Over the course of his decorated career, jazz guitar legend Mike Stern has worked with some of the genre’s biggest names, playing alongside the likes of drummer Billy Cobham, bassist Jaco Pastorius and electric guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson.
For a time in the early 1980s, he also joined the band of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who decided to recruit the guitarist after being introduced to his sound by saxophonist Bill Evans (note: this is a different Bill Evans to the legendary jazz pianist of the same name).
As Stern explains in a new interview with Rick Beato, Davis came to see him perform following the departure of the trumpeter’s former guitar player, Barry Finnerty. Unfortunately, Stern was made aware of his high-profile spectator right before he went on stage.
“Miles was looking for a guitar player. I was in town playing with Billy Cobham at the Bottom Line [music venue],” Stern remembers. “Right before we started the set, Bill Evans called me on a pay phone.
“He said, ‘I'm going to bring somebody by to hear you tonight.’ And I said, ‘It's not Miles, is it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I'm bringing Miles by.’”
Luckily, the unexpected attendance of the jazz legend didn’t faze Stern – it just motivated him to play as best as he could. Unsurprisingly, Davis was impressed, and promptly invited him to a rehearsal.
“I just played as good as I can possibly play,” Stern goes on. “I kind of had my head down the whole time and he really dug it.
“He called Billy off while we were playing a tune. Miles had gone backstage, and said, ‘Billy, come here. Tell your guitar player to show up at Studio B at Columbia Records tomorrow.’ Billy relayed the message, I said, ‘Oh, shit.’
“I went and played. He had me go over to a recording studio to play over a tune that he’d already done. He said, ‘Just play all over it.’ I started playing and said, ‘Miles, I don’t hear it. I feel like it’s done. You don’t want a bunch of other stuff on there. It’s real lean, so don’t mess with it.’ He said, ‘Okay.’
“The following week, he had another tune, and he liked the guitar solo which I played. I was terrified, needless to say.”
Davis liked Stern’s playing so much that he invited him back to record on a tune called Fat Time – a song that Davis named in honor of Stern, who had endeared himself the nickname of ‘Fat Time’.
“He called [it] Fat Time because he liked the guitar solo so much. That was my nickname. When I first met him, he said, ‘Fat, Fatty, Fat Time!’ That’s what he used to call me because I was heavy at the time, and he liked my time and feel – he said he thought my grooves were really good.
“Bill called me up after we did the take and said, ‘He likes that a lot, and he’s going to call the tune Fat Time.’ I went, ‘Holy shit, that’s quite the compliment.’”
Stern remained part of Davis’ band until 1983, when he was eventually replaced by John Scofield. A few years later, he reunited with Davis for another tour.
Earlier this year, bassist T.M. Stevens told Bass Player about his own trial by fire auditioning for Miles Davis – a session that ended with the jazz great play-boxing with him.
Visit Rick Beato's YouTube channel to watch the full interview.
