Gio Washington-Wright and Michael Breaux: Maxine

In 1982, after his Steely Dan tenure with the late Walter Becker and striking out on his own, pianist/composer Donald Fagen released "Maxine" as a single. It was also included in Fagen's first solo album, The Nightfly (Warner Brothers Records, 1982). The track and album featured some of the finest studio musicians, including the famed Brecker Brothers. This take is a unique note-for-note transcription performance of Fagen's recording of "Maxine" performed by two elite woodwind artists, recorded as a clarinet Elevenet. Covering Fagen's trademarked lush harmonies (which were inspired by vocal groups such as The Hi-Lo's and The Four Freshmen), this "Maxine" is a highly inspired instrumental-only cover rendered with acknowledgement and reverence for the original material.

Dallas-based educator, clinician, and arranger, Gio Washington-Wright and New York-area educator and Broadway pit ace Michael Breaux combined their woodwind talents on this recording. Adhering to Fagen's original harmonization and his stacked voicings (all transcribed by Washington-Wright) the pair took on the challenge and recorded every voice from the original Fagen piece. The recording includes Washington-Wright's spot-on covering of late saxophonist Michael Brecker's iconic tenor solo, done here on clarinet.

This effort is done in the same key as the original and the arranger's choice of clarinet family instrumentation was an idea sparked by Washington-Wright's hearing a Clare Fischer recording—a clarinet choir playing Duke Ellington's "On a Turquoise Cloud." The selected orchestration provides a fitting dimension to the already intriguing Fagen material. Further, since no rhythm section is present on this remake, performing that test at a hair over 60 beats per minute is met impeccably by the talented duo.

Maxine for clarinet Elevenet is a solid homage that demonstrates how fine source material can be extracted and re-presented by extremely gifted artists. It's a supremely ambitious cover of the original classic.