Hi all, I made a complete solo breakdown video about what it is that makes this solo so insanely epic, watch that here: th-cam.com/video/9OcRD9u1ZEw/w-d-xo.html Subscribe to get more epic solos in your feed and learn from the legends through our transcriptions and breakdowns. You can also support us on Patreon and drop suggestions there (+ exclusive Pdf's and many other extra's): patreon.com/sharpeleventranscriptions
„I have often mentioned that the most treacherous location in the jazz world was to be on a bandstand as the guy who has to play the solo right after Mike Brecker.“ - Pat Metheny’s very true words at the memorial service.
Randy spoke about a video on TH-cam where you can see him having one of those moments. When you watch it, you can absolutely see it in his eyes. Mike had just gotten finished ripping a hole in the space/time continuum… I would have taken it back to the head immediately. 😂
After Michael Brecker died, I heard Pat Metheny on the radio talking about Brecker's amazing solo on James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight". Metheny said that he was driving when he heard it, and nearly drove off the road. I can understand.
@@dreamingoffall7694 Absolutely can't forget about the peanuts, a lot of the older cartoons and media in general used so much jazz and classical in their soundtracks wish it was more common nowadays.
This, this is why Mike reigns supreme. He knew when to shred, when to play bebop, but he also knew how to be soulful. Everything he did was 100% intentful, from his heart and mind. He was the best of the best.
@@jarrilaurila His tone bugs you??!! That is one of his hallmark qualities above any other - that sound! You are literally the first person I have ever heard say that about Michael Brecker. Lol Now I'm very curious, whose tone does appeal to you? Name a few. I'm honestly interested.
I have to admit that outside of the brass world, I don't know many soloists, so I have no idea how the algorithm got me here - I'm just glad it did. This was an unbelievable solo!
There is no way not to love this. And what makes it even more special is the 90s clothing and haircuts aka "wow, my accountant really knows how to play the sax!"
It always touches me how Michaels solos were simultaneously so technically complex and impressive but also told wonderfully meaningful stories at the same time. I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing that balance and that is just fine with me. The world misses your goodness, Michael ❤❤❤
I always think of great performances, particularly in jazz, as having a conversation with someone *really* smart, but who is also a really good communicator. You understand the words and concepts they are using, but they put them together in such an elegant way that it elevates your understanding. Musicians can do that same thing, but with sound. Michel Petrucciani, my favorite pianist, did that. You could always follow him, even if he dove down a rabbit hole, lol. Same exact thing here. He gets all the technical jargon behind music, but never let go of the heart of it
I told my brother how sad it was that there was no donor match for his cancer. My brother quite casually observed, "That's because he was one of a kind."
I think it's the combination of his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz harmony and history, combined with having played on thousands of pop records, where he needed to create beautiful hooks in a moment's notice on a short 8 or 16 bar solo. He could move between those 2 worlds (and many more) seamlessly.
I've been listening, and playing all of my life. I've listened to Mike all of my life. This is, hands-down, the best solo, any genre, I've ever heard. Mike was a gift. RIP
the way this solo ends is really what gets me. after building the softest bits to snare hits that feel like slaps, and michael builds it to a point that seems so nuts you can't imagine what comes next, the band softening to a whisper, and it seem like michael can barely get the next notes out. really intense
At the peak of musical greatness, at the top of the pyramid, is the notion of 'transcendence'. Where all the theory, dexterity, musicality, ensemble awareness, and pure technical mastery of one's instrument just fade away, and all that is left is feeling. Itzhak Perlman, Michael Brecker, Bill Evans are three. It's a pretty short list. We miss you Michael; so glad I got to see you all of the times that I did, you made them unforgettable.
I very possibly may have commented on this before, but that is without question, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of Michael's most unbelievable solos. It has brought me to tears on multiple occasions, gives me chills every time. Oh, I miss you Mike.
Oh men, this solo is really something, always touched my heart. Just show how at the same night he can break your face with "Some Skunk Funk" and be so technical and emotional at once, and then melt your heart with this. The thing I love the most about Mike Brecker was the fact that he was very emotional and using phrases and feels that came from the more "popular music"/"smooth jazz" world and at the same time being able to kick your ass playing the most sophisticated kind of jazz at the same time, Giant Steps or something. My favourite Saxophone player of all times.
When I was 18 I was listening to this recording at least a 100 times, and especially loved Mike Brecker's solo. It's just so sublime and immensely beautiful. Thanks for the transcription!
@@jabudube9826 This is a Mike Stern tune off his Odds & Evens record. There is another version on the Brecker Brothers Live cd, but it is not this exact performance. This is a clip taken from the Return Of The Brecker Brothers - Live In Barcelona DVD.
Often overlooked by his incredible shredding, Mike Stern writes some amazing ballads and “Common Ground” is among my favorites with such beautiful changes. It’s the perfect palette to showcase Breckers melodic lyrical soloing. Listen to the original recorded version on Mike’s “Odds or Evens” especially his solo which is as riveting as Breckers one here. Huge fan of both.
Thank you for remindier to check out Mike's incredible original version. Just spun it for the first time in many years (on Odds Or Evens not Upside) Stunning playing.
