Brecker Brothers
| Brecker Brothers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, jazz-funk |
| Years active | 1974–2007 |
| Labels | Arista, BMG, GRP, Novus Records |
| Associated acts | Horace Silver, Dreams, Players Association, Frank Zappa |
| Past members |
Randy Brecker Michael Brecker David Sanborn Don Grolnick Doug Riley George Duke Mark Gray George Whitty Bob Mann Steve Khan Hiram Bullock Barry Finnerty Mike Stern Dean Brown Will Lee Neil Jason Marcus Miller James Genus Chris Parker Harvey Mason Steve Gadd Lenny White Terry Bozzio Steve Jordan Richie Morales Dennis Chambers Ralph MacDonald Sammy Figueroa Don Alias Airto Moreira |
The Brecker Brothers was the musical duo of Michael (saxophone, flute, and EWI) and Randy Brecker (trumpet, flugelhorn), who recorded commercially successful jazz fusion albums together in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. They had a hit single with "East River" in 1979. It reached #34 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
Older brother Randy first became famous as an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears. He appeared on their debut album Child Is Father to the Man in 1968. In addition to recording their own compositions, the brothers frequently played together as session musicians on albums by many other artists. They were heard on Todd Rundgren's hit "Hello It's Me" which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972. Other notable appearances include Parliament's Mothership Connection and the debut album of the Japanese fusion group Casiopea. They also appeared on Frank Zappa's live album Zappa in New York, which was recorded during a special appearance of the brothers (along with members of the Saturday Night Live band) at Zappa concerts at the Palladium, December 26–29, 1976. They appeared with Quincy Jones on Frank Sinatra's 1984 L.A. Is My Lady album, and were part of the instrumentation of Eric Clapton's 1986 album August. Both brothers also had prolific recording careers as leaders of their own ensembles.
The brothers' collaborations came to an end in 2007, when Michael Brecker died from leukemia.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Brecker Bros. (Arista, 1975)
- Back to Back (Arista, 1976)
- Don’t Stop the Music (Arista, 1977)
- Detente (Arista, 1980)
- Straphangin' (Arista, 1981)
- Return of the Brecker Brothers (GRP, 1992)
- Out of the Loop (GRP, 1994)
- Merge (with Jack Wilkins) (Chiaroscuro, 1996)
- Reunion (with Jack Wilkins) (Chiaroscuro, 2001)
Live albums
- Heavy Metal Be-Bop (Arista 1978)
Compilation albums
- The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1 (RCA Novus 1990)
- The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 2 (RCA Novus 1991)