Mulgrew Miller: Hand in Hand (1993)

Mulgrew Miller, a talented McCoy Tyner-influenced pianist, leads an all-star septet on much of this date. The main stars, however, are Miller's nine diverse originals which range from modal to Monkish. With tenor-saxophonist Joe Henderson appearing on five selections, trumpeter Eddie Henderson on six and altoist Kenny Garrett heard throughout the full CD, Miller has a perfect frontline to interpret his tricky but logical originals. Vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash do not exactly get overshadowed either. ~ Scott Yanow

Recorded at BMG Studios, New York on December 16 & 18, 1992. Includes liner notes by Mulgrew Miller.

Personnel: Mulgrew Miller (piano); Kenny Garrett (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Eddie Henderson (trumpet, flugelhorn); Steve Nelson (vibraphone); Lewis Nash (drums).

Tracklist:
1. Grew's Tune 
2. For Those Who Do 
3. Thinkin' Out Loud 
4. Leilani's Leap 
5. Like The Morning 
6. Hand In Hand 
7. Return Trip 
8. Waltz For Monk 
9. Neither Here Nor There
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Mike Stern: All Over the Place (2012)

Since his days with Blood Sweat & Tears in the mid-1970s, followed by stints with Billy Cobham and Miles Davis band in the 80s, and a solo career that now spans more than 25 years, guitarist Mike Stern has used his jazz roots as a starting point for exploring a range of alternate territories that include R&B, rock, swing, funk, world music and numerous other regions along the musical topography. The recipient of Guitar Player magazine s Certified Legend Award for 2012, he s an artist who's not afraid to bring numerous styles and ideas however diverse into the same place just to see what happens.

All Over the Place is Stern s new recording on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group. Set for release on June 19, 2012, the 11-song set aligns the characteristically diverse and adventurous guitarist with a cadre of brilliant guests, including trumpeter Randy Brecker; saxophonist Kenny Garrett; and drummers Dave Weckl, Keith Carlock and Lionel Cordew. Also on hand is a delegation of high-caliber electric and acoustic bass players: Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Victor Wooten, Anthony Jackson, Dave Holland, Tom Kennedy, Will Lee and Victor Bailey.

I' ve been playing a lot of different kinds of great music with a lot of different musicians on some of my more recent records, says Stern, whose Big Neighborhood released on Heads Up in 2009 followed a similarly eclectic vibe. I love bebop, swing, rock, all the stuff that a lot of guitar players especially jazz players tend to include in their music. It s the nature of the instrument, but very much a part of my nature as well. There s a lot of music that really inspires me, and it usually covers quite a few territories.

The guitar tends to keep you open-minded, because you hear it in so many places, says Stern, listing many places he himself has ventured along the way not just on All Over the Place, but in earlier work as well. You hear it in rock, in country, in pop, in funk, in classical, you hear it in jazz, you hear it in so many kinds of music that you can immediately identify it on one level or another.

Stern is ready at a moment s notice to go to all of these places and more, and he s ready and willing to bring anyone along for the ride. Music, to me, is a language of the heart, he says. I hope people will get some emotional payoff from what I ve done on this recording. That s the vibe that I continue to go for with all of my music.

Tracklist:
01. AJ
02. Cameroon
03. Out Of The Blue
04. As Far As We Know
05. Blues For Al
06. OCD
07. You Never Told Me
08. Half Way Home
09. Light
10. Flipside
11. All Over The Place
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Stanley Jordan: Friends (2011)

There is no guitarist quite like Stanley Jordan, a star from the moment Blue Note Records launched its second life in 1985 with his own commercial debut, The Magic Touch. In response, a respected reviewer stated that the lanky 26-year-old fresh from several years spent refining his craft as a Manhattan street busker had extended the limits of the guitar, adding that few players in the history of music of music have brought an instrument to a more radical crossroad.
He reached the public for reasons pertaining both to his astonishing chops (his sui generis touch technique, a pianistic approach that enabled him to play melody, chords and basslines simultaneously), exemplary musicianship, and consistent devotion to melodic and creative imperatives. But at a certain point in the early 90s, Jordan retreated from his career, and although he soon returned to public performance he operated without a label until 2008, when he released State of Nature on the rising-star Detroit-based indie Mack Avenue.
Whether playing in public or in the studio, it has been Jordan s intention to make his own inventions the primary focus of the occasion. But on his forthcoming release,Friends [Mack Avenue] (said friends include guitar heros Mike Stern, Bucky Pizzarelli, Charlie Hunter, and Rusell Malone; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; and violinist Regina Carter), Jordan is a consummate team player, prodding and igniting the flow on an 11-piece program that runs a 360-degree gamut of stylistic food groups.
At 52, Jordan has something consequential to SAY in each genre, as though he s thought deeply about each mode of expression over many years. Highlights include a four-to-the-floor, George Benson on steroids cover of Katy Perry s I Kissed A Girl (without overdubbing, Jordan plays the melody on piano while chording for himself on the guitar), an idiomatic investigation of Bela Bartok, a lively samba for Laws, and various ebullient, spectacularly executed interactions with each member of his guitar cohort. ~ Ted Panken

Tracklist:

01. Capital J [6:40]
02. Walkin' The Dog [6:10]
03. Lil' Darlin' [5:39]
04. Giant Steps [4:30]
05. I Kissed A Girl [5:43]
06. Samba Delight [5:26]
07. Seven Come Eleven [5:29]
08. Bathed In Light [7:45]
09. Romantic Intermezzo From Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra [8:29]
10. Reverie [3:56]
11. One For Milton [4:07]

Personnel:

Stanley Jordan: guitar, piano (5, 9);
Bucky Pizzarelli: guitar (3, 6);
Mike Stern: guitar (4);
Russell Malone: guitar (6, 11);
Charlie Hunter: guitar (2, 5);
Regina Carter: violin (7, 9);
Kenny Garrett: soprano sax (1, 8);
Ronnie Laws: soprano sax (7);
Nicholas Payton: trumpet (1, 8);
Christian McBride: bass (1, 8);
Charnett Moffett: bass (5, 6, 10);
Kenwood Dennard: drums (1-8, 10, 11)

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