Mike Stern: Last News

Selena Kuznikov The North Fork TV Festival has unveiled that it is honoring “The West Wing” actor Richard Schiff as the Ambassador for the Arts. The organization has also revealed the full list of winners of the Independent Pilot competition, including Sue Zarco Kramer’s comedy “Swipe NYC,” which Schiff co-stars in. The festival will take place in Greenport, NY on Aug.

Jim Beard, the touring keyboardist for Steely Dan for the past 16 years, has died at the age of 63. He passed away on Saturday, 2 March in a New York City hospital “from complications due to a sudden illness”, Deadline reports.The composer and producer joined the live Steely Dan band in 2008 when he joined them on their Think Fast Tour. Earlier this year, he joined them for a show in Phoenix, Arizona on 20 January.

Jim Beard, a pianist, keyboardist, composer, producer and arranger known for his work with Steely Dan as well as jazz musicians Wayne Shorter and John McLaughlin, died Saturday, March 2, in a New York City hospital from complications due to a sudden illness. He was 63.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter two years of pandemic-induced shutdown and Omicron-postponed reopenings in December and January, Iridium, the downstairs music club in New York’s Times Square known as the “home of Les Paul,” is finishing the second week of its grand reopening, which launched on March 1 with a performance by the Harlem Blues Project, followed by four shows with a fiery jazz-rock band led by guitarist Mike Stern (featuring the great Randy Brecker on cornet), blues guitarist King Solomon Hicks, veteran folksinger Tom Rush and tonight and Saturday, guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, and jazz guitarist Larry Carlton, including sets focused on his extensively 1970s work with Steely Dan.The unusually intimate (for New York, anyway) 170-capacity downstairs club, which has updated its cleaning procedures and air-filtration system, returned with a full menu (including entrees like “The Les Paul” burger and the plant-based “Jerry Garcia”) a robust wine list and many (potent) specialty cocktails. The club is also launching Iridium Underground, a new series focused on emerging artists, next week with Brooklyn-based guitarist-producer Mario and the Mood.