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"Lifecycle" is the new collaborative from the formidable jazz quartet, the Yellowjackets and the high-energy guitar virtuoso Mike Stern. This is the first Yellowjackets in 15 years to feature a guitar player, and illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that's far greater than the sum of its parts. "Lifecycle" is, in some respects, two albums in one. Seven of the ten tracks are quintet pieces featuring Stern and the 'Jackets, while the remaining three are quartet pieces that showcase the individual and collective talents of the current Yellowjackets lineup: Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Marcus Baylor. From the Artist --------------- After simmering for years, the idea for "Lifecycle" reached critical mass when Mike Stern and 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 and charter member Russell Ferrante. "Our goal was to make a that sounded like Mike had been in the band forever, and I think we accomplished that. To my ears, it feels cohesive - like five 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, and 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." P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Artist ---------------- According to some basic, undeniable laws of nature, when two powerful forces collide, something explosive will occur, and a dramatic transformation is likely to take place as a result. It's a law that applies to every dynamic in the known universe, including jazz. It stands to reason, then, that when a formidable jazz quartet like the Yellowjackets convenes in the studio with a high-energy guitar virtuoso like Mike Stern, the resulting reaction will be a singular event - one that's likely to create something entirely new on the jazz landscape. This phenomenon is captured on "Lifecycle," the new collaborative by the Jackets and Stern set for worldwide release on Heads Up International a division of Concord Music Group on May 20, 2008. The first Yellowjackets in 15 years to feature a guitar player, "Lifecycle" illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that's far greater than the sum of its parts. See more ( javascript:void(0) )