One of the world’s finest modern-day jazz guitarists, Stern studied at the Berklee School Of Music before landing a gig with Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22.

More illustrious credits would follow: after playing in drummer Billy Cobham’s powerhouse fusion band, in 1981 he was handpicked by Miles Davis for the jazz master’s group. Stern then went on to tour with bass legend Jaco Pastorious. He would eventually return to Davis in 1985, the same year the guitarist released his first solo album, Neesh.

While continuing to issue warmly received albums of his own, the Grammy-nominated Stern has worked with The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Pat Martino and Steps Ahead, among others.

Although he's a Yamaha signature artist these days, for years Stern played a custom-built guitar that featured a Telecaster-style body and a ‘50s Broadcaster neck (Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck position, Bill Lawrence single-coil in the bridge). This replaced an original ‘50s Tele that was stolen from him in an armed robbery.