American guitarist Mike Stern to perform with jazzmen from Norway
Last year, famous American jazz guitarist Mike Stern gave a charitable concert for Chornobyl Memory Day at the Kyiv Music Academy. The hall was so overcrowded that it simply couldn’t seat all of his Ukrainian admirers. This time around, one of the most recognized and celebrated guitarists of his generation will perform together with Norwegian jazz performers Jan Gunnar Hoff band, within their united project “Magma.”
Jan Gunnar Hoff, a pianist and the band’s leader, composed a new piece called “Magma” for the August 2006 tour premiere, especially written for Mike Stern. Compositions by Hoff and Stern in new arrangements are also part of the program for this highly international and exciting new jazz/fusion project. The first tour of “Jan Gunnar Hoff Group feat. Mike Stern” was a big success with concerts in Bodoe, the Varanger Festival, Haugesund Sildajazz and the Trondheim International Jazzfestival.
Propelling highly charged electric jazz, American guitarist Mike Stern – once a member of Miles Davis’ and Randy Brecker’s numerous bands – remains a prominent representative of the genre. Three-time Grammy nominee Mike Stern has established himself as one of the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarists and composers of his generation.
Born on January 10, 1953, in Boston, MA, Mike Stern grew up in Washington, DC and later returned to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. After college, he started playing guitar with Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22. He then toured with Billy Cobham and played with Miles Davis for five years in the 1980s. Mike Stern’s 1993 album “Standards And Other Songs” earned him the title of Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year, voted by the readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine. In 2001, Mike Stern was one of the headliners of the Jazzkaar Festival. He reached the peak of his virtuoso craft with his album “Play,” followed by the “Voices” record which harmoniously combined a pop melody, world music and wordless singing.
Palats Ukrayina (103 Chervonoarmiyska, 247-2444)
March 24, 7 p.m.
Tickets Hr 40 to Hr 850
