Don't Try This At Home

Year of Release: 1988

Liner Notes:

Grace Paley, the award-winning author and social activist, was once asked if she taught her students to write about what they know. "No," she answered, "I teach them to write what they don't know about what they know."

It is precisely this quality of exploration, of stretching out into new, uncharted territory, that characterizes the work of tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker on Don't Try This At Home, his second solo recording for Impulse!. Searching, probing, absorbing, experimenting, analyzing - Brecker is in a constant state of artistic reflection and expansion.

Never mind that he already possesses one of the most formidable arsenals of skills of any saxophonist in contemporary music: aluminous, full-bodied tone that is unmistakably Brecker in any context; a consistent technique that enables him to perform swirling melodies, dense harmonies, jaggered rhythmic punctuations and complex contrapuntal lines with grace and agility; a veteran painter's sense of texture, shading and balance; chops galore (to use the musical vernacular); and, perhaps most importantly, exemplary taste and sensitivity, together with an unerring knack for capturing the essence of each composition he performs.

Never mind that his remarkable diversity has enabled him to perform with equal skill and conviction alongside such artists as Horace Silver, Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Dire Straights, Cameo, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Claus Ogerman, George Clinton and hundreds more during the past 15 years.

And never mind that, as a soloist, ensemble player and composer, he is fast becoming one of the most influential and imitated saxophonists in jazz.

Because, for all his gifts and accomplishments, Michael Brecker remains a work in constant progress - a song without a coda.

Brecler's 1987 Impulse! debut Michael Brecker, featuring guitarist Pat Metheney, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jack DeJohnette, quickly rose to the top of national jazz charts, earned effusive critical praise, and garnered "Best Jazz Album of the Year" awards in Down Beat and Jazziz as well as a Grammy Award nomination for the same.

What made Michael Brecker such a rewarding effort was both the creative breakthrough it represented and the almost timeless promise it held for the future. Freed from the often rigorous constraints that all studio session musicians must contend with, and given carte blanche to follow his muse, Brecker produced a project that bristled with the intensity and excitement of an artist revelling in the heady spirit of artistic liberation.

Upon release of his eponymous debut recording, the 39 year old saxophonist promptly formed a hot band featuring guitarist Mike Stern, bassist Jeff Andrews, drummer Adam Nussbaum and rising young piano talent Joey Calderazzo. This quintet hit the road in the Spring of '87 for extensive tours of Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Now, one year later, Don't Try This At Home solidly reaffirms that Michael Brecker is continuing his quest to claim new, untouched musical territory. Says Brecker, "It was exhilarating to explore unfamiliar ground whle making a record."

What was initially unfamiliar to Brecker should be welcomed by discriminating music lovers everywhere. Armed once again with his trusty Selmer saxophone and Akai EWI, (a revolutionary, eight octave, electronic wind instrument), Brecker has produced a refreshing, richly diverse recording.

Indeed, each of the eight tracks on Don't Try This At Home strike a fine balance between fire and finesse, pithy ensemle work and free-wheeling improvisations. With wonderfully empathic contributions from drummer DeJohnette, bassist Haden, pianists Hancock and Grolnick, pianist/synthesizer player Jim Beard, the members of his tooring band (making their record debut as a unit here), and - on one track each - violinist Mark O'Connor and synthesizer programmer Judd Miller, Brecker equals, and frequently surpasses, the excellence of his maiden recording from last year.

The opening selection, "Itsbynne Reel," begins with a vigorous traditional Irish reel-cum-bluegrass duet between Brecker on EWI and violinist Mark O'Connor before leading into a driving, harmonized vamp that features what is arguably the best sax solo of Brecker's recording career. There are seven other equally adventerous tracks, ranging from the forlorn, yet unltimately beguiling mood piece, "Scriabin," to the unfettered, "I Got Rhythm" - inspired swing if "Suspone," and the poignant balladry of "Everything Happens When You're Gone."

Says Brecker, "We tried to stay away from obvious devices, and hoped to make a record that bears repeated listenings."

Happily, with Don't Try This At Home, he has done just that.

(written by George Varga)