MICHAEL BRECKER

[randyhersom]

The two albums on which Mike Brecker completely blew me away were a Joanne Brackeen album (Tring-a-Ling?) on Choice, and then later, Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light live album which I consider an utter classic. I think I'll play McCoy Tyner's Infinity tonight.

[rockefeller center]

The two albums on which Mike Brecker completely blew me away were a Joanne Brackeen album (Tring-a-Ling?) on Choice, and then later, Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light live album which I consider an utter classic. I think I'll play McCoy Tyner's Infinity tonight.

I watched the Shadows & Light video today. 50% of that line-up are already dead.

[Kari S]

This is shocking news. Been "out of the loop", and heard about it just today.

[Lazaro Vega]

Dave Liebmann on the passing of Brecker, Coltrane....

Begin forwarded text:

the funeral was beyond words-randy was incredible--they cremate mike tomorrow--public memorial sometime in the future

these are my thoughts that i would like to share with people who will understand what i am saying

PASSINGS: MIKE and ALICE

I write this a few hours after Mike's funeral, Monday Jan 15. It was as you could imagine quite moving and quite sad. He leaves a wife, two teenage children, a sister and brother Randy, who took his greatest solo today when he spoke so honestly about Mike at the funeral. I know these guys for forty years. One of his last records was with Joe Lovano and myself in Saxophone Summit with his tune as the title track appropriately titled “Gathering of Spirits.”

As well his last official gig was with that band at Birdland in March 2004. We were particularly close in the early days. Mike took over my first loft when I moved on and stayed there ten years with the same piano and continuing the same research and practice vibe. He and I were close mainly as a consequence of our love and respect for John Coltrane’s music. But more important than the music was the message that Trane left to all of us concerning humility, humanity and honesty. Music after all is in the final analysis just sound without emotion or feeling until the artist possesses the notes so the listener, if they care to and put the effort in, feels something. To move the listener, you have to bring something to the music that is inside you. Michael had plenty inside him and through music, he found a way to let people know what he was thinking and feeling. Besides inspiring so many saxophonists to pursue this deep musical tradition that we all love and respect, he personally helped many people involved in addictive behavior to find and cure themselves. And even at the end, he realized that though he wanted his disease to stay quiet, by asking for blood donors he was helping to save others, which is exactly what has happened. This is the essence of selflessness.

As Randy said in his eulogy, the passing of Alice Coltrane within the same twenty four hour period is significant on several levels, specifically in relation to Mike because of the Coltrane connection. It was the late Trane period that we (meaning Michael, Steve Grossman, Bob Berg, Randy, myself and others) were hooked on and tried to emulate in the early days. The fact that these two passings occurred during the IAJE convention in New York and became common knowledge in the last few hours of the weekend was in some ways fortuitous since such a large part of the community was by circumstance together.

The last person I saw as I was leaving the hotel was Roy Haynes. His final thought to me was exactly that, meaning this is the time for the community to pull together and keep the faith. We will do our best Sergeant Haynes.

[Lazaro Vega]

Brecker playing "Oleo."

[ep1str0phy]

The last person I saw as I was leaving the hotel was Roy Haynes. His final thought to me was exactly that, meaning this is the time for the community to pull together and keep the faith. We will do our best Sergeant Haynes.

Tru dat--but maybe too optimistic? United in grief, but not always ideas...

So much death... envy the angels, here we weep...

[JSngry]

Envy the angels? For what?

Dude - everybody dies. Some go sooner than we'd like, and sometimes it really hurts when they do, even if they go peacefully after a long life. But the bottom line is that we're still alive until further notice. The angels will come soon enough. Until they do, let's make some shit happen here and now, and let's not think twice about doing it.

[Guy Berger]

Envy the angels? For what?

Well, they get to listen to Coltrane live whereas I'm stuck with the bootlegs.

Guy

[ep1str0phy]

Envy the angels? For what?

Well, they get to listen to Coltrane live whereas I'm stuck with the bootlegs.

Guy

Actually, that's exactly what I meant.

But yes--no disagreements here. Let's (do/try to) keep on living.

[Guest youmustbe]

I was told that an album was finished by Mike, with Herbie, Brad, Metheny, Patatucci, DeJohnette and that Pat is mixing it.

[sal]

I was told that an album was finished by Mike, with Herbie, Brad, Metheny, Patatucci, DeJohnette and that Pat is mixing it.

Cool!

[Larry Kart]

Moving, very candid reminiscence from Brecker's friend since their Indiana U. days, trumpeter Randy Sandke:

http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/

[Joe G]

Moving, very candid reminiscence from Brecker's friend since their Indiana U. days, trumpeter Randy Sandke:

http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/

Wow. I've never read about all the dark experiences of the early days. Incredible.

[JSngry]

Moving, very candid reminiscence from Brecker's friend since their Indiana U. days, trumpeter Randy Sandke:

http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/

Wow. I've never read about all the dark experiences of the early days. Incredible.

I remember a thing in JAZZ magazine ca. 1979 where they did a Q&A wit the Brecker Brother, and the question was asked "What about drugs?". I think it was Randy who said something like, "If you can get by without them, good."

