Jazz Articles about Randy Brecker

Chie Imaizumi: A Time of New Beginnings

by AAJ Italy Staff
June 22, 2011

Dal natio Giappone alla Berklee School of Music: è la via di Chie Umaizumi, compositrice, direttrice ed arrangiatrice, alla guida di un gruppo “tutte stelle," che con A Time of New Beginnings arriva al suo secondo album (dopo Unfailing Kindness sempre per la Capri Records) nella nuova patria. Il suo è un mainstream che si fa ascoltare volentieri, ricco di atmosfere moderne e di immediata presa, e nobilitato dagli interventi di solisti di classe assoluta. Il disco comincia con “My ...

Bartosz Hadala Group: The Runner Up

by Paul J. Youngman
October 22, 2010

Bartosz Hadala is a name of which more people should be made aware. Based in Poland, he is a world-class pianist and a contemporary composer with serious jazz chops. His debut, The Runner Up--a winner in every way--finds him in superb company, with some top names in jazz. Ten solid, fresh compositions--all original tunes, with the exception of Dizzy Gillespie's “A Night In Tunisia"--feature excellent performances by all parties, most of the songs performed by a septet. Up front, the ...

Randy Brecker: Nostaglic Journey: Tykocin Jazz Suite

by Dan McClenaghan
September 11, 2009

Trumpeter Randy Brecker's jazz credentials are of the highest order. The Brecker Brothers, the group he co-led with younger brother/saxophonist Michael, was one of the most successful jazz/funk/fusion groups of the 1970s and '80s. But jazz snobbery/elitism never ran in the family. Brecker has played and recorded with seemingly everybody, from the original Blood, Sweat and Tears on its debut, Child is Father to the Man (Columbia Records, 1968), to albums by Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Dire Straits and Aerosmith.

Randy Brecker Quintet Honors Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" at the Kimmel Center

by Victor L. Schermer
February 11, 2009

Randy BreckerPerelman TheaterThe Kimmel Center for the Performing ArtsPhiladelphia, PAFebruary 7, 2009

Around the time that Miles Davis was recording the iconic album Kind of Blue in 1959, a kid from Philadelphia named Randy Brecker was learning to play trumpet, and not long after that, he entered the firmament of jazz, working with Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, and Horace Silver among others. After several decades in the top echelons of musicians, Brecker returned ...

Randy Brecker: Randy in Brasil

by John Kelman
October 27, 2008

Perhaps unfairly overshadowed by his brother, the late saxophonist Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker has, nevertheless been one of the most significant trumpeters of the past forty years. While his small discography as a leader contains as many misses as it does hits, he's brought a unique voice to countless sessions, working with everyone from Horace Silver, Steve Khan and John Scofield to Steely Dan, Parliament and Frank Zappa, not to mention redefining the concept of fusion as co-leader of The ...

Randy Brecker: Zelig Goes Brazilian

by R.J. DeLuke
October 27, 2008

“My father told me when I was five or six years old--he grabbed me and said, 'the trumpet is the greatest jazz instrument.' And I think he was right," says Randy Brecker, a trumpeter known the world over, it seems, regardless of the style of music he plays, inside and out of the jazz world. “It's a love-hate relationship. Some days I want to throw it out the window. But I still love the sound of the trumpet, ...

Randy Brecker: Some Skunk Funk

by Hrayr Attarian
March 1, 2007

Occasionally delving into something familiar and getting exactly what one expects can be safe and reassuring. One does not want to be surprised all the time, because adventure has its place--and so does a cozy everyday routine.

This release by Randy Brecker, which is pleasant but lacks any surprises, feels exactly like going to your neighborhood haunt. The music was recorded live on November 11, 2003 at the Leverkusener Jazztage at the Forum and it features, in addition to the ...