First Yellowjackets Recording in 15 Years to Feature a Guitarist
Set For Worldwide Release On May 20, 2008
According to some basic, undeniable laws
of nature, when two powerful forces collide, something explosive
will occur, and a dramatic transformation is likely to take
place as a result. It’s a law that applies to every
dynamic in the known universe, including jazz.
It stands to reason, then, that when a formidable jazz quartet
like the Yellowjackets convenes in the studio with a high-energy
guitar virtuoso like Mike Stern, the resulting reaction will
be a singular event – one that’s likely to create
something entirely new on the jazz landscape.
This phenomenon is captured on Lifecycle (HUCD 3141),
the new collaborative recording by the Jackets and Stern set
for worldwide release on Heads Up International a division
of Concord Music Group on May 20, 2008. The first Yellowjackets
recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player, Lifecycle
illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that
results when five talented players pool their individual talents
as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that’s
far greater than the sum of its parts.
First Yellowjackets Recording in 15 Years to Feature a Guitarist
Set For Worldwide Release On May 20, 2008
According to some basic, undeniable laws
of nature, when two powerful forces collide, something explosive
will occur, and a dramatic transformation is likely to take
place as a result. It’s a law that applies to every dynamic
in the known universe, including jazz.
It stands to reason, then, that when a formidable jazz quartet
like the Yellowjackets convenes in the studio with a high-energy
guitar virtuoso like Mike Stern, the resulting reaction will
be a singular event – one that’s likely to create
something entirely new on the jazz landscape.
This phenomenon is captured on Lifecycle (HUCD 3141),
the new collaborative recording by the Jackets and Stern set
for worldwide release on Heads Up International a division of
Concord Music Group on May 20, 2008. The first Yellowjackets
recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player, Lifecycle
illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that
results when five talented players pool their individual talents
as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that’s
far greater than the sum of its parts.
After simmering for years, the idea for the project reached
critical mass when Stern and the Jackets performed together
at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the summer of 2007. “We’ve
all been a fan of Mike’s for a long time,” says
Yellowjackets keyboardist and charter member Russell Ferrante.
“Our goal was to make a recording that sounded like Mike
had been in the band forever, and I think we accomplished that.
To my ears, it feels cohesive – like five musicians with
a genuine rapport.”
From the Montreal dates in the heat of the summer to the studio
sessions in rural New York State in January 2008, Stern felt
the same sense of rapport. “The Yellowjackets are a great
band,” he says. “I think we have a lot in common
musically, and our playing together felt very natural right
away. They’re the ideal collaborative team. It’s
so easy to play with them because they play so well together.”
Lifecycle is, in some respects, two albums in one.
Seven of the ten tracks are quintet pieces featuring Stern and
the Jackets, while the remaining three are quartet pieces that
showcase the individual and collective talents of the current
Yellowjackets lineup: Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist
Jimmy Haslip and drummer Marcus Baylor.
Whatever the combinations and permutations, it’s all good.
Mintzer contributes three tracks: the energetic opener, “Falken’s
Maze,” the rhythmically complex “Yahoo,” and
the easygoing “I Wonder.”
Stern’s soloing on all three of these tracks is tastefully
executed and in perfect sync with Mintzer’s ambitious
sensibilities. “Rhythmically, these songs were a challenge
for me,” says Stern, “but I’m always up for
a challenge. I don’t usually play in odd time signatures,
but the rest of the guys made even the challenging situations
comfortable, and I was able to lay down some good solos for
Bob’s compositions.”
“Mike is such a great musician,” says Mintzer. “I
wrote these songs as a way to showcase what he can do, and once
he got a hold of them, he took them to a whole new place. There’s
a certain flexibility that you need to have when you write for
a band like this. You have to be ready for things to take a
different direction. That’s definitely what has happened
here, and it’s fantastic.”
More than just a highly skilled and versatile soloist, though,
Stern contributes two songs to the mix – the syncopated
and playful “Double Nickel,” followed immediately
by the more somber “Dreams Go.”
