Search - Randy Brecker :: 34th N Lex

ATTN: Brecker Brothers Band fans!

Flipkid | Cockeysville, Maryland USA | 05/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of ther Brecker Brothers Band-- as I am-- I think you'll really enjoy this CD. Even though this is ostensibly a Randy Brecker "solo" album, it sounds more like a "Brecker Brothers" release than a Randy or Michael Brecker individual release. Which is to say that the music is a wee bit more "mainstream" or commercially accessible than a Randy/Michael solo album. It's still a big dose of hard-charging BB funk-bop (or is it bop-funk?), and will probably be as close as we get to a BB album anytime soon.It's especially in the "Brecker Brothers" vein because it includes David Sanborn on alto sax (not to mention Ronnie Cuber on bari sax and Fred Wesley[!] on 'bone). It also includes long-time BB associate George Witty on keyboards, as well as fusion guitar wunderkind Adam Rogers and outstanding Danish electric/acoustic bassist Chris Minh Doky.Anyway, it's great and you'll dig it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it has too many programmed drum parts and not enough "real" acoustic drumming (by the fantastic Clarence Penn, no less). As a drummer myself, I'd prefer the latter. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the album."

Problem: create a kick-..., cliche-free urban jazz disc

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 08/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not an easy task: witness the musicscape littered with myriad failures.Who better than the Brecker Bros. to do it? No one, especially when they're in one of their jazzier configurations, with stalwarts such as Ronnie Cuber (bari sax), Adam Rogers (guitar), Chris Mihn Doky (bass), and Clarence Penn (drums).The challenge in an outing like this is to maintain a genuine urban sensibility in the midst of a true jazz esthetic. Credit the Bros. with doing just that. It probably helps that each has been scouting his own peculiar trails, Michael, progressive straight-ahead jazz, Randy, more groove-oriented citified musics. Put them together, retaining the best of each, and you've got quite a disc: accessible without being cloying; jazzy without being esoteric.With the Yellowjackets' Time Squared, Charlie Hunter's Right Now Move, Metalwood's latest, and John Scofield's Up All Night, this represents some kind of renaissance of jazz fusion. I, for one, am not complaining."

Problem: Evoke a kick-butt, cliche-free urban-jazz vibe

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 08/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not an easy task, esp. since the musical landscape is littered with myriad failed efforts.The key is to get muscular, groove-oriented, melodic, funky, and original all at once. Who better for the job than the Brecker Bros., a decade removed from their glory days and having survived both straigh-ahead wars (Michael) and urban trivialization (Randy)?Though billed as Randy's gig, the first reviewer is right in considering this a Brecker Bros. release.And quite a release it is. What makes this disc stand out is the incredible roster of hardcore jazzers, from Ronnie Cuber to Chris Mihn Doky to Adam Rogers to Clarence Penn. Yes, David Sanborn's on board as George Whitty but there's a deeper, clearer authentic jazz sensibility operating here than on any other Brecker Bros. record.And for that we should rejoice. It's like we're getting the best of both worlds--those impossibly tight BB grooves with an uncompromising jazz authenticity.What more could you ask for?"