Michael Brecker

Performer: Michael Brecker
Artist: Pat Metheny; Kenny Kirkland; Charlie Haden; Jack DeJohnette
Engineer: James Farber
Producer: Don Grolnick
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone, EWI); Kenny Kirkland (keyboards); Pat Metheny (guitar); Charlie Haden (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Robby Kilgore (programming). Recorded at Power Station, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Steve Schneider. Although Michael Brecker entered the music business in the early '70s and spent that decade as one of the busiest session musicians around, it wasn't until 1986's MICHAEL BRECKER, one of the first releases on the revived Impulse! label, that he made his debut as a leader. Brecker plays tenor sax on about half of this record, his phrasing resembling a slightly less abstract Lee Konitz in some spots, the lyricism of early Grover Washington Jr. in others. On the rest of the album, Brecker plays something called the EWI, or Electronic Wind Instrument, a MIDI synthesizer triggered by blowing into it. While not nearly as lame-sounding as you might expect from that description--it often resembles the treated instruments Miles Davis experimented with throughout the '70s--the of-its-time sound of the instrument and Robby Kilgore's electronic programming on some tracks roots this album firmly in the mid-'80s.

As one half of the famous Brecker Brothers, saxophonist Michael Brecker defined the sound of modern electric funk-jazz in the '70s. Since the 1980s, he has been one of the most in-demand session players, appearing on hundreds of recordings in both the jazz and pop fields, and his solo albums have received several Grammys. Brecker is known for his powerful tone, monstrous chops, and endless soloing stamina. He passed away from a leukemia-related illness in early 2006.

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