Ferrante contributes the introspective “Measure of a Man”
and the gently melodic “Claire’s Closet,”
both written for the quartet without guitar. “I think
the quartet pieces offer a contrast to the more high-octane
pieces that feature the guitar,” says Ferrante. “I
was especially happy with ‘Claire’s Closet.’
Bob’s clarinet adds a very evocative quality to that song.”
Haslip’s contributions include the vaguely funky “Country
Living,” along with “Lazaro,” an atmospheric
piece that he co-wrote with Mintzer. “I had actually started
writing ‘Lazaro’ for a solo record, but in the end,
the piece had kind of a Jackets vibe to it,” Haslip explains.
“I thought it would be interesting to finish it with Bob’s
help, and he came up with some great stuff. I think that piece
is a really fine collaboration.”
Holding down the diversity of songwriting, the unusual time
signatures and the subtle rhythmic shadings is Baylor, the relative
newcomer who marks his seventh year as the Jackets’ drummer.
“As the drummer, you have to be able to colorize the tunes,”
he says. ‘There are a lot of textures that go into playing
with a band like this. There are a lot of subtle points in any
given composition. Playing the drums in a band like this is
almost like putting accents on a painting.”
But the release of Lifecycle in May is just the beginning
of a picture that will continue to evolve throughout most of
2008. With the success of last year’s Montreal Jazz Festival
gigs, and armed with a new album that captures that onstage
magic, Stern and the Yellowjackets will hit the road together
later in the year for a series of U.S. and European tour dates
in support of the album.
“I can’t wait to play some of this music in concert
with Mike,” says Haslip. “He’s a great artist
with so much enthusiasm, and we’re honored to have had
the chance to make a record like this with him. For a good part
of this year, the Yellowjackets will be a quintet, and we’re
very much looking forward to every minute of that experience.”
For more than 25 years, the Yellowjackets have pushed the boundaries
of improvisational jazz, and have been leaders in the music’s
inescapable evolution.
The Yellowjackets began as the Robben Ford Group, a three-piece
backup unit assembled for the guitarist’s 1977 release,
The Inside Story. However, when Ford and his band headed
in different creative directions, keyboardist Russell Ferrante,
bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson renamed themselves
the Yellowjackets and released their self-titled debut album
in 1981. Ford made appearances on the Jackets’ first couple
recordings, then moved on to other projects.
With the success of innovative instrumental bands like Weather
Report around the same time, crossing and merging genres had
become a successful strategy. By 1987, Lawson had left the band
and was replaced by William Kennedy, whose polyrhythmic sensibilities
opened doors to an even greater sense of exploration. The result
of this exploratory sensibility was Four Corners, a
1987 recording with a distinctly world music sensibility.
Subsequent albums dispensed with some of the multi-layered intensity
of Four Corners and took a more acoustic direction.
Greenhouse, released in 1990, welcomed tenor saxophonist
Bob Mintzer into the Yellowjackets lineup. Mintzer’s dedication
to the jazz tradition, along with his highly developed skills
as an arranger, have since taken the Jackets to a new level
of sophistication.
Throughout the ‘90s, the Jackets continued to explore
a diverse cross-section of sound and rhythm. They entered the
new millennium with their self-released Mint Jam, recorded
live at the Mint in Los Angeles in July 2001 and released the
following year. The two-disc set was nominated for a GRAMMY®
for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Backing up the regular lineup
of Ferrante, Haslip and Mintzer on Mint Jam is drummer
Marcus Baylor, who has since become a permanent member of the
band.
Time Squared, the followup to Mint Jam, was
released on Heads Up in May 2003. Their first studio recording
in five years, Time Squared captures much of the energy
and spontaneity that made Mint Jam a formidable GRAMMY®
contender.
Peace Round, the 2004 holiday album, includes several
traditional holiday songs, each with a unique contemporary jazz
spin. Altered State, released in March 2005, continues
to merge the traditional with the progressive by exploring unusual
time signatures and exotic rhythms.
The Yellowjackets celebrated their milestone 25th anniversary
with the 2006 CD/DVD release of the aptly titled Twenty-Five,
which captured live performance in France and Italy.
