Press

by Brian S. Lunde At the age of 72, Mike Mainieri isn’t the household name among the jazz public that he should be.  He played his first professional gig on vibes when he was 14 as part of trio with Paul Whiteman; he was a mainstay with the Buddy Rich...

Mainieri is a renowned vibe player known best for his many years with the ever-changing Steps Ahead. Here the veteran teams with guitarist Marnix Busstra for another winning collaboration. The vibes and the various guitars and bouzouki fit well together,...

2.0 L'Image (Mainieri/Bernhardt/Spinozza/Levin/Gadd) | NYC Records (2010) By John Kelman It may seem odd to take nearly 40 years to release a debut, but in the case of L'Image it's definitely a case of never-too-late. A collective formed by vibraphonist...

It's hard to imagine vibraphonist Mike Mainieri in his seventies. Not only does he look and sound like a man 10 years (or more) his junior, but a quick look at the projects he's been involved in over the past few years sound like anything but a...

It's hard to imagine vibraphonist Mike Mainieri in his seventies. Not only does he look and sound like a man 10 years (or more) his junior, but a quick look at the projects he's been involved in over the past few years sound like anything but a...

By Doug Collette Playing distinctly different sounding instruments, these frontmen are certainly a simpatico pair of musicians.  The radiance of the former's vibes counterpoints the pointed motion of the latter and because both men are patent...

By Ron Netsky It's hard to believe, but vibraphonist Mike Mainieri has been on the scene for five decades, recording and touring with groups ranging from the Buddy Rich Big Band to his own groundbreaking jazz-fusion group, Steps Ahead. Judging by his...

by Bill Meredith During the late 1950s and early 1960s, a youthful Mike Mainieri performed with artists like Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich and Wes Montgomery. Now the veteran vibraphonist, 71, is introducing a wider American...

*4 stars* by John Ephland From song to song, Twelve Pieces brims with a kind of forward motion that suggests this quartet is not only well rehearsed but is thoroughly at home with the material. Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri hooks up with...

Steps Ahead founder and vibraphonist Mainieri is paired with Netherlands-based guitarist Marnix Busstra on this interesting release. Maineri and Busstra remind a bit of Gary Burton and Pat Metheny, but only in a passing manner, as they have their own...