The death of keyboardist Jim Beard at the age of 63 in March this year left many in deep shock, such was his continuous presence in the highest echelons of jazz as both player and producer with everyone from Steely Dan, to John McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter. He appears here as both player and producer on this effusive latest set from another indefatigable jazz fusion figure, Mike Stern.

No stranger to adversity himself, Stern has made an emphatic comeback from a near career-ending fall in 2017 that broke both his arms, and if anything Echoes and Other Songs is something of a late-career high for the eternally energetic six-stringer, who’s now 71 years young.

Joined by one of his hardest hitting bands in recent years – the ubiquitous Chris Potter firing from the off, McBride and Sanchez the perfect simpatico rhythm section, there’s a suitably uplifting vibe permeating these sessions, with everyone sounding overjoyed to be backing up their guitar hero Mr Stern.

Opener ‘Connections’ begins with some plucked ngoni from Mike’s wife Leni, which soon gives way to Stern’s patented minor riffing and tight unison melody lines with Potter. Stern’s solos still beguile with his artfully in-n-out lines, with the blues and his overdrive pedal never far away. His association with Cameroonian bass star Richard Bona goes back to 2001’s Voices, and they’re reunited here on three songs: the grinding funk of ‘Space Bar’, skipping vocal-harmony soaked ‘I Hope So’ and vocal-infused ‘Curtis’ – this trio of tracks also replete with guesting old chums Chambers and Franceschini on drums and sax respectively.

Echoes and Other Songs also sounds superb – taped at Power Station at Berklee NYC – Beard’s skills steering this production also extends to mixing duties alongside engineer Roy Hendrickson; more reasons to feel his loss even more keenly.

And while this set doesn’t break much new musical ground for Stern, the sheer quality of the material and performances, which are fuelled by an obvious collective joy, all amount to one of the guitarist’s strongest sets in years. It’s the perfect tribute to a much-missed friend.