"Lifecycle" is the new collaborative recording from the formidable jazz quartet, the Yellowjackets and the high-energy guitar virtuoso Mike Stern. This is the first Yellowjackets recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player, and illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that"s far greater than the sum of its parts. "Lifecycle" is, in some respects, two albums in one. Seven of the ten tracks are quintet pieces featuring Stern and the "Jackets, while the remaining three are quartet pieces that showcase the individual and collective talents of the current Yellowjackets lineup: Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Marcus Baylor.