Echoes And Other Songs (2024)

"The death of keyboardist Jim Beard at the age of 63 in March this year left many in deep shock, such was his continuous presence in the highest echelons of jazz as both player and producer with everyone from Steely Dan, to John McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter. He appears here as both player and producer on this effusive latest set from another indefatigable jazz fusion figure, Mike Stern. No stranger to adversity himself, Stern has made an emphatic comeback from a near career-ending fall in 2017 that broke both his arms, and if anything "Echoes And Other Songs" is something of a late-career high for the eternally energetic six-stringer, who’s now 71 years young. Joined by one of his hardest hitting bands in recent years – the ubiquitous Chris Potter firing from the off, McBride and Sanchez the perfect simpatico rhythm section, there’s a suitably uplifting vibe permeating these sessions, with everyone sounding overjoyed to be backing up their guitar hero Mr Stern." (Jazzwise)