Interview Source: http://www.abrsm.org/?page=newsArticles/item.html&id=101
I'm going to interview Michael Brecker. A
legend, he's the most recorded saxophonist in jazz. I expect him to be busy,
our arrangements for meeting complicated. They are. Eventually our
respective work commitments mean that our paths cross - in China! Many
plans, emails and telephone calls go between me in Leeds and New York. We
agree on a provisional date to meet in Hong Kong.
Once in Hong Kong I make the first of several boat trips back and forth on
the legendary Star Ferry from Wan Chai to Kowloon, where the musicians are
staying. First, I catch the opening Directions in Music concert. A superb
performance, the 2,100 seat Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Kowloon is sold out
for all three nights. Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, John Patitucci, Willie
Jones III and Michael Brecker are on form. It's easy to understand why
Brecker is the most influential saxophonist in the post-Coltrane tradition,
an eight-time Grammy-winner, and the first to win both the Best Jazz
Instrumental Performance and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo two years in a row.
His playing is sensational.
After the concert we meet backstage. Despite the robust applause fresh in
his ears, he is unhappy. His saxophone is leaking and, in a word, he's
bugged. On his manager Rob Griffin's advice I decide not to bother Michael
for an interview until his horn is fixed. The next night the saxophone has
been mended. But again Rob counsels that I postpone the interview. There is
the possibility that if I return tomorrow, something can be arranged. I
contact Rob next morning. He gives me Mike's number. I call. Great, he
agrees on a rendezvous.
Eventually, in the polite surroundings of the Marco Polo Hotel, Kowloon, on
a busy Sunday afternoon, Mike's imposing figure looms through the crowded
foyer to greet me. We sit down with a cappuccino. Clearly he is now much
more relaxed, as he tells me how he began.
Talking saxophone with Michael Brecker: a
different set of sensibilities
John Robert Brown plays the clarinet and saxophone. He writes regular
columns for the magazines Jazz Review, Crescendo and CASS (the journal of
the Clarinet and Saxophone Society) and is a contributor to Classical Music.
"I started playing the clarinet when I was six years old. I studied with
Leon Lester, who was principal clarinettist in the Philadelphia Orchestra. I
eventually switched to alto sax when I was in the eighth grade, then changed
to tenor by the time I was in the tenth grade. I don't think I possessed
much natural ability on the clarinet, at least towards classical music. I
was interested in trying to play jazz clarinet. At the time I was listening
to Jimmy Guiffre. I loved his approach to the instrument. I loved his dark
sound, the fact that he played in the low register. He had a kind of soulful
approach. I didn't really gravitate towards players like Benny
Goodman. This was in the late fifties, early sixties. I remember taking
Jimmy Guiffre solos off of records when I was ten years old. I can still
remember some of those solos today.
What about classical music on the saxophone?
Some jazz saxophonists openly state their dislike of the stereotypical
classical saxophone tone. I enjoy listening to classical saxophone players.
I particularly admire Eugene Rousseau. I appreciate the classical approach
more and more these days. I enjoy hearing a classical sound on the
saxophone. I like that it's played quite a bit softer. It's often a
more contained and concentrated sound. I also enjoy the phrasing of
classical saxophone players, the dynamic range as well as the vibrato and
approach to pitch.
Knowing that this will surprise some saxophonists, I pursue the subject of
tone quality.
Jazz saxophone involves a different set of tools and sensibilities.
Certainly one has to address a personal sound. I have a natural concept of
how I want to sound. Some of it is about how I don't want to sound. Part of
my tone is dictated automatically by the way my body and throat are shaped
and by the direction of the air column. All of that helps to predetermine
the nature of the sound. I can't separate sound from articulation and
phrasing. For me it's all connected.
Can the sound be attributed to his saxophone, an old Selmer Mark VI 86,000
series?
I have an array of saxophones at home - mostly Selmers - that are probably
better than the horn that I usually play. However, I continue to gravitate
back to this one. I'm so familiar with it. It's as if I'm able to own every
molecule of the instrument. It's not a particularly remarkable instrument,
but I really feel at home on it. Unfortunately, it's
gradually falling apart from age, and wear and tear, so I'd better start
getting used to playing another instrument!
