It's a long story, so here are some of the details in rough chronological order.
- born in Rochester, New York, USA into a family of musicians and raised in New York City.
- parents were professional opera singers (father, Maurice Stern; stepmother, Rita Loving)
- brother Stevie - guitarist/ singer/ blues harp master
- sister Heidi is the pop singer better known as Jennifer Rush
- as teenager, learned to play the blues harp by copying Little Walter solos
- attended the High School of Music & Art in NYC
- took beginning saxophone lessons with famed woodwind guru Joe Allard
- moved with family to Germany after junior year
- played first professional gigs in US military clubs in Frankfurt area
- made first recording as member of "Jazz Fusion" group "Virgo"
- made first solo recording "Bobby Stern and Head, Heart & Hands - Libra"
- toured Europe with Brazilian show "Brazil Tropical"
- re-formed Head, Heart & Hands (w/ Roy Louis - g, Geoff Stradling - kybds, Wolfgang Schmid - b, Guillermo Marchena - dr, voc, Elmer Louis - perc., recorded 2 more albums, played many festivals.
- became a member of long standing Salsa group "Conexion Latina"
- Toured Spain as a member of the Thad Jones Septet
- performed several concerts with a quartet led by Spanish piano legend Tete Montoliou
- appeared as soloist on many pop & disco albums of the period recorded in Munich
- recorded as soloist on Marvin Gaye's "Midnight Love" album, co-produced by Harvey Fuqua
- attended Berklee College of Music for one semester on a tuition scholarship
- several gigs with guitarist Joe Perry (Aerosmith) in the Boston area & NYC
- relocated back to NYC; worked with several Salsa bands; played many weddings
- studio sessions as soloist with popular music producers such as Mike Powell, Phil Ramone, Desmond Child, Harald Faltermeyer, et al.
- completed course at the Institute of Audio Research, NYC for recording engineers
- awarded National Endowment for the Arts study grant to study saxophone and jazz improvisation with David Liebman
- toured Europe with Jennifer Rush
- began playing the Eletronic Woodwind Instrument (EWI), when first released by AKAI.
- toured Europe with rock ' n' roll show including Clarence Clemons, Alvin Lee & John Mayall
- released self produced and recorded CD, "Ten to 2" featuring the EWI exclusively
- featured on recording with Conexion Latina - "Mambo 2000" which included Benny Bailey - tp & Nicky Marerro - timbales.
- produced "hip hop", "house", "smooth jazz" etc. for small labels in Germany
- was guest professor for two semesters at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, teaching saxophone, improvisation & ensemble
- authored "The Melodic Minor Handbook: A Jazz Player's Perspective" published by Jamey Aebersold.
- took part in alto saxophone legend Charlie Mariano's 85th Birthday Concert in Stuttgart, Germany
- recorded with, among others, Charlie Mariano - as, Billy Cobham - dr & Chaouki Smahi - oud, leader, "La Rose du Sable/ Thinking of You". This was Mariano's final session.
- took part in a seminar on Karnatic (South Indian) Music hosted by the German Youth Jazz Orchestra (BuJazO) and featuring distinguished vocalist R.A. Ramamani and her husband, master percussionist T.A.S. Mani; eminent members of the Karnataka College of Percussion in Bangalore. This was a profound musical experience.
- performed several concerts, including the North Sea Jazz Festival as member of a group including Jasper van't Hof - p, Phillip Catherine - g, Dieter Ilg - b & John Marshall - dr, performing "The Music of Charlie Mariano" in memory of his passing.
- recording and concerts as a member of Wolfgang Dauner's United Jazz & Rock Ensemble, 2nd Generation
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