Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with drummer Billy Cobham and then broke through with trumpeter Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1985. Following that he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums. 

His solo debut, Upside Downside, was released on Atlantic Records in 1986. It features performances by Pastorius, David Sanborn, and Bob Berg. From 1986 through 1988, he was a member of Michael Brecker's quintet.

Stern joined a reunited Brecker Brothers Band in 1992 and became a factor in the success of that group for the next two years. His acclaimed 1993 release, "Standards (And Other Songs)", led to Stern being named Best Jazz Guitarist Of The Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player. He followed that up with 1994's Is What It Is and 1996's Between The Lines, both of which received Grammy nominations.

In 1997, Stern returned to a jazzier aesthetic with "Give And Take", a looser, more spontaneous session featuring bassist John Patitucci, drummer Jack DeJohnette, percussionist Don Alias and special guests Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. 

After 15 years with Atlantic Records, Stern shifted to ESC for the 2004 release of "These Times", an eclectic set that included guest appearances by some high-profile session players - bassist Richard Bona, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and banjoist Bela Fleck.

In 2008, Stern collaborated with the Yellowjackets for their "Lifecycle" release, contributing two compositions and performing on most of the tracks; he toured with the Yellowjackets for much of 2008 and 2009.

In February 2009, in the first in a series of articles to celebrate DownBeat's 75th anniversary, Stern was named to the jazz magazine’s list of 75 Great Guitarists. In August 2009, Stern released Big Neighborhood, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. His last album is "All over the Place" from 2012.

Bob Franceschini is known as Stern's and The Yellowjackets long time collaborator. He has played with artists like Tito Puente, Paul Simon, Eddie Palmieri, Lionel Richie and Victor Wooten.

Chris Minh Doky is a fantastic danish-vietnamese bass player, He has played with Michael Brecker, Trilok Gurtu, David Sanborn and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The drummer Keith Carlock has recorded and/or toured with musicians that include Sting, John Mayer, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Diana Ross, Faith Hill, The Blues Brothers Band, Richard Bona, Chris Botti, Wayne Krantz, Harry Belafonte, Paula Abdul, and Grover Washington, Jr. 

Carlock was the exclusive drummer for every track on Steely Dan's Everything Must Go. (Steely Dan has used multiple drummers on each of the last several albums they've released over the past three decades.) He, as of 2014, is the new drummer for the band Toto.