Mike Stern in Worcester

On November 21, Mike Stern visited Worcester, MA with his current touring band, which includes percussion wiz Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy on bass and Tom Malach on tenor sax. The show was hosted by WICN's "Jazz Rocks" DJ Walter St. Dennis.

It was very disappointing to see such a small crowd for a group of performers of this caliber. Of course, the Mechanics Hall is not a great place to put a "rock" band. It's designed for acoustic symphonic groups. The sound was muddy and fuzzy. Way too loud in my opinion, though no one else seemed to mind. I don't know what other venue would have held a band like this in the Worcester area. One would think that the colleges would like to have a top-level band like this on their campus.

Nevertheless, the musicians were very gracious, in spite of a grueling travel schedule, and they played well, smoking solos passed back and forth between band members. Stern plays very tunefully and also produces sound textures that are very compelling.

WICN followed up this concert with a show on the Yellowjackets last Monday. These recordings from a Jazz at Lincoln Center concert was fantastic, were interspersed with an interview with band member Russell Ferrante.