The Brecker Brothers: The Complete Arista Albums Collection on 8 CDs

Die Brecker Brothers - Michael (+2007) und Randy - waren eine der erfolgreichsten Jazz / Fusion Gruppen, die in den 70s entstand, mit 6 Bestseller Alben für Arista zwischen 1975 und 1981. 1979 nahm sie an All- Star-Auftritten am Montreux Jazz Festival teil, mit Steve Khan, Tony Levin, Mike Mainieri und Steve Jordan in der Band. Sie nahmen in dieser Besetzung 2 Alben auf, die hier als Bonus CDs enthalten sind.

Product Information

Arista Records established itself as a quintessential New York label in January 1975, just a few months after going into business, when Clive Davis added one of the city's most important homegrown jazz partnerships to the roster, starring Randy Brecker on trumpet (b. 1945) and Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone (1949-2007). The brothers were raised outside Philadelphia and attended Indiana University before settling in New York to make their way as journeymen on the jazz circuit.

Individually, Randy came to prominence on the first Blood Sweat & Tears LP on Columbia, Child Is Father To the Man (1967), then left the next year to pursue session work. Randy's next major band was Dreams (on Columbia in 1970-71, featuring Billy Cobham and Will Lee), where he and Michael comprised the horn section with trombon­ist Barry Rogers. After a stint in Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, Randy was finally rejoined by Michael for the Brecker Brothers, which became a New York dynasty over the course of five solid studio LPs and one live album (Heavy Metal Be-Bop) at Arista between 1975 and 1981.

Brecker Brothers LPs strode the line between hard jazz and more commercial nods to rock, funk, Latin, and (occasionally) disco beats. Lineups were flexible over the years, including (at various times) guitarists Bob Mann, Steve Khan, Barry Finnerty, David Spinozza, and Hiram Bullock; bassmen Will Lee, Neil Jason, Marcus Miller, and Tony Levin; keyboardist Don Grolnick; and drummers Harvey Mason, Chris Parker, Steve Gadd, and Steve Jordan.

In person, the Brecker Brothers Band simply could not be beat, as heard on the Blue Montreux and Blue Montreux II festival recordings (of 1978, released '79), "featuring a group of friends that was an offshoot of both the Brecker Bros. Band and Mike Mainieri's White Elephant," as Randy notes in his brief introduction to the package. "Those were productive years," he continues. "We were playing on hundreds of sessions, plus doing our own thing… I think it influenced many who came after us, and much of this music is still relevant today. We lost Michael in January of 2007 but I know he would have been thrilled by this release. During this period he developed his style, which became emulated by thousands of other saxophonists."

1. The Brecker Brothers (1975)
2. Back to Back (1976)
3. Don't Stop the Music (1977)
4. Heavy Metal Be-Bop (1978)
5. Detente (1980)
6. Straphangin' (1981)
7. Blue Montreux (1979)
8. Blue Montreux II (Arista AB 4245, 1979)

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