Yellowjackets - Lifecycle (2008) [SACD]

"Lifecycle" is the new collaborative recording from the formidable jazz quartet, the Yellowjackets & the high-energy guitar virtuoso Mike Stern. This is the 1st Yellowjackets recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player, & illustrates the kind of energy & creative brilliance that results when 5 talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters & musicians & merge into an entity that's far greater than the sum of its parts. "Lifecycle" is, in some respects, 2 albums in 1. 7 of the ten tracks are quintet pieces featuring Stern & the 'Jackets, while the remaining 3 are quartet pieces that showcase the individual & collective talents of the current Yellowjackets lineup: Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip & drummer Marcus Baylor.
After simmering for years, the idea for "Lifecycle" reached critical mass when Mike Stern & the Jackets performed together at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the summer of 2007. "We've all been a fan of Mike's for a long time," says Yellowjackets keyboardist & charter member Russell Ferrante. "Our goal was to make a recording that sounded like Mike had been in the band forever, & I think we accomplished that. To my ears, it feels cohesive - like 5 musicians with a genuine rapport."
From the Montreal dates in the heat of the summer to the studio sessions in rural New York State in January 2008, Stern felt the same sense of rapport. "The Yellowjackets are a great band," he says. "I think we have a lot in common musically, & our playing together felt very natural right away. They're the ideal collaborative team. It's so easy to play with them because they play so well together."