John Stein, Serendipity Review

John Stein is a jazz guitarist and educator that was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Stein’s talent for and love of music ultimately earned him a faculty position at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was a longtime Professor in the Harmony Department. Stein has an extensive resume as a teacher, clinician, recording artist, and author. As a performer, he has performed with many of the world’s finest jazz acts, and his compositions and performances cover the spectrum of jazz styles. John is a prolific recording artist as a leader, in addition to the contributions he has made to other artists’ projects. Stein says, “My music is the result of a lifetime’s involvement with my instrument, the guitar, and many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history.” His newest recording, Serendipity [WSC 129], was released on June 18, 2021. Stein is joined by Ed Lucie, bass, and Mike Connors, drums. The trio was scheduled to perform at New Bedford’s AHA night for what would have been a live concert, but because of COVID-19, the trio performed to a house of one and video-taped and broadcast the performance on September 10, 2020. Stein explains, “The CD package you are holding in your hands and the sounds that are filling your ears are the document of the live concert we played in actual fact for an audience of one, our videographer John Farrell, who taped and edited the video. John is also a professional sound engineer, and he captured the sound of the trio during recording and skillfully mixed the audio. The recorded audio from the concert has been turned into a CD release on the Whaling City Sound label entitled Serendipity.”

Bottom Line:  Serendipity has the flow of a live gig, and there are no overdubs or second takes. The trio is in the zone, and the album documents the flow of music of that night. The set begins with Sonny Rollins’ “Alfie’s Theme.” Lucie sets the mood with a steady bass line, and Connors joins with his natural swing with the brushes. Stein plays the A sections with clearly articulated single notes and chords for the B section. For Stein’s solo, Connors switches to sticks and deepens the swing feel. Stein’s improvisation style is refined and falls on the side of melodic based versus flash and speed. “Well, You Needn’t” has Lucie playing the A section melody and Stein play the bridge. A cool twist on this Monk standard. As for the guitar solo, Stein uses bends, interval motifs, and the jazz-blues language. The relaxed feel of “Insensatez (How Insensitive)” is a moment to hear Stein play a song that all the great jazz guitarists covered, and it is easy to hear their influences in his approach. The push and pull of the trio’s time are enjoyable to listen to and adds an element of energy. Overall, Stein is a highly melodic player that needs to be on every guitarist’s radar. Jazz fans will find his playing tasteful and in line with the traditional jazz guitar community. That’s the short of it!

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