Intermediate
Intermediate
- Create beautifully dissonant tension within your solos.
- Summon “whales” with volume swells.
- Use repetition to empower everyday blues licks with devastating intensity.
Come along for the ride as Stern stuns the 1987 Newport Jazz Festival crowd, taking them from quiet jazz meditations to soaring blues-drenched crescendos.
Throughout my college years, I spent countless nights at New York City’s now-defunct 55 Bar, sitting literally six feet away from guitarist Mike Stern as he and his trio blew the roof off of the place time and time again. With that in mind, let’s set our time machine for the 1987 Newport Jazz Festival, and revisit a particularly thrilling live performance of “Original Rays,” an earworm of a tune co-written by Stern with late tenor saxophone legend Michael Brecker (the bandleader here) and keyboardist Don Grolnick. The original, more subdued studio version can be heard on Brecker’s 1987 debut solo album, in which Pat Metheny handles guitar duties, delivering a typically masterful solo. But it was Stern who would play guitar in Brecker’s touring band, bringing his trademark musical mix of beauty and brashness. Let’s take a trip through the tour de force that is Stern’s solo in a joyously raucous performance of “Original Rays.”
First, here’s the tune in its entirety. It’s recommended to watch all the way through to experience the full impact of Stern’s solo, which begins just as Brecker’s own spirited turn ends, at 5:24.
Whirling, Swirling Bends
Right from the very first notes of his solo, Stern reveals a quiet cleverness. Revisit the previous link to catch the moment he takes Brecker’s final phrase and playfully borrows it for his entrance. Stern is always listening to his bandmates, and this isn’t exclusive to jazz players. A classic use of call-and-response can be heard in the iconic outro solo in the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” As an aside, watch as Joe Walsh uses Don Felder’s exit lick for his entrance.
“Original Rays” is in the key of F major, and Stern’s solo begins with a brief bluesy interlude based around the F major pentatonic scale (F–G–A–C–D). Over the quietly understated droning F5 tonality, he continues his solo with his Boss DD-3 delay remaining on what he jokingly calls his “save the whales” setting. In Premier Guitar’s 2018 Rig Rundown, Stern briefly discusses why he keeps two DD-3s on his board; plus, you’ll see his exact “whale” settings on the left delay.
Next, Stern employs a series of ghost bends—silently bent notes where only the release is heard. He sounds each with a volume swell, which masks any pick attack, resulting in a smooth violin-type entrance. The key is to start with your volume turned completely off. Then, after silently striking the note, quickly turn up your volume knob to return to full volume. Watch as Stern executes a series of volume swells below, then play through Ex. 1 to take a few practice swings, without any pesky bending involved.
Here, Stern mostly explores the F major scale (F–G–A–Bb–C-D-E), but creates tension by targeting colorful notes. In that same segment, he targets the ninth (G) in two different octaves, allowing its tension to hang in the air before quickly resolving to the root (F) with the bend’s release (Ex. 2).
A Different Kind of Tension
Stern switches off his delay and wends his way through the next section by improvising a series of beautiful single-note passages. He again looks to create moments of tension, although this time he purposefully targets notes that are out of key. The phrase at 5:48 (Ex. 3) has him leaning briefly but forcefully into the flat sixth (Db) at beat 1 of measure 2, adding a welcome tension.
Stern again targets the Db with the chromatically-inflected phrase that begins at 6:01 (Ex. 4), allowing it to hang in the air just a bit longer than we think he might. It’s dissonant, but somehow beautiful.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the “Stern-ism” at 5:56 (Ex. 5), a trio of arpeggios moving up the neck in the key of F, implying Fmaj7 (F–A–C–E), then spelling out Bb (Bb–D–F) and C (C–E–G). You’ll catch him using variations of this phrase a few times at any given show to great effect. In fact, we’ll look at another a bit later in this solo.
Using Repetition to Maximize Intensity
At 6:14, Stern glances back at bassist Jeff Andrews and drummer Adam Nussbaum as if to say, “Get ready. It’s on.” With that, Stern engages his now-vintage Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive and ventures into blazing new territory, as he and the band begin to bring the simmer up to a boil. Experiencing him ratchet things up like this at 55 Bar was my introduction to the devastating power of the blues, of which Stern is a master.
There are so many fantastic moments that follow, as Stern moves from one thrilling crescendo to the next, each one more exhilarating. But it’s not just that he’s playing blues licks, it’s how he’s playing them. Sure, he has a nasty tone and is really digging in, but it’s his use of repetitive phrases that so often drives his points home. The first occurrence of this is at the 6:36 mark, with Stern employing stinging bends within a repeated blues phrase, varying it slightly each time (Ex. 6).
Listen further and you’ll hear him repeat more phrases, sometimes just once, but you can feel the energy rising every time. The phrase at 7:10 harkens back to Ex. 5’s ascending arpeggios, this time adding hints of repetition to the mix to create explosive bursts of ferocity (Ex. 7).
Then, following more examples of the power of repetition, Stern truly begins to soar at the 7:27 mark, where he repeats a simple blues lick with reckless abandon, as in Ex. 8. Use the tab only as a guide, as Stern fits in as many repeats of the phrase as he possibly can over these bars.
How much more can the audience take? No matter, because Stern has even more in store for them, and us. At 7:41, he makes his way over to his board to turn his delay back on, and proceeds to completely bring down the house. A whirlwind of lethal bends and blues fury follows, along with a blazing set of climbing tremolo-picked bent unisons at 8:10 (Ex. 9). The contrast of the longer note values here adds a palpable sense of drama, but you’ll need to pick just about as fast as you can in frenzied fashion, as Stern does.
