Last night, I caught Mike Stern at Blues Alley. The backing band was comprised of Richard Bona on vocals and bass, Dennis Chambers on drums and Bob Franceschini on tenor sax.

I've been looking forwards to this show for some time. I was not disappointed. I had seen Bona play before as a side man to Pat Metheny. All I have to say is what an idiot Metheny must have been to have wasted such an unbelievably talented musician like Bona the way he did.

I spent almost the entirety of the show with a big ol' smile on my face. There was a font of positive energy flowing from all the members of the band that didn't let up for the whole set. They all had a very relaxed enjoyment about them, cracking jokes, goofing through a Rolling Stones tune (and then turning it into Stanley Clarke's School Days just for grins). Unlike most of other shows I have seen, Chambers occasionally departed from his normal bored/chewing gum look that he normally adopts for a much more engaged persona, openly laughing and smiling as well as showing passion and intensity during his solos.

The opening two numbers had every member of the band taking a solo. Stern took an empty stage solo a few songs later. One of the things that I really like about Mike's playing is both his restraint and his expressiveness. Many people compare Stern to Metheny (and I can see why; they tend to produce a similar voicing in their playing). A major distinction that I would draw between them is that Pat has a tendency to overplay, as if to try and prove how great a player he is. Mike holds back, playing as many notes as are needed and no more. Which is not to say that he can't fly around. I just think that Stern gets it the space between the notes is just as important as the notes themselves.