Robben Ford Discussion

[Daved]

AP

New YorkTenor saxophonist Michael Brecker dies at age 57 in NYC
By NAHAL TOOSI
Associated Press Writer

January 13, 2007, 6:26 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Michael Brecker, a versatile and highly influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday at age 57.

Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia, according to his longtime friend and manager, Darryl Pitt.




In recent years, the saxophonist had struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. The disease, known as MDS, often progresses to leukemia.

Throughout his career, Brecker recorded and performed with numerous jazz and pop music leaders, including Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, according to his Web site. His most recently released recording, Wide Angles, appeared on many top jazz lists and won two Grammys in 2004.

His technique on the saxophone was widely emulated, and his style was much-studied in music schools throughout the world. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years," according to a press release from his family.

Though very sick, Brecker managed to record a final album, as yet untitled, that was completed just two weeks ago. Pitt said the musician was very enthusiastic about the final work.

"In addition to the love of his family and friends, his work on this project helped keep him alive and will be another jewel in his legacy," Pitt said.

Brecker, who had a home in Westchester County's Hastings-on-Hudson, was born in 1949 in Philadelphia to a musically inclined family. His father would take his sons to performances of jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.

Brecker, who first studied clarinet and alto saxophone, decided to pursue the tenor saxophone in high school after being inspired by the work of John Coltrane, according to his Web site. He followed his brother, Randy, a trumpet player, to Indiana University, but he left after a year for New York.

In 1970, he helped found the jazz-rock group Dreams. He later joined his brother in pianist and composer Horace Silver's quintet. Michael and Randy also started the successful jazz-rock fusion group the Brecker Brothers. The two also owned the now-defunct downtown jazz club Seventh Avenue South.

His solo career began in 1987, when his self-titled debut was voted "Jazz Album of the Year" in both Down Beat and Jazziz magazines.

His struggle with the blood disease led him and his family to publicly encourage people to enroll in bone marrow donor programs. His own search for a donor led to an experimental blood stem cell transplant that "did not work as hoped," according to a May 2006 entry on his Web site.

His illness silenced his music at times, but raising awareness of bone marrow drives gave him a new focus.

"It's something that doesn't come naturally. ... I obviously miss playing and writing music," Brecker told The Associated Press in 2005. "On the other hand, this whole experience has allowed me to be a conduit to attract attention for a cause that's much larger than me ... for people to go get tested (for the marrow donor program) because I know a lot of lives will be saved."

Brecker's survivors include his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; his brother, Randy; and his sister, Emily Brecker Greenberg. Memorial services are being planned.



Rip....
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B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[sfhalo]

The loss of Michael Brecker is very sad........he was such a monster player and true innovator. May he rest in peace. Daved, thanks for posting the news.

[Red Suede]

My favorite of all time. Played horn parts in so many different genres from Cameo to Paul Simon. Always very melodic, even when playing outside.

[Too Many Gittars...]

Alas, here we have another reminder to make every effort to leave our cocoons and get out to see great players whenever we have the opportunity. Add another member to the big jam in the sky...

Rob

[jconstant]

Man, I can't believe I just found out about this. I knew he was sick and I checked his web site periodically to see how he was doing. Last time I checked the call had been put out for marrow doners.

Just checked the site again on a whim today and saw only a simple page announcing his newest album due out in late May but no info about Michael. One quick search and I saw the terrible news.

It's always sad when somebody goes, but when someone famous goes it hits so many people.

Thank God we had him as long as we did so we could enjoy his incredible talent.
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"Somebody's got to make some music around here." - Robben Ford

[telefunk1]

The April issue of Down Beat has a very nice cover story on Brecker.