And the mouthpiece?
My mouthpiece is made by Dave Guardala. Dave's an old friend of mine and
we've been working together for many years. He created it with my
particular eccentricities, as well as tone, and resistance in mind. The
reeds I use are LaVoz, medium strength. I go through a lot. Arriving at a
personal sound for me has been a very gradual process. It has evolved
through a lot of playing with other musicians, playing both at home and in
performance settings, in all kinds of situations. Gradually, I think the
sound, to some degree, almost takes care of itself. You can't help sounding
like yourself, if you're pursuing music honestly, particularly with an
instrument like the saxophone, which is so incredibly flexible and
expressive. The saxophone generates a very complex wave form. It looks quite
complicated when you see it graphed on an oscilloscope. Each player has
great freedom to mould the sound. And it's a tremendously creative
instrument, just in terms of sound alone. In times past one could identify a
saxophone player immediately by tone and articulation only, particularly
players of the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. I could hear one note of Stan Getz,
and know that it was him or Ornette [Coleman] or Sonny
Rollins. Couple of notes...Jackie McLean. [John] Coltrane is immediately
identifiable. And so on. It is a little more difficult for me to identify
players in the smooth jazz idiom by sound alone.
How did he learn to improvise?
I was raised in a jazz environment. My father was a jazz pianist, and an
attorney. He made a living in the legal profession, and played music for
fun. There was always music in the house. He knew all the standards. My
brother Randy was a great role model for me. He's a bit older, and began
playing music before me. He set a lot of good examples. One thing that he
did, that I started doing as well, was to play along with records. We
borrowed our dad's albums and played along with them. We played a lot with
our dad as well. I was initially attracted to [alto saxophonist] Cannonball
Adderley. When I heard Cannonball, that was it! I asked my parents for an
alto, and I started trying to learn his solos from records. Those were some
hard solos to learn. But it was a good way for me to begin to learn the
language of jazz.
How exactly did he study the jazz vocabulary?
I listened to music every day and I memorized solos so that I could sing
along with them. At that time I didn't write them down, but they were etched
in my brain. I also had the opportunity and good fortune to be around great
local musicians in Philadelphia. It was a wonderful time to be a young
musician learning how to play. There was a kind of community feeling among
the musicians in Philly who were into playing and trying to improve. I had
the chance to play with guys who were far better than me. Eventually, when I
was 19 years old, I moved to New York. I attended Indiana University for a
short time. Weirdly enough, I enrolled for music, and then at the last
minute I had a short-lived rebellion and switched to pre-med, since I had
always been interested in science as well. While at
Indiana, I ended up in the music school every day anyway, in the practice
rooms. I had a chance to study with the great David Baker while I was there.
Pursuing the differences between classical and jazz approaches, I ask what
differences Michael sees between the various approaches to tonguing or
articulation.
It's a very personal thing. I almost don't know how to comment. Jazz
articulation is certainly different in many ways from classical
articulation, but they're also related. Articulation is important in both
areas. In jazz it's a very personal thing. It's a question of taste, and it
further outlines each player's approach and sensibilities on the instrument.
I know I have my own particular way I articulate that feels comfortable for
me. It's something that has evolved naturally over time. There are no rules.
Without thinking about my question, I enquire whether he ever has a
consultation lesson with anyone? The reply surprises me.
I do go for consultations. In the past, I was lucky to have had the chance
to study with some fantastic sax teachers such as Joe Allard, Vince
Trombetta and many more. Lately I've been meeting my coach. I need to check
in with another player, who can be objective and look at what I'm doing, at
the very least from a technical standpoint. I'm out there touring a lot on
the road and sometimes begin to develop bad habits, ever so slowly. Not only
that, I just found myself wanting some suggestions for
possible things I could change. So I contacted a great woodwind player
friend of mine for coaching.
Gently, I wonder who this is. That information is not to be revealed. Both
Michael and the coach have agreed - at the coach's suggestion - that he
remains anonymous.
I'm pretty much a professional student. I'm always looking for ways to
improve and sound better, as well as ways to enhance the beautiful
experience of playing music.