Head & Heart Varre Vartiainen & Mike Stern

• 1 Miked Up! 08:02
• 2 Hardly 06:02
• 3 Head and Heart 09:45
• 4 Dark Size Life 06:46
• 5 Waltz for Roni 06:06
• 6 Blue Velvet St. 05:33
• 7 For Mike 07:55
• 8 Fat Time Blues 06:17
• 9 Mood Swings 02:55
• 10 Bill From Sao Paolo 09:54
• Total Runtime 01:09:15

Info zu Head & Heart

Varre Vartiainen and jazz guitar legend Mike Stern join forces on an album called 'Head & Heart', which Eclipse Music will release in April 2025. The title single will be released on 21st of March.

Leaning towards 70’s fusion jazz, the album’s music is mostly composed by Vartiainen, but Stern adds his creative touch. One can expect masterful guitar playing from both artists. Two singles, “Miked Up!” And “Bill From Sao Paolo” have been released. Head & Heart is a continuation to Vartiainen’s critically acclaimed solo album Almost Standards.

Mike Stern (b. 1953) hardly needs an introduction. Hailed as one of the greatest jazz guitarists in the world by Downbeat magazine, his awe-inspiring career has included playing in the groups of Miles Davis and Billy Gobham as well as with Blood, Sweat & Tears. He has also collaborated with the likes of the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Steps Ahead and David Sanborn. During his career Stern has received six Grammy nominations, the Orville W. Gibson award in 1997, as well as the ‘Guitarist of the Year’-title in 1993.

Varre Vartiainen plays jazz guitar with a rock attitude, and he is one of the most accomplished guitarists in Finland. He founded his band, ‘Husband’ in 2000 with Anssi Nykänen and Harri Rantanen, later joined by Marzi Lyman. The group has toured successfully for 20 years and recorded four albums.

Vartiainen has also performed with several international stars, such as Angelique Kidjo, Thomas Ledin, Ed Motta and Jim Beard, as well as in several high-profile orchestras such as Espoo Big Band, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Dallape, Nylon Beat and Leningrad Cowboys. Vartiainen, who is preparing for his doctoral degree at the Sibelius Academy, has also become known as the conductor-guitarist of many TV shows such as The David Hasselhoff Show, Idols and Plan Galas. Vartiainen has also distinguished himself in the field of theater: in the fall of 2020, the acclaimed rock musical Hamlet, which Vartiainen composed together with Eeva Konnu and Jarmo Saari, had its premiere at the Tampere Workers' Theater.

Varre Vartiainen, guitar, vocals
Mike Stern, guitar, vocals
Leni Stern, ngoni, vocals & (23rd St. Angel Choir)
Joonatan Rautio, saxophone
Severi Pyysalo, vibraphone
Visa Oscar, keyboard
Timo Hirvonen, bass
Juho Kivivuori, bass
Jukkis Uotila, drums
Jussi Lehtonen, drums
Mongo Altonen, percussion

Varre Vartiainen
born in 1974, grew up in the small town of Kerava located near Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Kerava, a little rusty town, is mostly known for its juvenile prison. The city was also known for its rough neighborhoods but in contrast also for its heart meltingly beautiful landscapes full of rare wildlife. In the late 70's and early 80's, Kerava was known as Finland’s no:1 Rockabilly town. Back then Kerava also had a very small but enthusiastic community of jazz music fanatics.

These key elements of Varre’s background still remain as a big part of his musical identity:Charlie Parker and Elvis Presley – bop & roll!

From there Varre has cooked up a spicy soup with a unique blend of jazz guitar with rock attitude. In Finland Varre has been one of the most sought-after freelance guitarists of his generation for over the past 25 years.

Varre Vartiainen moved from Kerava to Helsinki in early 1990´s. He had everything he owned in his guitar case. In Helsinki, the music capital of Finland, the young guitarist almost immediately raised up like the sputnik in the Finnish freelance scene and became one of the most visible and hired musicians of his generation. He played with acid jazz band Gonzo in Montreaux Jazz Festival in the mid 90´s and was elected as the young soloist of the year by UMO Helsinki jazz orchestra in 1998.

In addition to Varre’s freelance work he studied and graduated from prestigious Sibelius Academy Jazz Department with Master’s of Music degree in the year 2007.

Varre’s own band ”Bingo” (w. drummer Toni Porthén and bassist Lasse Lingren) achieved a cult reputation in the late 1990’s. In the year 2000 he started a band named “Husband” (w drummer Anssi Nykänen, guitarist Marzi Nyman and bassist Harri Rantanen). Husband has been actively performing together now for more than 20 years in almost every jazz festival and jazz and rock club that one can find in Finland. Husband had the honor to perform in Pori Jazz Festival main concert in 2009 – Jeff Beck being the other main act of the evening. Husband has released four albums of Varre’s music. The latest album is called “Lauma” (Blue Note, 2016) with the great Espoo Big Band.

