Play (Mike Stern album)

Play
Studio album by Mike Stern
Released	September 14, 1999
Recorded	December 1998 – January 1999
Studio	Litho Studios (Seattle Washington) Kampo Studios and Avatar Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre	Jazz Rock Blues
Length	62:37
Label	Atlantic Records [1]
Producer	Jim Beard
Mike Stern chronology
Give and Take (1997) Play (1999) Voices (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[2]

Play is an album by the American jazz guitarist Mike Stern, released in 1999 through Atlantic Records. ^{[3] [4]}

The album peaked at No. 21 on Billboard's Traditional Jazz Albums chart. ^[5]

Production

Bill Frisell and John Scofield contributed to the album. ^[6] It was tracked live, with few overdubs. ^[7]

Critical reception

The Times thought that Stern "displays a new maturity—these are properly integrated songs, not simply backdrops for long solos." ^[8] The Los Angeles Daily News wrote that the album is "highlighted by fine work from Stern and Scofield on the title track's minor blues, the New Orleans-flavored 'Small World' and the bop-driven 'Outta Town'." ^[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Stern.

1. "Play" - 7:15
2. "Small World" - 5:23
3. "Outta Town" - 6:09
4. "Blue Tone" - 6:43
5. "Tipatina's" - 6:35
6. "All Heart" - 6:22
7. "Frizz" - 5:41
8. "Link" - 6:50
9. "Goin' Under" - 4:10
10. "Big Kids" - 7:29

Personnel

• Mike Stern – guitars
• Jim Beard – keyboards (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• John Scofield – guitars (1-3)
• Bill Frisell – guitars (4, 6, 7, 10)
• Lincoln Goines – bass
• Ben Perowsky – drums (1-4, 6, 7, 10)
• Dennis Chambers – drums (5, 8, 9)
• Bob Malach – tenor saxophone (3, 5, 6, 8, 9)

Production

• Yves Beauvais – A&R
• Jim Beard – producer
• Matt Bayles – recording
• Dan Gellert – recording
• Phil Magnotti – recording
• David Fischer – recording assistant
• Matt Gold – recording assistant
• Caleb Lambert – recording assistant
• Greg Thompson – recording assistant
• Joe Ferla – mixing
• Rory Romano – assistant mix engineer
• Andrea Yankovsky – assistant mix engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
• Lynn Kowaleski – art direction, design
• Roy Zipstein – photography
• David Burrell – management for Tropix International

References

1. CHAPMAN, CHARLES H. (October 7, 2010). "Interviews With the Jazz Greats...and More!". Mel Bay Publications – via Google Books.
2. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1340. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
3. "Play". AllMusic . Retrieved August 1, 2011.
4. Blumenthal, Bob (May 5, 2000). "GUITARIST MIKE STERN SHARES FUSION WITH FRIENDS". The Boston Globe. p. D19.
5. "Mike Stern". Billboard.
6. "Mike Stern Quartet, Unleashing an Explosive Sound and Fury". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
7. Fox, Darrin (March 2000). "Mike Stern: A modern jazz hat trick". Guitar Player. 34 (3): 35–36.
8. Bradley, Mike (August 10, 1999). "Mike Stern". The Times. Features. p. 41.
9. Shuster, Fred (September 24, 1999). "Music". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L3.