Brecker Brothers
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Brecker Brothers was the jazz duo of Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn.
Randy, the older brother, 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.
The brothers frequently played together as session musicians on albums by other artists. They were heard on Todd Rundgren's hit "Hello It's Me", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973. 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 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 on Eric Clapton's 1986 album August.
They had a hit single with "East River" in 1979. It reached No. 34 in the UK Singles Chart.
Both brothers had prolific recording careers as leaders of their own ensembles. Their collaboration ended in 2007 when Michael Brecker died from leukemia.
Musicians who played with the Brecker Brothers band include Airto Moreira, Barry Finnerty, Bob Mann, Chris Parker, David Sanborn, Dean Brown, Dennis Chambers, Don Alias, Don Grolnick, Doug Riley, George Duke, George Whitty, Harvey Mason, Hiram Bullock, James Genus, Lenny White, Marcus Miller, Mike Stern, Neil Jason, Ralph MacDonald, Sammy Figueroa, Steve Gadd, Steve Jordan, Steve Khan, Terry Bozzio, Will Lee, and Jun Fukamachi.
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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)
- At the Bottom Line (Bottom Line, 2012)
Compilation albums
- The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1 (RCA Novus, 1990)
- The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 2 (RCA Novus, 1991)
