Ted, thanks as always for your wonderful work. I’ve forwarded this to my son, one of those practice-room dwelling sax (alto) 25 year old demon geeks and my personal hero. It was also a pleasure to see you mention Brecker’s 1987 album. Many years before, probably around 1974-5, I played briefly in a RNR band that included Kenny Kirkland, another wonderful talent gone way too soon.
You did a fine job with this article. Thanks again!!
Hearing the Brecker Brothers was revelation. Hearing Michael Brecker play in so many different musical settings was stunning beyond belief. Corea's Three Quartets stands out in my mind. I'm gonna spin his first solo record now.
The first two Brecker solo albums represent the best post-Coltrane sax recordings IMO. A beautiful contrast of acoustic and electric music that was both informed by the past and utterly original. I enjoyed the thoughtful take on his place in modern music, a proper legacy is hard to define when it’s built on such diverse blocks.
Michael Brecker was certainly an incredible saxophonist. I am not a saxophone player nor student, and as an artist he never made much of an impression on me beyond sounding like the zenith of what every saxophonist off of the jazz academy assembly line wanted to sound like. Most musicians I know are absolutely in awe of anyone with amazing technical facility on their axe, but that in and of itself is not an endorsement of their lasting artistic value. I have not made a study of his work and am not qualified to deliver a learned critical assessment, but I did find this essay on line on the Jazz Duck blog which offers a more critical view: https://thejazzduck.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/artist-essay-explaining-michael-brecker-to-myself/
Dude. Mr. Lyons. Mr. Jazzduck. I'm sorry man. Studio Mike and the "in the musical trenches dealing with the music in NYC with killers in the audience MIke" were 2 different animals. The problem with MIke is he was SO smart he knew how to support his family well by studio work, and then quickly took his gloves off in the clubs. I was there for both. 2 different MIkes. You nor mr duck could have formed this opinon after a night at Sweet Basils, Village Gate, or Iridium in NYC. Please ask those of us who bear the musical power of those nights. Mike ADORED Trane, and reached for moon like he did, respected the music like he did, brought his best every night. Never saw Trane live so cannot comment on the studio/live differences.
I always seen Michael Brecker and Steve Grossman as giants from the 1970's and especially 1980s on as two of the standard bearers of the Tenor saxophone sad both are gone now but there body of work speak volumes to me.
Great and poignant piece, Ted. My two cents: Many of our critical compatriots saw Brecker as a “studio cat,” which unfairly reduced his jazz cred among writers and jazz influencers back in the day. Also: you may have seen the recent Facebook posts about Joe Henderson’s beef that Brecker stole his licks. The feeling that Joe Hen was being ripped off by a young whippersnapper, who was also White, may have subconsciously caused critics - in showing sympathy for an older Black musician - to deny Brecker his flowers, which is sad, because I’m quite sure Brecker was hurt by Joe Hen’s jeremiads. That being said, kudos to Bill for a great book, and to you Ted for this informative essay.
Again. Thank you for this wonderful article. I’ve just tweeted this to a friend who I’ve played with over the years, altoist Steve Smith. He’s just shot back a big thank you to you. As Steve put it, Michael Brecker was always a God. Again, thank you so much.
I never listened to him a lot. Chuck Nessa of Nessa Records, after someone posted your article on Organissimo, wrote “I have never listened to him on purpose. No judgment, just truth.”
I had no idea that Michael Brecker was terminally ill when my wife and I saw him play with Herbie Hancock, et al in Fort Worth, Texas. However, I knew he was and remains the standard by which all saxophonists must measure themselves. Thank you, good sir, for your excellent article to say so! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi Ted! I'm reading Louis Menand's "The Free World" about the dramatic expansion of higher education after WWI due to the GI Bill and other factors (Chapter 13).
He says, "Expansion on that scale and involving those sums was bound to have an effect on cultural and intellectual life. In some areas, the university supplemented or replaced 'Bohemia' -- communities like Greenwich Village, Provincetown, and North Beach -- as a space for independent art and thought".
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this as a component of the decline of the jazz scene and the ascendancy of jazz education.
The best account of how the GI Bill impacted jazz can be found in Marc Myers's book Why Jazz Happened. I discuss the impact of college jazz programs on the music in the latest (3rd) edition of my book The History of Jazz, but I focus more on recent developments. Marc is much better at explaining how jazz initially entered academia—and that's a fascinating story.
My quick-and-brief response here is that there's probably too much criticism directed at college-educated jazz musicians. I can understand nostalgia for old times. My own jazz education was entirely self-taught, and that may have had brought me some advantages, but there were just as many disadvantages. I never went to a school or university where I could learn jazz in a classroom, but I'm fairly certain I could have learned and developed my skills more rapidly in the classroom environments available nowadays. So when I see these huge, well-organized jazz programs, I feel more envy than anything else.
True, there's probably a large dose of groupthink in these schools, but the best musicians will rise above it and find their own voices. In any event, there's really no going back to the old ways, so it's better to focus on how to make jazz education better, rather than waxing nostalgic over the more 'intuitive' or 'self-made' approaches of the past.
One thing your beautiful article and all articles on Michael Brecker never fail to conveniently skip over is his criminal nature. Over the decades, those who went to his concerts saw this dark side. It was not pretty. It was a Wednesday night…. it was fall in Tempe AZ. Place was Chuys. My Basia loving RandB loving brother, ultra reluctantly dragged himself with me to see Mike Brecker, Mike Stern and some fill in musicians. The ASU music director, also a sax player, tried to eat Mike’s lunch as the opening act. After his blazing soloing he climbed a narrow A/V ladder that led to a little precipice above the lights and squated like a kindergartner during play time ready to see what Mike would do in response. Mike was so upset he didn’t bother saying hi to the audience or introducing the band until it was all over. At the end he just yelled the personnel’s names out as parting shots. He ripped, roared, syncopated, and musically destroyed that hot shot horn player so badly, that even after the lights came on he never came down from his perch. Dude just sat there pale, like a corpse, and he didn’t move. Didn’t twitch and I stayed there also stunned for a least 15 minutes. The audience was stunned. Nobody moved from there seats. Tears were in eyes, people looked at the floor, looked at the walls, wondering what just happened. I’ve havent experienced such an audience reaction to music since. Ever. Not even close. And I’ve been to over 100 concerts and most of those 100 audiences were jazz audiences. Tune after tune lost the piano player and drums, only the bass player and Stern could handle the music. My jazz disliking brother was so lifted he jumped out of his seat and screamed. The elation I felt that night has only been felt a few times over the last 40 years of shows. That was the first of 10 Michael Brecker shows I’m so privledge to have been a part of. Mind you Chris Potter, Steve Lacy, Branford Marsalis, Joe lovano, Eric Alexander, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garret, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins I have all heard live where they lit it up. Only Garrett and Lacy lifted above Brecker that night. Maybe the disrespect of the jazz industry towards him led to this mayhem. To this day I’m convinced Michael Brecker although he walked away a free man should have done jail time for the murder in cold blood he committed in Temp AZ desert on a Wednesday night at Chuys. There were a few hundred witnesses that will back me on that. May the crimes of Mike Brecker be forgiven and máy his legacy be a fire for all musicians to come.
Thanks for this great tribute.
Ted, thanks as always for your wonderful work. I’ve forwarded this to my son, one of those practice-room dwelling sax (alto) 25 year old demon geeks and my personal hero. It was also a pleasure to see you mention Brecker’s 1987 album. Many years before, probably around 1974-5, I played briefly in a RNR band that included Kenny Kirkland, another wonderful talent gone way too soon.
You did a fine job with this article. Thanks again!!
Joe
Hearing the Brecker Brothers was revelation. Hearing Michael Brecker play in so many different musical settings was stunning beyond belief. Corea's Three Quartets stands out in my mind. I'm gonna spin his first solo record now.
Excellent article! Thank you.
I haven't heard too many of his records, but I am sure interested in checking them out now.
The first two Brecker solo albums represent the best post-Coltrane sax recordings IMO. A beautiful contrast of acoustic and electric music that was both informed by the past and utterly original. I enjoyed the thoughtful take on his place in modern music, a proper legacy is hard to define when it’s built on such diverse blocks.
Michael Brecker was certainly an incredible saxophonist. I am not a saxophone player nor student, and as an artist he never made much of an impression on me beyond sounding like the zenith of what every saxophonist off of the jazz academy assembly line wanted to sound like. Most musicians I know are absolutely in awe of anyone with amazing technical facility on their axe, but that in and of itself is not an endorsement of their lasting artistic value. I have not made a study of his work and am not qualified to deliver a learned critical assessment, but I did find this essay on line on the Jazz Duck blog which offers a more critical view: https://thejazzduck.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/artist-essay-explaining-michael-brecker-to-myself/
Dude. Mr. Lyons. Mr. Jazzduck. I'm sorry man. Studio Mike and the "in the musical trenches dealing with the music in NYC with killers in the audience MIke" were 2 different animals. The problem with MIke is he was SO smart he knew how to support his family well by studio work, and then quickly took his gloves off in the clubs. I was there for both. 2 different MIkes. You nor mr duck could have formed this opinon after a night at Sweet Basils, Village Gate, or Iridium in NYC. Please ask those of us who bear the musical power of those nights. Mike ADORED Trane, and reached for moon like he did, respected the music like he did, brought his best every night. Never saw Trane live so cannot comment on the studio/live differences.
I always seen Michael Brecker and Steve Grossman as giants from the 1970's and especially 1980s on as two of the standard bearers of the Tenor saxophone sad both are gone now but there body of work speak volumes to me.
Great and poignant piece, Ted. My two cents: Many of our critical compatriots saw Brecker as a “studio cat,” which unfairly reduced his jazz cred among writers and jazz influencers back in the day. Also: you may have seen the recent Facebook posts about Joe Henderson’s beef that Brecker stole his licks. The feeling that Joe Hen was being ripped off by a young whippersnapper, who was also White, may have subconsciously caused critics - in showing sympathy for an older Black musician - to deny Brecker his flowers, which is sad, because I’m quite sure Brecker was hurt by Joe Hen’s jeremiads. That being said, kudos to Bill for a great book, and to you Ted for this informative essay.
Again. Thank you for this wonderful article. I’ve just tweeted this to a friend who I’ve played with over the years, altoist Steve Smith. He’s just shot back a big thank you to you. As Steve put it, Michael Brecker was always a God. Again, thank you so much.
I never listened to him a lot. Chuck Nessa of Nessa Records, after someone posted your article on Organissimo, wrote “I have never listened to him on purpose. No judgment, just truth.”
Thanks for the great price, Ted. I know what I’m listening to today.
I had no idea that Michael Brecker was terminally ill when my wife and I saw him play with Herbie Hancock, et al in Fort Worth, Texas. However, I knew he was and remains the standard by which all saxophonists must measure themselves. Thank you, good sir, for your excellent article to say so! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi Ted! I'm reading Louis Menand's "The Free World" about the dramatic expansion of higher education after WWI due to the GI Bill and other factors (Chapter 13).
He says, "Expansion on that scale and involving those sums was bound to have an effect on cultural and intellectual life. In some areas, the university supplemented or replaced 'Bohemia' -- communities like Greenwich Village, Provincetown, and North Beach -- as a space for independent art and thought".
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this as a component of the decline of the jazz scene and the ascendancy of jazz education.
The best account of how the GI Bill impacted jazz can be found in Marc Myers's book Why Jazz Happened. I discuss the impact of college jazz programs on the music in the latest (3rd) edition of my book The History of Jazz, but I focus more on recent developments. Marc is much better at explaining how jazz initially entered academia—and that's a fascinating story.
My quick-and-brief response here is that there's probably too much criticism directed at college-educated jazz musicians. I can understand nostalgia for old times. My own jazz education was entirely self-taught, and that may have had brought me some advantages, but there were just as many disadvantages. I never went to a school or university where I could learn jazz in a classroom, but I'm fairly certain I could have learned and developed my skills more rapidly in the classroom environments available nowadays. So when I see these huge, well-organized jazz programs, I feel more envy than anything else.
True, there's probably a large dose of groupthink in these schools, but the best musicians will rise above it and find their own voices. In any event, there's really no going back to the old ways, so it's better to focus on how to make jazz education better, rather than waxing nostalgic over the more 'intuitive' or 'self-made' approaches of the past.
80/81 clued me in.
One thing your beautiful article and all articles on Michael Brecker never fail to conveniently skip over is his criminal nature. Over the decades, those who went to his concerts saw this dark side. It was not pretty. It was a Wednesday night…. it was fall in Tempe AZ. Place was Chuys. My Basia loving RandB loving brother, ultra reluctantly dragged himself with me to see Mike Brecker, Mike Stern and some fill in musicians. The ASU music director, also a sax player, tried to eat Mike’s lunch as the opening act. After his blazing soloing he climbed a narrow A/V ladder that led to a little precipice above the lights and squated like a kindergartner during play time ready to see what Mike would do in response. Mike was so upset he didn’t bother saying hi to the audience or introducing the band until it was all over. At the end he just yelled the personnel’s names out as parting shots. He ripped, roared, syncopated, and musically destroyed that hot shot horn player so badly, that even after the lights came on he never came down from his perch. Dude just sat there pale, like a corpse, and he didn’t move. Didn’t twitch and I stayed there also stunned for a least 15 minutes. The audience was stunned. Nobody moved from there seats. Tears were in eyes, people looked at the floor, looked at the walls, wondering what just happened. I’ve havent experienced such an audience reaction to music since. Ever. Not even close. And I’ve been to over 100 concerts and most of those 100 audiences were jazz audiences. Tune after tune lost the piano player and drums, only the bass player and Stern could handle the music. My jazz disliking brother was so lifted he jumped out of his seat and screamed. The elation I felt that night has only been felt a few times over the last 40 years of shows. That was the first of 10 Michael Brecker shows I’m so privledge to have been a part of. Mind you Chris Potter, Steve Lacy, Branford Marsalis, Joe lovano, Eric Alexander, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garret, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins I have all heard live where they lit it up. Only Garrett and Lacy lifted above Brecker that night. Maybe the disrespect of the jazz industry towards him led to this mayhem. To this day I’m convinced Michael Brecker although he walked away a free man should have done jail time for the murder in cold blood he committed in Temp AZ desert on a Wednesday night at Chuys. There were a few hundred witnesses that will back me on that. May the crimes of Mike Brecker be forgiven and máy his legacy be a fire for all musicians to come.