Plucking luck

By Sean McCarthy

In the spring of 2021, John Stein was writing and rehearsing the music that would be on his 17th full-length album. An internationally renowned jazz guitarist, educator, and author, the 72-year-old Tiverton resident was poised to appear at the top of the national jazz radio charts, as he had done with three of his previous albums.

But it would be an album he almost didn’t live to record.

That fall, instead of being in the recording studio, Stein was in the intensive care unit of a Boston hospital, being kept alive on a ventilator. Beset with myasthenia gravis, Stein was unable to eat, was having significant problems with his eyesight, and was experiencing progressive physical deterioration. A husband, a father, and a grandfather, the otherwise healthy musician was suffering from this auto-immune disease that affects the connections between the nerves and the muscles. It was a precarious situation, partly the result of a late diagnosis, but his doctors informed him that they would be able to save his life and likely restore him to many of the roles he had loved so much.

So, when the album, “No Goodbyes,” is released on September 15, it will be a record almost three years in the making, a token that embodies Stein’s struggle and determination to return to the level of performance that had earned him international respect and acclaim for his guitar mastery.

“When I was in the hospital, I made the decision that I wanted to stay alive,” Stein recalls. “There were a few moments where I thought, ‘Is it worth it? Do I really want to deal with all this?’ I decided that I did. My illness caused me to reorder my priorities – I was staying alive for my family, my friends, my grandchildren. I made peace with it. If I never play guitar again, I’ve created a body of work, so be it.”

After two months in the hospital, Stein devoted the next six months to therapy, medication, and recovery.

“When I got home from the hospital, my wife put my guitar on my lap and I could barely hold it. I had no strength and I couldn’t move my hands. I couldn’t push the strings down and I had no coordination at all.”

But Stein didn’t despair.

“I pretty much knew that if I worked at it, I’d get it back,” he says. “It took quite a few months, but I was able to get myself back to where I was.

“When I was home from the hospital some of my friends would come by to visit me. One day I got a visit from [bassist] Ed Lucie. We played a few tunes together and it was such a thrill. I hadn’t played with another human being for many months. I had a lot of ideas that I couldn’t execute, but it was such a thrill to be making music with another human being. It was a wonderful feeling, even though I didn’t have my normal skills.”

But that wasn’t the only valuable visit that Stein would receive. While still in the hospital, he got a visit from Neal Weiss, President of Whaling City Sound, the New Bedford-based record label that had released 12 of Stein’s albums to that point. Weiss, a Dartmouth resident, suggested that Stein could use his time in recovery to assemble a career retrospective album, a compilation of material from his previous 16 records. And by June of 2022, Stein’s seventeenth album, “Lifeline,” appeared – a two-CD package of 26 of Stein’s songs. The album stayed on the national jazz radio charts for six months, peaking at number four. It was the fourth Stein album to break into the top 10.

“When I was lying in that hospital bed, unable to do anything for myself, I was listening to my albums and choosing what songs to put on the new record,” Stein says. “It gave me the opportunity to do something creative with my time.”

Swing of Things

Stein is finally able to release the album he intended to make prior to his illness, “No Goodbyes.” The album’s 11 tracks include Lucie on bass, and Mike Connors on drums, as well as vocalist Cindy Scott on five of the songs. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by John Mailloux at Bongo Beach Productions in Westport, it is the second Stein album to feature Lucie and Connors. In September of 2020, during the Covid lockdown, the trio recorded a performance at the New Bedford Art Museum that would become the album, “Serendipity.” The performance was also recorded on video and streamed later that month as part of the city’s AHA! Nights.

Stein’s style of jazz is commonly described as mainstream and accessible. He has been described by critics as “elite,” “impressive,” “the poet of the classical jazz guitar,” and “one of the finest jazz guitarists you’ll ever hear.”

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Stein picked up the guitar at the age of seven and took his first jazz lesson at 13. After dropping out of college in 1970, he spent the next 10 years in Vermont, playing rock music on the state’s music circuit, and learning “practical skills” such as carpentry and auto repair. But at the age of 30, he was inspired by a piano playing friend to build on his passion for music and attend the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Four years later, less than a month after his graduation, Stein was given a position as a teacher at the college. He would be a professor at the school for more than three decades. During his time in Boston, he would also earn a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard University.

For 10 years, Stein was a columnist for “Just Jazz Guitar” magazine, and has authored three books on jazz composition and performance. His talents have taken him to perform throughout Europe, America, and Brazil.

“It’s moving and powerful to see John perform again,” Weiss says. “He’s playing even stronger than ever, it’s wonderful to see him at the top of his game.”

“It was tedious to be in the hospital,” Stein says. “I understand why they call people in hospitals ‘patients.’ You’re lying in bed and you can’t do anything for yourself. If you need anything you just can’t do it and I lived that way for two months. It certainly requires patience. Being able to play music again is a thrill and a blessing, because I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it again – and I can.

“Almost every day I’m reminded that I could be in a hospital bed waiting for somebody to bring me a glass of water. Now I can get my own glass of water and I’m feeling very, very grateful.”

Sean McCarthy has been a freelance journalist for 35 years. He lives in New Bedford.