Mike Stern in New York

Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist, born in Boston in 1953, whose music draws on post-bop, jazz fusion, blues and rock. He played in Blood, Sweat & Tears and Billy Cobham’s band before joining Miles Davis, and his solo catalogue includes Upside Downside, Time in Place and Between the Lines. In 1981, Stern joined Miles Davis’s comeback band, touring with the trumpeter and appearing on the live album We Want Miles. He later toured with his own small groups, frequently joined by saxophone, bass and drums, while maintaining a long-running New York club presence through his weekly performances at the 55 Bar.

Randy Brecker is an American trumpeter and composer, born in Philadelphia in 1945, whose work spans hard bop, jazz-funk and fusion. He co-led the Brecker Brothers with his brother, saxophonist Michael Brecker, recording albums including Heavy Metal Be-Bop, Straphangin’ and Out of the Loop; his solo catalogue includes Into the Sun. The Brecker Brothers toured through the 1970s and early 1980s, bringing their horn-led fusion to jazz clubs, theatres and festivals. Randy Brecker and Michael Brecker revived the group in the 1990s for further concerts and recordings, and later performed Some Skunk Funk with the WDR Big Band at the Leverkusener Jazztage.