Michael Brecker Dies at 57; Prolific Jazz Saxophonist
Posted by Daniel Sun, 14 Jan 2007 14:39:00 GMT
NYT: Michael Brecker, a saxophonist who won 11 Grammy Awards and was among the most influential musicians in jazz since the 1960s, died yesterday at a hospital in New York City. He was 57 and lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.
The cause of death was leukemia, said Darryl Pitt, his manager.
Having taken a deep understanding of John Coltrane’s saxophone vocabulary and applied it to music that merged with mainstream culture — particularly jazz fusion and singer-songwriter pop of the 1970s and 80s — Mr. Brecker spread his sound all over the world.
For a time, Mr. Brecker seemed nearly ubiquitous. His discography — it contains more than 900 albums — started in 1969, playing on the record “Score,” with a band led by his brother, the trumpeter Randy Brecker. It continued in 1970 with an album by Dreams, the jazz-rock band he led with his brother and the drummer Billy Cobham.
[For anyone growing up in music along with me, Michael Brecker was as powerful influence as there could be. There's no way to describe the feeling of losing such a musical giant, especially since I believe his best work was ahead of him. To his family and friends, my deepest sympathy. Find comfort.]
Hey Dan,
I was so sad to hear this news. Michael was definitely one of my favorite musicians. Thinking back to the times I was lucky enough to hear him play live reminded me of you. The first time I ever heard Michael play was with you. We went down to Fat Tuesdays to hear Michael Brecker and Mike Stern playing. I remember Mike Stern giving you a big hug when he saw you. I believe we were introduced to Mr. Brecker also (though my memory could be failing). I think this was sometime in 1986?
So I see all this blogging about biking, are you still playing guitar?
Marc
MarcS
Yes. I’m still playing… but I long ago stopped trying to make a living at it. I’m a bit obsessed about biking (again) because my health is high on my priority list.
How the heck have you been? It’s been forever since we spoke. Where you living? What are you doing? Feel free to write me less publicly at daniel at circumtech dot com. I’d love to catch up!
Yes, it’s tremedously sad. And while I never spoke than a few words with the guy, his music spoke to me (and so many of us) for so long. While I know it is his last, I can’t wait to hear his final work apparently completed slowly over the last year.
Daniel