Year of Release: 1999
| Selections:
Big Idea King of the Lobby And Then She Wept Slang Above and Below African Skies Song for Barry Harpoon Good Gracious Spherical Sozhino (Alone) |
Musicians:
Randy Brecker - trumpet, electric trumpet, flugel horn Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone, flute Lots of other musicians |
Liner Notes:
One of the most influential fusion bands of the '70s, the Brecker Brothers set a new standard for jazz-funk by melding a hard bop aesthetic to solid pocket grooves. Founded in 1974 by Philadelphia-born siblings Michael and Randy, the Brecker Brothers remained a potent force in contemporary jazz through the early '80s, reuniting in the '90s with fresh musical insights and a more formidable impact.
Trumpeter Randy (born Nov. 27, 1945) drew his main inspiration from hard bop trumpeters Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan while younger brother Michael (born March 29, 1949) provided a bridge to the Coltrane legacy with his own incandescent tenor sax solos. Together their tight, swaggering horn lines and rock intensity defined their aggressively funky formula.
The first to arrive in New York, Randy worked with Clark Terry, Blood Sweeat & Tears, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Once Michael hit town, the brothers worked together in the seminal fusion band Dreams, as well as with Horace Silver and Billy Cobham, before joining together to form their own band. Drawing on a pool of session regulars, they made their self-titled debut in 1975 and followed with five more state-of-the-art fusion albums before disbanding in1982.
Through the '80s, they pursued separate musical paths -- Michael investigating MIDI technology and the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) with Steps Ahead and his own quintet, Randy returning to his roots with Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth Big Band and leading a quintent as well.
1992's Return of the Brecker Brothers marked a continuation of that infectious Brecker formula with a distinctly '90s attitude while 1994's double Grammy award-winning Get Out of the Loop pushed further into Afro-pop and hip-hop flavored jazz. This collection includes tracks from these two CDs.