern's latest release is,......well, different. At least different than anything Stern has previously released. Different in the sense that Stern ventures out and incorporates some East Indian style vocals much in the same manner that Sting did on his release, "Brand New Day".

The vocals are nothing more than very simple phrases which are repeated throughout each tune like relaxing chants which harmonize pleasantly with the music. True to Stern's form, there are ample guitar riffs ("Slow Change" for example) and an outstanding supporting cast. Among the crew are Michael Brecker and Bob Franceschini who appear on sax and Vinnie Colaiuta who appears on drums.

At first blush, the new release will probably alienate some of Stern's hard core fans that have waited long and patiently for a new release, however, under the surface of the vocals there is plenty of great jazz music being played on this CD. Given a chance, the tunes will grow on you and have you humming along peacefully to the harmony.

Ok, crazy asses. Mike Stern is still a jazz guitarist. He's not the one doing the vocals. Its the bassist, who is simoultaneously ripping it up on the bass. The vocals are not words or lyrics, but may be called a different type of scat. I saw the "Mike Stern Group" in concert at the Aridium in Manhattan and it was the single most amazing experience of my life. Slow Change was the only song from this CD that they played, the rest were new ones. Almost all of the soloing, including the bassist/vocalist were impromptu. I have honestly never experienced anything like it in my life, watching these musicians groove like nobody can these days. I bought "Voices" and got it signed. Anyone who does not like this album has lost their groove. Most soulful, intricate, moving album I've ever heard.

Jazz is, by definition, about innovation, creativity, and change. Mike Stern moves in a new direction on this CD, and comes up with a masterpiece. He makes room for some beautiful African vocal harmonies, but the compositional structure is trademark Stern, with plenty of soaring guitar solos for longtime fans.

Previous reviews use the simplistic, dismissive "world music" tag to describe this CD. They miss the mark completely. It's amazing how self-styled jazz fans can be so stodgy and afraid of anything innovative or different. Jazz artists--at least the good ones--NEED to go in different directions, to not make the same CD over and over again.

This CD surprised me. I've seen Stern in concert many times, in large jazz clubs (Yoshi's, Oakland), medium jazz clubs (Catalina's, LA), and little dive bars (55 Bar, NYC), and his recent live performances have been stuck in time, playing tunes from "Play" (a great CD) over and over. Change was needed, and Stern outdid himself here. "Voices" is a great CD. Check it out.

This album is one of the most mature among the ones Stern produced before. Stern really grew in his understanding of music. The best piece, is the last.

Pat Metheny Group's "Offramp" and "Letter From Home" defined the category of jazz guitar and non-word vocal accompaniment. Al DiMeola's "Kiss My Axe" was a carbon copy of that approach, but nicely done due to DiMeola's superior guitar skills. There's nothing objectionable about Stern's copycatting here on "Voices" but it falls short. The band is energetic but it isn't proficient as a group in either concept or execution and Stern is only good, not "WOW!" or particularly gifted melodically.

What can I say? This CD is just a gorgeous piece of work. Nothing profound here - no shadows, pretty much all sunshine, but those who remember Pat Metheny in his Nana Vasconcelos period will welcome this effort. Michael Brecker puts in a couple of appearances too, and his strong jazz sound is a perfect counterbalance to the wordless singing of Richard Bona, Elizabeth Kontomanou, Philip Hamilton et al. We oldtimers may remember that Brecker and Metheny had an equally fertile collaboration back in 80/81. And those who fear Mike Stern may have compromised his chops should give a good listen to his blazing work on the final track, "Way Out East". Thanks, J. Dennis, Jazz Longboarder, for your recommendation.

Beyond his superb guitar-playing, Mike Stern is clearly one of the most talented composers writing music today. Every track on this album is amazing. The arrangements are deft, surprising, hard to imagine how they could be improved. In an era when each player/instrument typically has his/her/its own standalone function, Mike Stern has learned how to blend and create composite sounds -- derived not from studio engineering techniques or electronics, but from careful timing and complementary contributions that add up to more than the sum of the individual parts. This album is irresistible, soulful, magnificent, and inexhaustible. I have listened to it repeatedly and carefully, many many times, and I'm not nearly done with it. Track 6 ("Spirit") in particular is especially astonishing.

