"Time in Place" is a jazz fusion composition written by guitarist Mike Stern. It serves as the title track of his 1988 album of the same name, recorded in December 1987 at Skyline Studios in New York City and released on Atlantic Records. The piece takes a more subdued, melodic approach compared to the album's more high-energy material, reflecting Stern's ability to craft lyrical compositions alongside his characteristically intense electric guitar work. The original recording features Bob Berg on tenor and soprano saxophone, Jim Beard on keyboards, Jeff Andrews on bass, Peter Erskine on drums, and Don Alias on percussion, with Stern on guitar. The composition blends mellow thematic passages with Stern's signature overdriven guitar tone, creating a contrast between restraint and intensity that gives the piece its distinctive character. Berg's saxophone work adds another expressive voice to the arrangement. As a deep cut from Stern's early solo career, which followed his high-profile stints with Miles Davis and Billy Cobham, the tune exemplifies the instrumental jazz fusion style he was developing during the late 1980s. It has not been widely covered by other artists and remains primarily known through its original album appearance, serving as a representative example of Stern's melodic sensibility within the fusion idiom.