…and he did, yet again, what he always did. Put it where it needed to be. He had the gift of a full range of emotion that would hit you if you were in the last row of a balcony or at home in front of the speakers… bring a tear to the eye or make you feel like you could run through a Wall… every time. So grateful for recordings. This solo, like so many others, shows him effortlessly being able to do whatever he felt like doing on the horn. All the tools at hand a player could want and always went for it… no reservations… no thinking about what to do… he just let it loose… and we have been lucky enough to get to hear those moments. It’s a beautiful thing.
I was so happy when you posted this man. I heard this song when I was 16 on my local Sunday jazz radio show and they didn't mention the name and I could never find it, even after becoming a semipro musician and talking to the guy who ran the show. So thank you for tieing a name to this and letting me know it's the saxophonist who's already been taking over my tromboning this year haha
My wife and I saw this band in NYC this same year at The Village Gate(?). Still stands as one of the most other-worldly musical experiences we’ve ever had! Sitting there one table away from Joe Lovano we heard every soloist create emotional masterpieces beyond compare. Sometimes the energy would build to a climax that could not be eclipsed..only to hear it reach higher, then higher again! Totally monumental!! Thanks much for the reminder.
This has got the most beautiful and heartfelt solo I've ever heard . The way the solo is constructed is a masterpiece as well, proving that we mere mortals are in the presence of genius.
Man, I dunno. It's freakin' gorgeously, no doubt, and certainly up there. To me, though, there's just something magical about Gilmour's second guitar solo in Comfortably Numb live at Pulse, 1994. True to Gilmour's usual form, it's not overly ornate, or even, technical, but it's just exactly what was called for in the moment. To me, that joker is humanity's crowning achievement.
His solo on a tune called Maxine by Donald Fagen is absolutely superb....my favorite sax solo ever. Not a very long solo, but every note is just solid gold.
Never heard this one before, but it provides a perfect bookend to the very first Michael solo I ever heard, which was 'Heather' off the Cobham album from '74 ('Crossings'?). Heard it in Rick Braun's dorm room when we were students at Eastman. I've been a Breckerhead ever since, and this solo is absolutely stunning in every way. 18 years after the Heather solo, with all that life experience and musical growth present in his playing. Gone too soon. Thanks for posting and transcribing.
I never got to meet Mike or see him play live, but it makes me immensely sad to know that he’s still not out there making music. So thankful for places like YT that allows his greatness to live on. RIP brother
I had tickets to see him at the Hollywood bowl and he didn’t make it because he was sick. Next thing I know I saw he has some weird blood cancer disorder and he died. I never got to see him live either.
absolutely gorgeous playing by MB and writing by Mike Stern. I was lucky enough to see Mike Stern in Scottsdale a few years back with Jeff Lorber. Two jazz titans!
@@Tom06 Trains and Cajun solos from the Tokyo concert (the whole concert is extraordinary), the 'Pools' solos from Copenhagen. 'Original Rays' from Wiesen, Austria. Pretty much every of his solos on 'My one and only Love'. Also his playing on his Steps/Smoking in the Pit album. One of the rare occasions where the energy is really on the same level with the skill.
The best kind of signing instrumental lines *actually* sing. They aren’t showy, they aren’t sophistry, they are positively teeming with pent up intensity and emotive fire, bundled in one continuous line, one continuous stream of thought that make for cosmic submission of sublimity. The one of the absolute best examples of this, maybe ever, is the middle movement of Ravel’s piano concerto in G… and what we have here in this solo is something that is gratifyingly and vibrantly along those lines.
Similarly to Steve Jobs, Michael Brecker was a guy that would've become brilliant in any endeavor he would've had chosen. Incredible creativity combined with the work ethic and pure soul put in every action would've made him a world class actor, lawyer, accountant, inventor, doctor, engineer or any type of professional he would've wished to be.
Yes indeed!! That's a heartfelt solo man! ...One of my other favorites of M.B. Is the Grolnick tune-'the cost of living' off Michael's first solo album (synergy -I think) Anyway. Just when he played -- hair-raising ... Stern too! I got to see them --(that band with Adam Nussbaum on drums) Both he and Mike Stern practically had people on the tables in a jazz club --- the energy was a lesson in 'real music' (if I could have been astute to get that from it at that time) I can still 'Feel' their playing even now! R. I. P. Michael Brecker
There's only one way to appreciate that solo more than a guy like me who spent many years trying to become a good tenor sax player. Those who succeeded and MASTERED the instrument are even more in awe.
The saxophone is one of the most emotionally expressive instruments, in my book. I could name other examples but the one that comes to mind straight away is the sax solo at the tail end of Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V). That whole song transports me but, when that sax solo kicks in, it takes me to another dimension.
This guys are best of the best of the best.. Mike Stern's compositions are often very emotional or in contrast very "robust" sounding so to speak , to my ear at least. Ed Bickert is another telecaster master that have "some" chops and can also be so emotional. Love you're video..