I'm not a huge fan of Stern, generally, but this album is superb! His blend of world music styles, using several different singers, makes a refreshing change from some of his past work.

This album is strong on melody and harmony. It often sounds like a tribute to Pat Metheny Group, and I mean that as a compliment! Indeed, Richard Bona (Metheny's new vocalist) sings on several songs. I highly recommend this recording to fans of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. You'll hear some similar song structures and ideas here, but done in Stern's own way.

A great album filled with lovely songs.

OK. I'm sitting at my desk, and I'm hearing voices. Not voices in my head, like a crazy person. Rather, I'm hearing Mike Stern's latest recording, Voices. The difference between me and a lot of the other reviewers on this site is that I'm really HEARING Voices, whereas it seems a lot of people are listening to it but not REALLY hearing it.

That doesn't make me right and them wrong; it just means, I think, that I've found "hermeneutic access" to it and they haven't.

A confession. For me, brilliantly executed world jazz is just about my all-time favorite music. This won't be news to those (all two of you) who've faithfully followed my Amazon reviews for the last three years or so; I plump it and promote it every chance I get, both through reviews and Listmania Lists. Just to recap, for me world jazz is an authentic jazz sensibility mapped onto an authentic world music. Both must be present for it to work properly. An authentic jazz vibe without an authentic world music vibe sounds like musical carpet bagging. An authentic world music vibe without an authentic jazz vibe sounds flaccid and cheesy. Two artists who define world jazz for me are early-mid Egberto Gismonti and Omar Sosa. Check out their records if you want concrete examples of what I mean.

Mike Stern comes at world jazz rather atypically: by the seldom assayed guitar hero route. The only three other people I can think of who've done this are the Fuzemeister, the great Dave Fiuczynski, especially with his rapturous disc, Kef; Al Di Meola, especially with his World Sinfonia group's The Grand Passion; and Nguyen Le, especially his breathtaking Bakida. OK, I guess to be fair Pat Matheny probably really started the whole guitar-hero-as-world-jazz-maestro with Off Ramp. Whatever. Anyhow, for me to place this disc in such exalted company goes a long way towards saying how great I think it is.

Including Richard Bona and Arto Tuncboyaciyan alone practically guarantees world jazz success. These two, who've got world jazz recording credentials out the wazoo, always bring something special to the table. Here, it's Tuncboyaciyan's percussion stylings more than his eerie wordless vocals, featured only on the final, but, it must be admitted, astounding number, "Way Out East," which also features the mesmerizing sax of Michael Brecker, THE defining tenor player of his generation.

Lastly, I want to be perfectly clear about one thing. Although Voices marks a distinct departure from Stern's earlier recordings, what's going on here has nothing to do with an attempt to get radio play, to broaden his audience, or to become more commercial, as some have suggested. Diehard Stern fans may not like this disc, and that's perfectly OK, but please don't impute to him reasons for making this move that simply aren't there. If he had wanted to be commercial, Voices would've ended up sounding like Bob Baldwin or Steve Oliver or The Rippingtons or hundreds of other jazz lite acts, and it bears little or no resemblance to them. What we get instead is authentic, deeply delved world jazz or jazz beat of the highest order complete with complex rhythms from a wide range of Third and Fourth World cultures and haunting, ethereal wordless vocals integrated into some of Mike Stern's finest playing on record.

All in all, it makes for some mighty fine listening, at least to these ears.

This album is definitely different from anything that Mike Stern has done before - Different is not necessarily bad. The music is as composed as that on Play and may in fact be more interesting from a composition standpoint. The objection to vocals by another reviewer is not really fair. The vocals on this recording are in fact for the most part using the voice as an instrument. What's the difference if its a voice or a sax? They are used well and I think that if Mr. Stern wants to use voice in his compositions that is his choice. In my opinion they are used well. His guitar playing is excellent throughout. He is backed by excellent musician. In my opinion this is an excellent recording. You should listen to it a few times as it is very different than the Jazz oriented Play or his other Jazz/Rock oriented recordings.