Chords for Guitarist Mike Stern on his early musical development and introduction to jazz

[F] _ _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ [D] _
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_ [Fm] _ [Cm] _ [Db] _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ My first instrument was actually [G] the piano.
[Bb] And my mom wanted me to take piano lessons when I [Gm] was real little.
And she played piano, played some classical piano, always playing around the house.
[Dm] And so I studied piano for a little while.
[G] And I kind of got into [D] guitar, which was my main [Eb] instrument, when I was about [E] _
11 or 12,
something like that.
And it was just when I [Db] chose that, [C] and it was kind of my [Am] choice, it stuck.
I knew [Abm] I wanted to do something with music.
I was also kind of [F] singing [E] around the [Bb] same time.
And I had a really good [Am] teacher _ at a [Ebm] school, a [Dbm] little grade school.
And he was always, he was a really wonderful, very [Ab] enthusiastic music teacher.
[G] And he [Am] could tell I really [Ab] wanted [Gb] to do something with music.
So he encouraged me to [E] sing.
And got me in this church choir.
My parents weren't very religious, but the guy was, the [Gm] choir master [A] was into [Ab] _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
[G] me.
_ You know, he [Gb] was a great _
_ [G] _ choir [Eb] master, really _ exceptional.
And he was into me trying to [N] sing as best I could, because he could tell I was really into it.
So that was that, too.
I was kind of in that kind of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ world.
_ A lot of teachers.
I had a lot of really great teachers, and continue to.
I mean, I think music is so endless.
And I always want to find a teacher _ that I can go to, or correspond with.
And not so [E] much online kind of [Abm] stuff, but really hopefully be [Cm] there.
But I had a guy, the first guy that comes to mind was kind of later on, but it was,
the [D] most important was Charlie Binocos, [Ab] _ who was an [Gb] amazing teacher, who [Abm] was a piano player.
But he taught everybody, _ [N] all instruments.
And he was an incredible player, but he never played out.
He [Cm] just said he wanted to just teach.
That's all he wanted to do.
Great bebopper [Ab] and great everything.
[Eb] _ Just [Fm] an amazing musician, [C] and figured out, very, very _ natural musician.
By the time he was nine, I think Errol Garner heard him in some little place and said,
that's me in there playing.
He [Ab] was like one of those [Em] really amazing kids.
But he didn't, [Eb] he just wanted to [Abm] teach.
That's how it kind of, _ [Ab]
[Cm] that's where his heart was, I [Em] guess.
And amazingly [Cm] enthusiastic about [Abm] the music.
It didn't matter if you were a fantastic [E] player or not.
If you did [Am] the work, [Eb] the [Ab] effort was everything.
And so that was really beautiful.
[N] Charlie Binocos was one.
Of course there was, Mick [C] Goodrick was another guitar [Ab] teacher that I [Fm] had,
_ [Eb] who was [Ab] phenomenal.
Pat Metheny also, we just played, and he tried to get [G] me to go out and play more.
[Cm] And got me this gig with Blood, Sweat & Tears.
[G] _
[F] _ Heard that they were looking [Db] for an audition, _ _
or that they were looking for people to audition, and I auditioned.
And lo and behold, got the [Bm] gig, which shocked the hell out of me. _
But I did that gig for a couple years.
That's why I went to Berklee College of Music, but never finished. _
That's when it was like $1,500 [Bbm] a month.
Now it's like $57,000 a year.
It's amazing stuff, but [Eb]
it was back in the day.
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ I started off mainly listening to, when I got into guitar,
I was [Abm] mainly, when I was playing a little bit of piano,
I was playing classical stuff, a little [Gbm] bit.
Not great by any [Em] means, but just a little bit.
And then when I got into guitar at the _ young age of 11 or 12,
I was listening to more _ radio stuff, and playing along by ear, pretty much.
I had a teacher early on, but it didn't last a couple weeks.
And then I just tried to take [Gbm] it from there by ear.
And I was listening to a lot of rock and blues and _ Motown.
There was a lot of that.
I grew up in Washington, DC, and there was a lot of soul music on.
And I used to play along with the radio, and then with albums.
And my mom used to play jazz records around the house.
And so she had some Miles records, _ [G] and some, I remember Dave Brubeck.
There was a Dave Brubeck record in there.
And then there was a Herbie Hancock record
that I think either she was playing or some friend of mine had.
_ And that got me [E] hooked to jazz.
I mean, I was always into it.
I used to, it also made me study, because I took those records to my room,
and tried to play along with those records, and I got lost right away.
[F] I could play along kind of with Led Zeppelin,
but I couldn't play along with Miles.
So, and [Dbm] the _ [C] _
music was just a different kind of more, not better or worse,
and in my heart, I mean, although I _ just,
I'm not one of those guys that says this is better than that.
It's all cool music, whatever gets your heart.
I certainly learned that from playing with Miles.
[Eb] That was _ just the way he was.
So, I mean, he loved Hendrix, and he'd be talking about Jimi Hendrix one day.
And the [Db] same day, and how much that turned him on,
and the [Eb] same day he'd be talking about playing with Bird,
and how great that was.
_ _ So, but I was, but that's what I got into at first,
with probably a couple of records like that,
that my mom played around the house,
and really got, the more I got into jazz, the more I loved it.
So then I started studying. _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Db] _ _ _ [D] _ [Gm] _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ [Eb] _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ [E] _
Hi, I'm Mike Stern.
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