Mike Stern "Who Let The Cats Out?"

Mike Stern, one of the most recognized and celebrated guitarists of his generation, is back with "Who Let The Cats Out?"? On Stern's thirteenth release as a leader, the award winning three-time GRAMMY nominee continues to blur the boundaries between jazz, funk, blues and rock with eleven unique originals. "This record is a return to more instrumental playing, more blowing," says Stern. "In some ways it's straight ahead, but filtered through my rock and blues influences. I'm still interested in incorporating vocals, so I wanted Richard Bona to sing on my record. I composed the tunes thinking about which musicians would work best for each track. It seemed organic, and I think worked out well." "Who Let The Cats Out?"? was recorded in January 2006 and features a stunning lineup including bassists Richard Bona (who handles vocals on two tracks), Anthony Jackson, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chris Minh Doky and Victor Wooten, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, drummers Dave Weckl and Kim Thompson, harmonica player Gregoire Maret, and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard.