Michael Brecker

Hal Galper Quintet: Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977

by Paul Rauch
February 19, 2023

Sullivan County, New York, is a long way from the grind of the jazz scene in New York City. For iconic pianist Hal Galper, it has been home for some forty five years. The area has long drawn artists attracted to its rural lifestyle, and quick access to the city. For Galper, his move represented a bit of a repose lifestyle-wise, after spending many years on the road and in the studio with the likes of Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderly ...

Steve Khan: Arrows

by AAJ Staff
January 25, 2023

By Steve Khan With The Blue Man not selling as well as Tightrope, Dr. George Butler requested that I have a co-producer for the next CD. I was lucky to be able to land the engineering / production talents of my old and dear friend, Elliot Scheiner. Elliot and I had recorded together on countless sessions, but perhaps most people link us together because it was Elliot who recommended me to Donald Fagen and Walter Becker for AJA, which, of ...

Ode to a Tenor Titan

by Bill Milkowski
March 22, 2022

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 8, “Going Solo, The Pittbull and The EWI" from Bill Milkowski's Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker (Backbeat Books, 2022). By early 1986, Michael began formulating plans for his long-overdue solo debut. He was 37, a universally respected figure and acknowledged 'monster' player admired by fellow musicians from the pop, rock and jazz worlds. He had ridden to fame through the '70s ...

Michael Brecker: Ode to a Tenor Titan

by Kyle Simpler
February 25, 2022

Ode to a Tenor Titan Bill Milkowski 408 Pages ISBN: # 978-1-4930-5376-6 Backbeat Books 2021 By the summer of 2005, most people in the jazz world knew that legendary tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker was suffering from a serious medical condition. He had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a pre-leukemia bone marrow disorder, and his wife, Susan, was desperately trying to find someone with a bone marrow match who would provide the possibility ...

Michael Brecker, Rodney Holmes, Brett Garsed, and from the '70s Sonny Fortune, Lee Ritenour and George Duke

by Len Davis
October 22, 2021

Michael Brecker from his album Wide Angles, drummer Rodney Holmes, Sonny Fortune, Lee Ritenour and George Duke.Playlist Michael Brecker"Modus Operandi" from Wide Angles (Verve) 00:00 Rodney Holmes “The Bronx Experiment" from Twelve months of October (Self Produced 06:13 Uncle Moe's Space Ranch “[email protected]" from Uncle Moe's Space Ranch (Tone Centre) 12:22 Dirty Martini “Miss You" from Live at Baked Potato (Self Produced) 18:31 Tom Scott and LA Express “Rock Island Rocket" from Tom Cat (Record Label) 24:39 Sonny ...

Hal Galper Quintet: Live At The Berlin Philharmonic 1977

by Dan McClenaghan
January 20, 2021

It must be gratifying to accomplish everything you set out to do. Pianist Hal Galper says he has done just that. And, after a career that included work with trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonists Cannonball Adderley and Stan Getz, along with a ten year stint in saxophonist Phil Woods' band (1980-1990), followed by ten years of touring and recording with his own trio, that claim would have been a valid one then, before the dawn of the new millennium. But ...

Michael Brecker, Steven Bernstein and the Art of Jazz-Hacking the Pop World - Part 2

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 15, 2020

This is the second part of our exploration of Michael Brecker's and Steven Bernstein's work as first-call musicians in the world of high-end pop productions. Their capacity to adapt to the demands of these productions while remaining true to their jazz roots has offered millions of listeners that might have looked at jazz with a grain of diffidence an opportunity to re-assess their skepticism. Brecker and Bernstein musicians that have played and keep playing a prime role in ...

'The Practice Notebooks Of Michael Brecker' Now Available From Sher Music

Source: Sher Music Co.
June 15, 2023

Sher Music Co. proudly presents The Practice Notebooks of Michael Brecker, an extraordinary release that grants unprecedented access to the inner workings of one of the greatest saxophonists in jazz history. This remarkable publication offers a rare opportunity for musicians to dive deep into the mind of a jazz legend and unlock the secrets of his improvisational mastery. Featuring over 700 beautifully engraved entries, The Practice Notebooks of Michael Brecker chronicles 35 years of Brecker's artistic journey, capturing his inspirations, ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Michael ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Michael ...
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Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker by Bill Milkowski

Source: All About Jazz
November 13, 2021

After John Coltrane, there was no more revered and profoundly influential saxophonist on the planet than Michael Brecker. For those coming of age in the 1970s, during that transitional decade when the boundaries between rock and jazz had begun to blur, Brecker stood as a transcendent figure. He was their Trane. Ode to a Tenor Titan follows Michael's story from growing up in jny: Philadelphia, finding his tenor sax voice during his brief stint at Indiana University, making his move ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Michael ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University, Michael ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University... Read ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University... Read ...
read more

Jazz Musician of the Day: Michael Brecker

Source: Michael Ricci
March 29, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Michael Brecker's birthday today!

Michael Brecker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. Among the generation of jazz musicians that saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option, Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. After only a year at Indiana University... Read ...
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First Michael Brecker Saxophone Competition Announced

Source: Eli Degibri
February 22, 2017

Internationally acclaimed saxophonist, Eli Degibri, announced his intention to establish The Michael Brecker Saxophone Competition last month at the Nearness of You Concert, a biennial event held at Lincoln Center to raise money for cancer research in honor of the late Michael Brecker. In front of an audience consisting of President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton, Degibri reminisced about the first time he heard the legendary Brecker perform, thirty years prior, at the inaugural Red Sea Jazz Festival in ...
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