Bernsen’s debut record in 1986 featured an absolute dream-team of household names – Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, and Peter Erskine. In the years to follow, the guitarist toured the world and recorded alongside Marcus Miller, Michael Brecker, Toots Thielemans, Wayne Shorter and many more. 

In what is increasingly becoming an era of tribute acts, Bernsen continues to prove a highly-original voice as both composer and guitarist with this six-track release, which he says could be the first of a few this year.

The guitarist’s bandmates boast an equally impressive collective CV – including saxophonists Bob Mintzer (Yellowjackets, Jaco Pastorius) and Bob Franceschini (Mike Stern, Victor Wooten), bassist Jimmy Haslip (Allan Holdsworth, Oz Noy), trumpeters Dan Davis and Derek Sims, keyboardist George Whitty, and siblings Uzi Nizri (organ & piano) and David Nizri (drums).

The opening tracks “Prodigal Son” and “With You Always” display Bernsen’s melodic prowess as both guitarist and arranger, while “Billy Gates Blues” unearths the searing, rootsy influence of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. With stylistic references to 70’s fusion records by the likes of Weather Report or Davis’ iconic Bitches Brew, Bernsen takes the sound to a contemporary place with guitar-synthesizer technology, conjuring up the sounds of horns, keyboards and steel drums.

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