Big Neighborhood

Overview

Big Neighborhood was Stern's second release on Heads Up, a follow up to 2006's Who Let the Cats Out?. Most of the album was recorded in New York City, but Stern also traveled with a rhythm section to Austin, Texas to record with guitarist Eric Johnson, and then to Los Angeles to record with guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Dave Weckl. Vai played guitar on the title track and sitar on "Moroccan Roll".

The album was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album but lost to the Joe Zawinul album 75. This was Stern's sixth nomination in this category. The other nominees were Urbanus by Stefon Harris, Sounding Point by Julian Lage, and At World's Edge by Philippe Saisse.

Critical reception

Jonathan Widran of Allmusic commented on the diversity of styles on "Big Neighborhoor", writing that it "range[s] from blazing jazz fusion to African-tinged exotica and trippy Middle Eastern journeys." He called the release "one block party jazz fusion fans won't want to miss in 2009!"

Bill Meredith quipped in the JazzTimes that the album "simply lacks the unbridled improvisation and interplay of his stage shows" and that "[t]he guests are also so numerous that things feel contrived". He closed his review by opining that "with better sequencing and a solid band ... [it] might not seem so all over the place."

In his review for The Virginian-Pilot, Eric Feber wrote that "It’s a beautiful day in jazz guitarist Mike Stern's Big Neighborhood" and closed with "[n]o matter the genre or collaborator, Stern holds his own with lightning-fast, sinewy riffs and impressionistic guitar filigrees."

Tracks

All tracks composed by Mike Stern.

1. "Big Neighborhood" - 7:40
2. "6th Street" - 7:49
3. "Reach" - 5:30
4. "Song for Pepper" - 5:43
5. "Coupe de Ville" - 4:36
6. "Bird Blue" - 5:44
7. "Moroccan Roll" - 7:06
8. "Long Time Gone" - 7:52
9. "Check One" - 7:39
10. "That's All It Is" - 4:52
11. "Hope You Don't Mind" - 5:18