In the meantime, Stern had completed work on his 1983 solo album, Neesh, his debut as a bandleader. He played and recorded with Davis until 1983, when he began touring with Jaco Pastorius, but he rejoined Davis in 1985. Stern was only 22 when he joined Blood, Sweat & Tears, with whom he played for three years before signing on with Billy Cobham's jazz fusion outfit, which led to his big breakthrough: Miles Davis enlisted him as guitarist in 1981 for Davis' return from a five-year musical hiatus. before returning to Boston to study at the Berklee School of Music. Stern was born on January 10, 1953, in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in Washington, D.C. In 2008 he was featured as such on the Yellowjackets' Lifecycle in 2014, he and guitarist Eric Johnson co-led the contemporary jazz chart-topper Eclectic five years later he and Jeff Lorber shared billing for Eleven. Though best-known as an influential soloist, bandleader, and sideman, Stern is also a veteran collaborator. That same year, Down Beat named him one of the 75 Greatest Guitarists of all time. Stern has placed ten albums on the jazz charts, and three more at contemporary jazz including the Grammy-nominated Big Neighborhood in 2009. 1997's Give and Take won him the Orville H. The next year's Is What It Is and 1996's Between the Lines, both received Grammy Award nominations. A decade later, his acclaimed Standards (And Other Songs), led to his being named Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year by readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine. All of these traits were on display on his debut solo effort, 1983's Neesh, from the Japanese Trio label in 1983. His style combines phrasing normally attributed to saxophonists, innovative chord voicings pioneered by Jim Hall, and the sonic approach of a rock musician and the soulful, emotive expression of a bluesman. Recognized as one of the finest electric guitarists of his generation, Mike Stern is well-versed in the jazz tradition fusion, hard rock, and blues.

The jeff lorber fusion hyperdrive