Heliocentric Worlds: Michael Brecker 1949

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Michael Brecker 1949 - 2007

The weekend brought the sad news that saxophonist Michael Brecker had passed away at age 57. Brecker had been ill for a couple of years with a rare blood disease that eventually developed into leukemia after a search for a bone marrow donor failed to turn up an effective match.

Brecker will be remembered as one of the most acclaimed and emulated saxophonists of his generation, and was also, by all accounts, a hard-working, decent sort of person. His playing was clearly inspired by John Coltrane, yet nevertheless he developed an instantly recognizable sound of his own and became one of the most sought-after and frequently recorded session players of the 1970s and 1980s. (The list of sideman credits on his Web site runs to six pages.) During this time, Brecker also co-led the first incarnation of the Brecker Brothers Band with his trumpet-playing brother Randy and owned a club, Seventh Avenue South, in New York. After releasing his first album as a leader in 1987, Brecker cut back on the hired-gun work and concentrated on his solo career and on meaningful collaborations with other musicians of equal stature.

Since he was so prolific, there are a lot of examples of his playing available not only on CD, but online in video clip format. As a small tribute to a man who made a lot of great music in too short of a life, here are a few videos featuring some of the many facets of Michael Brecker.

Brecker Brothers Band - "Funky Sea, Funky Dew" parts 1 and 2

Recorded in 1980 at the Northsea Jazz Festival, featuring Michael Brecker (saxophones), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Mark Alexander Gray (keyboards), Barry Finnerty (guitar), Richie Morales (drums) and Neil Jason (bass).

Brecker Brothers - "Some Skunk Funk"

Recorded during their European tour in the mid-1980s, with Dennis Chambers (drums), Mike Stern (guitar), James Genus (bass), and George Whitty (keyboards).

Brecker Brothers - "Straphangin"