''Big Neighborhood'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by jazz guitarist

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, ...

. The 2009 release was produced by

Jim Beard James Arthur Beard (born August 26, 1960 in Philadelphia) is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer who has worked with Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Dennis Chambers ...

and released by

Heads Up International Heads Up International is a jazz record label that was formed in Cleveland, Ohio. It was bought by the Concord Music Group in 2005. History The label got its name from a jazz group that Dave Love formed while attending North Texas State Universi ...

. It debuted at number five on the ''

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'' Top Traditional Jazz Albums chart and was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Overview

''Big Neighborhood'' was Stern's second release on Heads Up, a follow-up to 2006's '' Who Let the Cats Out?'' Most of the album was recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but Stern also traveled with a

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhyth ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

to record with guitarist Eric Johnson, and then to

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to record with guitarist

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

and drummer Dave Weckl. Vai played guitar on the title track and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

on "Moroccan Roll". The album was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album but lost to the

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

album '' 75''. This was Stern's sixth nomination in this category. The other nominees were ''

Urbanus Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...

'' by

Stefon Harris Stefon DeLeon Harris (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Biography A native of Albany, New York, Harris intended to work for the New York Philharmonic until he heard the music of Charlie Parker. During the 1990s he recorded ...

, ''

Sounding Point ''Sounding Point'' is the debut studio album by the then 21-year-old jazz guitarist Julian Lage. It was released in March 2009 by EmArcy Records. It entered the ''Billboard'' Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart at number 13 and was nominated for ...

'' by

Julian Lage Julian Lage ( ; born December 25, 1987) is an American guitarist and composer. Career A child prodigy, Lage was the subject of the 1996 short documentary film ''Jules at Eight''. At 12, he performed at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Three years later ...

, and ''

At World's Edge ''At World's Edge'' is the ninth album by jazz keyboardist Philippe Saisse. The 2009 release was Saisse's first on Koch Records. It was produced by Saisse and Roy Hendrickson and was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz A ...

'' by

Philippe Saisse Philippe Saisse is a French jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and arranger. Career He was born in Marseille and raised in Paris. After studying at the Conservatoire de Paris he won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Mus ...

Critical reception

Jonathan Widran of

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commented on the diversity of styles on "Big Neighborhoor", writing that it "range from blazing jazz fusion to African-tinged exotica and trippy Middle Eastern journeys." He called the release "one block party jazz fusion fans won't want to miss in 2009!" Bill Meredith quipped in the ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

'' that the album "simply lacks the unbridled improvisation and interplay of his stage shows" and that " e guests are also so numerous that things feel contrived". He closed his review by opining that "with better sequencing and a solid band ... tmight not seem so all over the place." In his review for ''

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'', Eric Feber wrote that "It’s a beautiful day in jazz guitarist Mike Stern's ''Big Neighborhood''" and closed with matter the genre or collaborator, Stern holds his own with lightning-fast, sinewy riffs and impressionistic guitar filigrees."

Tracks

All tracks composed by

. #"Big Neighborhood" - 7:40 #"6th Street" - 7:49 #"Reach" - 5:30 #"Song for Pepper" - 5:43 #"Coupe de Ville" - 4:36 #"Bird Blue" - 5:44 #"Moroccan Roll" - 7:06 #"Long Time Gone" - 7:52 #"Check One" - 7:39 #"That's All It Is" - 4:52 #"Hope You Don't Mind" - 5:18

Personnel

– guitar *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

– trumpet *

Bob Franceschini Bob Franceschini (born 1961) is an American jazz saxophonist and instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He has appeared on more than eighty albums including those of Mike Stern, Paul Simon, and Willie Colón. Franceschini grew up in Manhatta ...

– saxophone *

Bob Malach Bob Malach (born August 23, 1954) is an American jazz saxophonist. Malach learned several reed instruments in his youth, and played with Philadelphia soul bands such as The Stylistics and The O'Jays while still a teenager. He played in the big b ...

– saxophone *

– keyboards *

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

– keyboards * Eric Johnson – guitar *

– guitar, sitar *

Richard Bona Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer. Early life Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a ...

– bass guitar, vocals *

Chris Minh Doky Chris Minh Doky (born 7 February 1969) is a Vietnamese-Danish jazz bassist. He is the younger brother of jazz pianist Niels Lan Doky. He released his first album, ''Appreciation'', in 1989 four years after picking up the instrument. As a sid ...

– bass *

Lincoln Goines Lincoln Goines (born 1953) is a double bassist and bass guitarist from Oakland, California. Biography A mainstay of the New York City jazz/Latin/studio scene since the early 1980s and noted for his versatility and fluid style, Goines' extensive ...

– bass *

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...

– double bass, vocals * Chris Wood – bass * Cindy Blackman Santana – drums *

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

– drums * Lionel Cordew – drums *

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

– drums * Dave Weckl – drums Technical personnel *

– producer *David Boyle –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

*Craig Brock – engineer *Helix Hadar – engineer *Roy Hendrickson – engineer *Phil Magnotti – engineer, mixing *Bill Milkowski –

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

*John Shyloski – engineer *Ken Sluiter – assistant engineer

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Mike Stern albums Heads Up International albums