In the summer of 2007, the Yellowjackets were joined by guitar
virtuoso Mike Stern for some electrifying performances at the
Montreal Jazz Festival. The dates served as the catalyst for
Lifecycle, a Jackets/Stern studio collaboration that
promises to be one of the most innovative and memorable jazz
albums of 2008. The first Yellowjackets recording in 15 years
to feature a guitar player, Lifecycle illustrates the
kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five
talented players pool their individual skills as songwriters
and musicians and merge into an entity that’s far greater
than the sum of its parts.
Lifecycle is set for release on May 20, 2008, and the
band is scheduled to play a series of tour dates with Stern
throughout the year.
MIKE STERN
In a career that spans three decades and a discography that
includes more than a dozen eclectic and innovative recordings,
four-time GRAMMY® nominee Mike Stern has established himself
as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers
of his generation.
Born in Boston in January 1953, Stern grew up in Washington,
DC, then returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College
of Music. After college, he got his start as a guitar player
with Blood, Sweat & Tears at age 22. Following a brief stint
with Billy Cobham’s powerhouse fusion band from 1979 to
1980, he moved to New York City, where he was recruited by Miles
Davis to play in Miles’ celebrated comeback band of 1981.
Stern appeared on three recordings with the jazz maestro –
Man with the Horn, Star People and the live We
Want Miles. He toured with Jaco Pastorius’ Word of
Mouth Band from 1983 through 1985 and returned to Miles’
lineup for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year.
In 1985, Stern recorded Neesh, his first recording
as a leader, for the Japan-based Trio label. A year later, he
made his debut on Atlantic with Upside Downside, featuring
such celebrated colleagues as David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius,
saxophonist Bob Berg, bassists Mark Egan and Jeff Andrews, keyboardist
Mitch Forman and drummers Dave Weckl and Steve Jordan. Over
the next two years, Stern was a member of Michael Brecker’s
potent quintet, appearing on Don't Try This At Home.
In the summer of 1986, Stern toured with David Sanborn and later
joined an electrified edition of Steps Ahead, which featured
Mike Mainieri on midi vibes, Michael Brecker on the Electronic
Wind Instrument (EWI), Darryl Jones on electric bass and Steve
Smith on drums.
Stern’s second Atlantic album, Time In Place
(1988), delivered on the promise of his debut. He followed with
Jigsaw (1989) and Odds Or Evens (1991), and
at the same time formed a touring group with Bob Berg that included
drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Lincoln Goines. They remained
a working unit from 1989 to 1992, at which point Stern joined
Michael and Randy Brecker in a reunited Brecker Brothers Band,
appearing on Return of the Brecker Brothers, released
in 1992.
The ‘90s proved to be both prolific and critically successful
for Stern. His acclaimed 1993 release, Standards (And Other
Songs), earned him the pick of Best Jazz Guitarist of the
Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine.
He followed that up with two hard-hitting offerings –
Is What It Is in 1994 and Between The Lines in
1996 – both of which scored GRAMMY® nominations.
In 1997, he recorded Give And Take with bassist John
Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias
and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. Stern’s
ninth release for Atlantic was a six-string summit with colleagues
Bill Frisell and John Scofield that was appropriately titled
Play. His Voices (2001) release, his first
foray into vocal music, was another GRAMMY® nominee.
After 15 years with Atlantic, Stern shifted to ESC for the 2004
release of These Times, an eclectic set that included
guest appearances by some high-profile session players –
bassist Richard Bona, saxophonist Kenny Garrett and banjoist
Bela Fleck.
Stern joined the Heads Up International label with the August
2006 release of Who Let the Cats Out? an album with
an impressive guest roster: trumpeter Roy Hargrove; bassists
Richard Bona, Anthony Jackson, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chris Minh
Doky and Victor Wooten; and many others. Who Let the Cats
Out? scored Stern his fourth GRAMMY® nomination (Best
Contemporary Jazz Album) in December 2006.
After some highly successful Montreal Jazz festival dates with
the Yellowjackets in the summer of 2007, Stern joined Jackets
in the studio for the making of Lifecycle, the first
Yellowjackets recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player.
Lifecycle is scheduled for release on May 20, 2008, and
Stern is set to play numerous tour dates with the Jackets throughout
the remainder of the year.