[Guest youmustbe]

Geez, I thought everybody knew that Mike was an all time heroin addict and then became a coke head. Kicked both.

When he first got sick, it was thought, because he came down with Hepatitis, that it was the heroin addiction. But I believe both his parents died from cancer and the Breckers are from an Eastern European Jewish sect, I forget which one, that has very high incidence of cancer.

[Rabshakeh]

Jazz historian Ted Gioia has just done a substack article on Michael Brecker.

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/how-michael-brecker-reinvented-the

It's solid rather than spectacular, and served mainly to remind me that I never remember to listen to Brecker.  Other than occasional appearances of Steps in the Listening To thread, I get the sense that the same is true of most of us here.

[BillF]

I quite like his album Time Is of the Essence.

I only saw him once - very early in his career in 1969 when the Horace Silver Quintet with Michael and Randy Brecker were at Ronnie Scott's.

[Rabshakeh]

I find that I like most of his solo records, and Steps, but that he just doesn’t come to mind. The fusion stuff leaves me pretty cold, even though I’m not otherwise averse to fusion.

Obviously there’s a high degree of gloss on everything he did, which I find a bit off putting (I have similar feelings about Metheny).

I get the sense that Steps was a big deal if you were around in the late 1970s, which I was not, but perhaps the group’s importance has been dulled since then, probably partly as a result of the intervening and universally beloved Marsalis phenomenon. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Rabshakeh

[JSngry]

32 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

 

I get the sense that Steps was a big deal if you were around in the late 1970s, which I was not... 

I was, and they were, but only in certain circles..to me it seemed like accoustic Weather Report more or less, which sounds like damning with faint praise but really isn't. Still, where they were going wasn't someplace that was calling my name, if you know what I mean.

Still, I would not mind revisiting those Don Grolnick BNs, and Mike Mainieri's is a fascinating story. None of those guys came out of nowhere, far from it 

[Milestones]

It took me awhile to come around on Brecker, but I now find a large amount of stuff that I continue to listen to.  This includes Metheny's 80/81 (an absolutely ferocious solo on "Two Folk Songs"), the record with Tyner, Time is of the Essence (IMO the best of the solo records).  Actually the solo records on the whole are quite good, if not consistently first-rate.  Also the Abercrombie record Night and the "Directions" live record.  And he is no disgrace on Gathering of Spirits with Lovano and Liebman.  I have no trouble regarding him as a major jazz figure.

 

[Brad]

5 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Jazz historian Ted Gioia has just done a substack article on Michael Brecker.

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/how-michael-brecker-reinvented-the

It's solid rather than spectacular, and served mainly to remind me that I never remember to listen to Brecker.  Other than occasional appearances of Steps in the Listening To thread, I get the sense that the same is true of most of us here.

I thought it was a nice homage to Brecker but I agree with you; I don’t listen to him a lot. 

[Chuck Nessa]

I have never listened to him on purpose. No judgement, just truth. In the late '60s he was a student at Indiana and a customer in my record store. I knew of him because his brother was in Blood, Sweat & Tears.

[Guy Berger]

8 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Jazz historian Ted Gioia has just done a substack article on Michael Brecker.

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/how-michael-brecker-reinvented-the

It's solid rather than spectacular, and served mainly to remind me that I never remember to listen to Brecker.  Other than occasional appearances of Steps in the Listening To thread, I get the sense that the same is true of most of us here.

How do people think about Brecker's role in jazz music vs, say, Chris Potter or Mark Turner?  All 3 seem to be "musician's musicians" in a way.

[Gheorghe]

4 minutes ago, Guy Berger said:

How do people think about Brecker's role in jazz music vs, say, Chris Potter or Mark Turner?  All 3 seem to be "musician's musicians" in a way.

Well I was there when he was still a very young musician, he and his brother Randy were new heroes, they got very famous both for "Brecker Brothers" and they played very very much on the last Mingus session , the most soloes, so they really had something. 
Once in Italy I heard some local guys spinning a tape on the beach, it was some acoustic band with Chick Corea, Randy Brecker, Eddy Gomez and maybe Peter Erskine on drums. The guys somehow felt that I am into that great music and invited me to have a taste of their bottle of wine or grappa and we smoked a cigarette together........but......... I was not alone in holiday, you know that blonde girl with long legs who was with meon holiday  and got impatient that I hang around with some boring guys who listen to "jungle music" ..... she wanted fun, fashion, dancin, and I wanted....... oh yeah.... so I decided to leave it there ...thinking that there will be enough time for music after the italian holiday, lost the trace of the album. but I still remember that Mike Brecker-Chick Corea Thing, has somebody an idea what it could have been ? 

[soulpope]

9 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Jazz historian Ted Gioia has just done a substack article on Michael Brecker.

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/how-michael-brecker-reinvented-the

It's solid rather than spectacular, and served mainly to remind me that I never remember to listen to Brecker.  Other than occasional appearances of Steps in the Listening To thread, I get the sense that the same is true of most of us here.

Probably you should give an ear to Hal Galper Quintet "Reach Out" on SteepleChase .... me not being a Brecker fan, but good music survives even prejudices ....