Varre’s first solo album “The Lost Case” was recorded in year 2011. On the album Varre collaborated with top Finnish artists and musicians such as Eero Raittinen, Timo Lassy and Sami Kuoppamäki.

Varre has become a familiar face in Finnish TV orchestras as a guitarist conducting such shows as David Hasselhoff Show and Finnish Idols to name a few. Varre has worked as a conductor with The Helsinki Festival during the years 2007–2008 being part of Rock, Rhythm & Love main concert that took place in Helsinki Senate Square with an audience of more than 55,000.

Varre’s ability to play in many different styles and genres (jazz, rock, fusion, pop etc.) has made him one of the most hired freelance guitarist in Finland. Varre’s playing can be heard in more than twenty film soundtracks, hundreds of session music tracks, theatre and tours.

Varre has worked as an educator in the Sibelius Academy, Lahti Conservatory and Espoo Music Institute’s Pop and Jazz Department Ebeli, as well as a visiting lecturer basically in all professional music schools in Finland.

Varre’s compositions can be heard on his band’s albums as well as on many albums that he worked on as a sideman. At the TTT Theatre in Tampere, Varre composed a musical version of Hamlet (Hamlet – Rock Musical) together with Eeva Kontu and Jarmo Saari. The premiere was held on September 5th in 2020. Hamlet – Rock Musical got superb critical reviews and has enjoyed great box office succee.

Varre has been a member of the pop cult band Nylon beat, the Finnish entertainment orchestra Dallapé (established in Helsinki in 1925), Paula Koivuniemi, Sleepy Sleepers and many others.

With The Leningrad Cowboys Varre played for more than 15 years, and this venture took him on world tours and sometimes even to the other side of the universe. Varre performed with the Leningrad Cowboys in festivals such as the Glastonbury Festival, Sziget Festival, Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock ja Sao Paolo Film Festival to mention a few.

For a quite some time now Varre has been working with his own Trio with Timo Hirvonen (bass) and Jussi Lehtonen (drums) along with stints in jazz bands and projects with Severi Pyysalo, Joonatan Rautio, William Suvanne, Mikko Hassinen and many other household names of Finnish Jazz.

Varre is a doctoral student in University of the Arts, Helsinki doing artistic research under supervision of Jukkis Uotila, Professor of Jazz Music.

"Just got a change to listen to three songs from Varre. Beautiful!! Varre plays his ass off! Wonderful guitar playing! And the tunes are beautiful and the band is smoking!" - Mike Stern

"Varre Vartiainen is a virtuosic Finnish guitarist whose past merits are exceptionalespecially in the field of rock infused music styles. What makes him really unique is the fact that his instrumental and expressive jazz chops are also world class!!" - Jukkis Uotila

Mike Stern
One of the great jazz guitarists of his generation, Mike Stern has the unique ability to play with the finesse and lyricism of Jim Hall, the driving swing of Wes Montgomery and the turbulent, overdriven attack of Jimi Hendrix. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, Stern revered all three of those guitar immortals, along with such potent blues guitarists as Albert and B.B. King. Aspects of those seminal influences can be heard in his playing on the 18 recordings he has released as a leader or in his acclaimed sideman work for Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Steps Ahead, David Sanborn, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Joe Henderson and the all-star Four Generations of Miles band.

Stern’s latest Concord Jazz release, Eleven, is an encounter with Grammy-winning keyboardist-composer-producer Jeff Lorber. Co-produced by bassist Jimmy Haslip, who had previously worked with the guitarist on the Yellowjacket’s 2008 album, Lifecycle, this lively collaboration finds Stern at the peak of his powers, following on the heels of 2017’s acclaimed Trip, his triumphant return to recording after a freak accident that threatened to end his career. The multiple Grammy-nominated guitarist was hailing a cab outside his apartment in Manhattan July 3, 2016 when he tripped over some hidden construction debris left in the street, fracturing both of his humerus bones (the long bones that run from the shoulder to the elbow) in the fall. Left with significant nerve damage in his right hand which prevented him from doing the simplest tasks, including holding a pick, Stern faced a series of surgeries and subsequent physical therapy before he could regain control of his nerve-damaged picking hand. And while Trip represented a strong comeback, the intrepid guitarist takes things up a notch on Eleven.

“When the idea was floated for this project, I asked a bunch of cats who worked with Jeff, like Randy Brecker, Dave Weckl and Bob Franceschini, and they all said, ‘He’s cool, he throws down, he can really get it going.’ And they’re right,” said Stern. “Jeff’s got a strong rhythmic groove and he comps really well on the Fender Rhodes, which is kind of his signature sound. And I feel like his music really comes more from soul music than smooth jazz. That Philly soul thing is definitely in some of his tunes on this record.”