[sfhalo]

Next Tuesday, 5/22, the newest and last CD, Pilgrimage, recorded by Michael Brecker will be released. Yesterday, George Varga, music critic of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper wrote the following review:

"Michael Brecker's final work, 'Pilgrimage,' is a remarkable cap on a remarkable career

By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
May 17, 2007

HeadsUp
Jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker, who won 13 Grammys, played on more than 900 albums by other artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin and Frank Zappa.
Michael Brecker was the greatest jazz saxophonist that most pop-music fans ever heard, even if they never listened to jazz.

That's because Brecker, a 13-time Grammy Award-winner who died in January from leukemia at the age of 57, was also one of the most versatile and prolific instrumentalists in any (and seemingly every) style of contemporary music. He played on more than 900 albums by other artists, as well as on 22 under his own name or as the co-leader of Steps Ahead and The Brecker Brothers.

From Aerosmith to Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell to Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin to The Carpenters, Brecker worked with more artists from more genres than almost any other instrumentalist. He did so with consistent skill and distinction, enhancing each song without detracting from his employer, whether it was John Lennon, P-Funk or Mongo Santamaria.

The perfectly crafted sax solos on Paul Simon's “Still Crazy After All These Years” and James Taylor's “Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”? Both Brecker. The solos on Aerosmith's “Same Old Song and Dance” and Cameo's “Candy?” Ibid. Todd Rundgren's “Hello It's Me,” Dire Straits' “Your Latest Trick,” Dan Fogelberg's “Same Old Lang Syne?” All Brecker.

Michael Brecker
“Pilgrimage”
Heads Up

In the early 1980s, he was a member of the house band on TV's “Saturday Night Live” (that was him on Eddie Murphy's memorable James Brown spoof, “Get in the Hot Tub”). He was also prominently featured on the soundtracks to “Footloose,” “The Wiz” and other hit films.

So it's almost a given that many people have heard Brecker, in one context or another. Several Union-Tribune readers were so impressed when he performed with Simon at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1991, in particular by the stunning solo Brecker played on “Dogs in the Wine Shop” using an EWI (short for Electronic Wind Instrument), that they phoned me to talk about it.

It's likely lots of people will be talking about “Pilgrimage,” too, and for very good reason.

This superb, nine-song album was recorded over four days last August in Manhattan, a year after it was announced that Brecker had been diagnosed with the bone marrow disease known as myelodysplastic syndrome. His condition left him weak and unable to even pick up his sax for extended periods of time, but he somehow summoned the strength to make “Pilgrimage.”

A remarkable swan song, it teams Brecker with an all-star band that includes such longtime musical pals as guitarist Pat Metheny, drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist John Patitucci and pianists Herbie Hanock and Brad Mehldau. Together, they soar throughout.

One of the most important and imitated saxophonists in jazz since John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly, Brecker combined technical mastery and emotional depth, poise and panache, with a galvanizing improvisational attack.
All of his attributes are amply showcased on “Pilgrimage,” which will be released Tuesday. It alternates between such exquisite ballads as “When Can I Kiss You Again?” and “Five Months From Midnight” (the latter boasting a great Metheny solo) to such fiery numbers as “The Mean Time” and the twisty “Anagram” (which features devious stop-go rhythms).

Brecker's solo on “Loose Threads” is a gem, but he shines on every song on the album, as do his bandmates. He sounds very much like a first-rate artist celebrating the power of music and charged instrumental interplay, not a fatally ill man who would be dead less than six months later.

On the loping “Tumbleweed,” he punctuates his robust tenor sax work with samples of an uncredited male Middle Eastern singer, to suitably exotic effect. “Cardinal Rule” features intricate unison lines between sax and guitar, while the album-closing “Pilgrimage” slowly builds to a dazzling climax made all the more moving by the fact it was the final song Brecker recorded for his final album.

What results is not only one of the best jazz albums in recent years, but one of the best albums, period. Whether you're a longtime Michael Brecker fan or just finding out about him, this “Pilgrimage” is well worth taking."

[ellsworth]

Loved his stuff with Steps Ahead. he will be sorely missed
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the older I get the better I was