Former Miles Davis guitarist Mike Stern takes an all-embracing approach here, mixing up funk, blues, African music, soul-jazz, bebop and ballads. He takes an equally sweeping approach to recruiting studio lineups, too: there are star appearances from Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Randy Brecker, sax heavyweights Chris Potter, Kenny Garrett and Bob Malach, and drummer Dave Weckl. All this can sometimes make it seem as though Stern treats recording like trying on costumes, but his excellent original tunes pull the session into a cohesive shape. The jaunty opener, AJ, launches the show with an ingenious tenor solo from Potter; Cameroon and Light are melodious African groovers for Bona's falsetto; Out of the Blue springs a bright, skippy melody for Brecker off Coltrane's A Love Supreme hook; and Spalding sings a dreamy, wordless melody on As Far As We Know. Guitar buffs always go for Stern, but this set's variety should pull in a broader audience.