Added Lobber of their first collaboration together, “Mike’s just a bebop wizard, he’s got an incredible jazz feeling. And by the same token, he’s got the rock and blues thing covered too. He’s on both sides of the musical spectrum. So when I heard he was up for it, I was delighted to have a chance to work with him in the studio on this project. And I think we really hit it off musically as well as personally.”

One of the top guitarists in jazz since his breakthrough days with Miles Davis' celebrated comeback band of the early 1980s, Stern has earned the respect of colleagues and critics alike while also exerting a towering influence on a generation of aspiring players. A guitarist of formidable technique, he continues to awe and inspire six-string aficionados with his seamless blend of bebop facility, scorching rock intensity and uncommon lyricism. As Jon Chappell of Guitar magazine noted, “Stern is not only a magician of the fretboard but a heartfelt and mature composer of great depth.” By combining the legato approach of jazz saxophone greats like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson with a few touches from the rock camp (i.e., distortion and delay pedals along with some urgent string bending, courtesy of his boyhood blues heroes B.B. King and Buddy Guy), Stern has successfully fashioned a singular voice that comfortably occupies both rock and jazz worlds.

Born on January 10, 1953, he began playing guitar at age 12, emulating the likes of B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. “I liked the feel of the guitar and I got hooked on it,” he recalled in an interview. “But I didn't really get serious about it until I went to Berklee in 1971.” At the Berklee College of Music in Boston his focus shifted to jazz as he began an intensive period of woodshedding, immersing himself in records by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans while studying with guitarists Mick Goodrick and Pat Metheny. During his stint at Berklee, he developed a keen appreciation for jazz guitar greats Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall, both of whom would exert a huge influence on his own playing. On a recommendation from Metheny, Stern landed a gig with Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1976 and remained with the band for two years, appearing on the BS&T albums More Than Ever and Brand New Day. That gig is also significant for introducing the guitarist to two musicians who would later figure prominently in his life — percussionist Don Alias and bassist Jaco Pastorius.

Following his stint with BS&T, Stern returned to Boston and began studying privately with local jazz guru Charlie Banacos. In 1979, he joined Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band and two years later he joined Miles Davis' group, making his public debut with the band on June 27, 1981 at the Kix nightclub in Boston (a performance that was documented on the CBS live album, We Want Miles). Stern remained with Miles through 1983, also appearing on Man With The Horn and Star People). From 1983 to 1984, he toured in Jaco Pastorius' Word Of Mouth band and in 1985 returned to Miles for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year.

In 1985, Stern made his recording debut as a leader with Neesh on the Japanese Trio label. A year later, he made his Stateside debut as a leader on Atlantic Records with Upside Downside, which featured such celebrated colleagues as alto saxophonist David Sanborn, tenor saxophonist Bob Berg, bassists Mark Egan, Jeff Andrews and Jaco Pastorius, keyboardist Mitch Forman and drummers Dave Weckl and Steve Jordan. In the summer of 1986, Stern took to the road with David Sanborn and later joined an electrified edition of Steps Ahead, which featured Mike Mainieri on midi vibes, Michael Brecker on the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI), Darryl Jones on electric bass and Steve Smith on drums. That powerhouse fusion outfit was documented on Live in Tokyo 1986. Over the next two years, Stern was a member of Michael Brecker’s potent quintet, appearing on the tenor titan’s 1988 album, Don’t Try This At Home.

Stern's second Atlantic album, 1988's Time In Place, continued the promise of his debut and featured PeterErskine on drums, Jim Beard on keyboards, Jeff Andrews on bass, Don Alias on percussion and Don Grolnick on organ. He followed that success with 1989's Jigsaw, which was produced by fellow guitarist Steve Khan. Following the release of 1991’s Odds or Evens, Stern joined a reunited Brecker Brothers Band in 1992 and became a key factor in the success of that popular group for the next two years. His decidedly jazzy 1993 Atlantic release, Standards (And Other Songs), led to Stern being named Best Jazz Guitarist Of The Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Playermagazine. He followed that success with two hard-hitting offerings in 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 Sanbom. On the strength of that superbly swinging effort, which included freewheeling covers of Sonny Rollins' “Oleo,” John Coltrane's “Giant Steps” and Cole Porter's “I Love You,” along with a scintillating trio rendition of Jimi Hendrix's “Who Knows,” he was awarded the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist.

Stern’s ninth release on Atlantic, 1999’s Play, was a six-string summit meeting with fellow guitarists John Scofield and Bill Frisell. He followed with 2001’s Voices, his first album to employ singers (Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Elizabeth Kantomanou, Richard Bona) and 2004’s These Times, which featured guest turns from banjo ace Bela Fleck and alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. 2006’s Who Let The Cats Out? featured a bevy of bassists in Meshell Ndegeocello, Anthony Jackson, Richard Bona and Victor Wooten along with drummers Kim Thompson and Dave Weckl and harmonica ace Gregoire Maret and the late, great trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

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