Mike Stern concerts in Europe

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One of the premier guitarists of his generation, the three-time Grammy nominee was born on January 10, 1953 in Boston. After growing up in Washington D.C., he returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music and got his start as a guitar player with Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22. Following a stint with Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band from 1979-1980, Mike moved to New York City and was recruited by Miles Davis and played a key role in his celebrated comeback band of 1981 (which also included bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Al Foster, percussionist Mino Cinelu and saxophonist Bill Evans). During his three-year period with Miles, Mike appeared on three recordings with the jazz maestro - Man With The Horn, Star People and the live We Want Miles. From 1983 to 1984, he toured with Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth band and in 1985 returned to Miles' lineup for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year. Mike's acclaimed 1993 Atlantic Jazz release, Standards (And Other Songs), led to him being named Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine. He followed that up with two hard-hitting offerings in 1994's Is What It Is and 1996's Between The Lines, both of which received Grammy nominations. In 1997, Stern recorded Give And Take with bassist John Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. Their freewheeling covers of Sonny Rollins' "Oleo", John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" Cole Porter's "I Love You" and Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows" helped Mike earn the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist that year. Stern's ninth release for Atlantic was a six-string summit meeting with colleagues Bill Frisell and John Scofield that was appropriately titled Play. 2001's Voices, his first foray into vocal music, earned Mike his third Grammy nomination. And now he ups the ante with These Times. Stern's 12th release as a leader and debut on ESC Records stands as one of the best of his career.