Like a long-awaited exhale, the solo culminates with a thunderous F5 chord, announcing that we’ve arrived at our final destination.
Stern’s solo that day, like so many of his others, is a master class. He takes the audience on a thrill ride, at times seeming to fly out of control, but somehow always safely landing on his feet. A standing ovation follows. What more can be said?
I thought that was the end of the story. But just before finishing this lesson, I decided on a whim to do a quick YouTube search on “Michael Brecker Band 1987,” and I discovered even more gold. Here is Stern doing it yet again a few months later, and just as he did every night, absolutely destroying:
What do Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Joe Bonamassa, Tommy Emmanuel, and Peter Frampton all have in common? They made the PG host's list of favorite episodes from his seven-plus years on the job.
Click below to listen wherever you get your podcasts:
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PG’s Nashville correspondent shares his favorite moments behind the camera with some of the best guitar players in the world.
When PG started the Rig Rundown series in 2008, YouTube limited videos to a lean 10 minutes. Now running time is limitless and we've packed hundreds of hours of guitar geekery into more than 450 of these addictive videos, racking up millions of views while giving us all-access to what were formerly trade secrets.
For me, it's not so much about the gear as much as it is the stories behind it that makes these videos fascinating. So, in no particular order, here are my Top 10 Rig Rundowns.
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
Doyle was in full Misfits' makeup, shirtless, muscled up, and intimidatingly towered over me. This was my first interview ever, so I asked the basic questions about his rig and signed off. Then Doyle says in thick Jersey, "What? It's ov'r? I got all dressed up for this. Ask me more stuff." I realized this big scary monster was just a fun, 50-year-old kid who wants to make every day Halloween.
Mike Stern
In 2016, Stern tripped over construction debris left on the streets of New York, which resulted in two broken arms and nerve damage in his hands. It looked like Stern's reign as a jazz giant was over. A year later, Stern released Trip and was back touring and killing it. In this rundown, he revealed that he was having trouble holding onto a pick, so he started applying wig glue to his right hand. Stern's recovery is a testimony to the indomitable human spirit.
Joe Bonamassa
It's an unworldly experience standing next to arguably one of the greatest guitarists ever as he plays a '59 Les Paul through two Dumbles and two tweed Twins cranked so loud you can hear it from outer space. When Bonamassa said, "John, play this thing," I was both elated and terrified.
Tom Bukovac
Buk and I moved to Nashville around the same time. Although the attrition rate is fairly high for musicians here, 27 years later we're still standing. Buk is a great guitar player, but more importantly, he's one of the most musical people you'll ever meet. Just listen to his improv in the opening. He never runs out of ideas.
Steve Wariner
Chet Atkins assigned the honor of C.G.P., aka Certified Guitar Player, to his favorite pickers. There are three left in the world: PG has filmed Rundowns on two of them. Steve Wariner is a C.G.P., four-time Grammy winner. and mind-blowing talent. From his family band to his teenage years playing bass for Dottie West to playing in Atkins' band to becoming a huge country star, Steve's career odyssey feels like a movie. If the stories aren't enough, listen to Wariner rip on his signature Gretsch.
Tommy Emmanuel
Speaking of C.G.P., this Rundown is the most fun and informative 43 minutes you can spend online. Sitting next to Tommy as he plays is like watching Picasso paint. You see that it's just six strings and 10 fingers, but you hear an incredibly tight band. Not only is the playing amazing, Tommy is just plain fun and funny.
Peter Frampton
As we entered Frampton's massive studio, his iconic black Les Paul Custom was leaning on a stand, with a cable leading to a Klon, then an old Bassman with a talk-box running to a mic. Frampton, standing next to it, said, "Hi, I'm Peter. Here's my rig." He waited a few beats, then opened up a door to another room to reveal his real rig, featuring several boats of vintage guitars, two refrigerator-sized racks, two Bradshaw boards, stacks of amps, a trio of Marshall 4x12s, and more. Frampton's electric and acoustic performances during this rundown highlight his incredibly melodic playing. Somehow he makes his jazz leanings fit perfectly with classic rock 'n' roll.
Waddy Wachtel
When I was a kid, pre-MTV, you rarely saw live music on TV, but when you did, it seemed like Waddy Wachtel was always there. Any concert, be it Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Keith Richards, Stevie Nicks, etc.—at stage right was this guy rocking out with long, crazy hair, granny glasses, and bell-bottoms. He was the guy that made me think, "That's what I want to do: play with everybody." Waddy has great stories, like the time Stephen Stills sold him his 1960 Les Paul for $350, or giving his neighbor Leslie West his first Les Paul Jr.
Daniel Lanois
Lanois produced two of my top five albums: Chris Whitley's Living with the Law and Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball. Lanois was touring with his vintage Korg SDD-3000 that he's used since the '80s, on albums like U2's The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree.There were strips of whitetape across the top of the SDD-3000 covered with Sharpie'd tempo reminders from his tour with Emmylou when they performed the entire Wrecking Ball album live. As a pedal-steel player, it was amazing to hear him play his old Sho-Bud in some weird tuning I would've never imagined. His battered '53 Les Paul with a mini-humbucker from an old Gibson Firebird was the icing on the cake.
Larry Carlton
When Mr. 335 invited us to his Nashville home studio, I felt like I was meeting the Dalai Lama. Listen to Carlton's improv on the head and you'll understand why he's a legend.
[Updated 7/26/2021]