Mike Stern is Bank-ing on desi musicians

Six-time Grammy nominated American jazz-fusion guitarist Mike Stern will jam with Grammy nominee and one of India’s most popular jazz musicians Louiz Banks at two gigs in Mumbai on March 16 and 18. The duo will perform mostly on Stern’s numbers from his latest album Big Neighbourhood.

Mike says, “We’ll jam to my tunes from my album Big Neighbourhood and also a few tunes from some of my other records.”

An excited Mike says he can’t wait to jam with the Louiz Banks Trio (Louiz’s band). “I’ve heard him play and I’ve heard some of his music. He’s a wonderful musician,” says Mike.

Mike is also keen to collaborate with more Indian artists during his trip to India. “I am looking forward to playing with some of the other fantastic musicians too. And of course, it’s going to be fun to play with Louiz.”

Mike has always been known to mix it up and perform with different artists and bands. He is open to collaborations on stage and in the studios. He loves jazz and rock with some funk influences. “I like all kinds of music. Music is all good if it’s coming from the heart.”

Mike has, in fact, been doing a lot of touring with jazz group Yellowjackets for the last two years. He has played on almost all their tracks in their last record Lifecycle.

“We went all over the world but not India, unfortunately. We’ve been having a great time and we still have a few more gigs coming up,” he ends.