It always has the same effect on me as well. Since approximately 25 years I've been listening to his solos on this song and they're always soooo powerful! What a pity he couldn't share us 30 years longer with his presence
Have been lisening to him all my life. Even met him in Singapore at the Botanical Gardens where he was perfoming with other great musicians. Took pictures with him. A real wonderful first grade Jazz saxophonist lots of Soul in his playing. Have ten of his long play records with his signature on them. BEST solo i ever heard. Rest in Peace my dearest friend and brother Michael .......................................🙏🫂🌹❤🎷
@@Steve-mp7by I'm not saying one was better, I'm saying their tones are different. Coltrane had an altoist's tone because he played alto horn and alto sax before switching. Being a tenor just wasn't in him, and that's partially the reason why he started playing soprano. Brecker, like many other saxophonists, was deeply inspired by Coltrane and modeled their sound after him, although Brecker for his part made his sound a bit fatter and added more direction. Now I will say that Dexter Gordon's tone is the best. He sounds like an upper register bari and it's beautiful.
This solo never fails to move me personally. Everything is in there: expansive motif building (on Randy's last motif of his solo), dexterity, sound (from beautiful subtone to a projective bright sound), and most of all insane amounts of expressiveness. Not to mention how great the band builds together with Brecker (Dennis Chambers, wow!). How the solo builds to a climax, then to lay it down right at the end... It always gives me personally goosebumps, occasionally a tear. And I know I'm not the only one, according to the comment section on the source video. Why do you think this is such a great solo? Let me know in the comments. Here is a reaction/breakdown video where I talk you step for step through why I think it is so amazing: th-cam.com/video/9OcRD9u1ZEw/w-d-xo.html /Jorre
I played it as a transcription test at one of my last conservatory exams last July......I truly believe it's one of the best live solos of all times.....of every genre, every style, every instrument.....so touching, it speaks
Well, it's also a ballad, so that elicits and adds a certain amount of emotion by default. Also, his sound is unparalleled as a saxophonist. Moreover, the crescendo by Chambers, coupled with Michael's melodic (and all the above) response is borderline orgasmic. I'm trying not to exaggerate, but let's be real here!
My old sax instructor, Carl Coan, told me that he actually knew Michael Brecker and that at one point they did a lesson together and Carl showed him a lot of altissimo techniques. To hear Michael scream sounds SO much like Carl played and hearing him play always makes me sad to think of my late mentor. You look up Carl and hear him play and you'll see what I mean. The man was an absolute monster sax player and Michael will always make me think of him. That solo killed me, fucking perfect.
@@AnAmericanComposer The name Carl Coan's rings a bell cause of the Michael Brecker transcription book I was so fond of when I was a teenager, so absorbed in Michael Breckers playing but yet not by far skilled enough to get most of it down. He was an inspiration to me as a transcriber, I reckon he must have been an amazing player. Sad tohear he's no longer with us, as is Brecker. I'll definitely research him. Thanks for the info and story! /Jorre
Michael Brecker podía tocar lo que quisiera, en el sentido de que no estaba limitado por la técnica. Si a ello le agregas todos los años de bagaje musical, en diferentes épocas y contextos lo hacían un saxofonista completo, y sí, él era capaz de tocar con este grado de profundidad, de dramatismo, de sentimiento. Su inigualable carrera está llena de ejemplos de aquello
One, if not the best of our generation. Was lucky enough to see Him with Paul simon ( still crazy) in the 90s in linden. Gifted talented beautiful soul! RIP Michael❤
what a perfect way to describe a piece of art that moves you so. and that is what it's all about. not he/she is "the best". music of all genres brings out the poignant...but each differs in the delivery...this is stellar and thank you for bringing into my life. the "reconsider" for me is brought on more by other performances and I appreciate having a new way to describe those. always enjoy your posts (and moniker).
He was fighting a bad reed or leak and at times that makes you play outside yourself and a real artist makes the problem sound amazing. Nobody can touch his talent and ability. Quit going back to the fifties and listen to his untouchable ability that nobody with their perfect replication of horn and mouthpiece with the all important look of a dull old Finnish that can not make you even close to this talent. He played shiny horns or dull ones with the same quality of playing. Who sounds like Brecker? NOBODY no matter how dull the and worn the lacquer is. A real pro that could play with anyone in any style and kill. That's the real shit.😅
with tears in my eyes wonderfull playing Mike , as you are not among us anymore , i wil remember your playing masterpiece , thank you my brother in christ you playing for Lord Jesus now amen .
Oh dang - seen all of these cats individually but never together. Wow. Can I please have a time machine so I can go back and see Michael live again? RIP Michael
I remember hearing an mp3 back in the day where it was Pat Metheny playing Clapton's "If I saw you in heaven" and it had a wonderful sax solo. It took me a minute to recognize this is the same soloist.
Wow, this just popped up fro me; why I have no idea. Glad that it did. I needed the reminder; that along with Dexter Gordon and Lester Young, Brecker has the greatest sound all time in the history of jazz tenor saxophone.
There are so many great Common Ground performances, even on streaming platforms like Tidal. I deeply recommend checking them all out :) Merry Xmas, thanks for the awesome transcription.
Hi all, I made a complete solo breakdown video about what it is that makes this solo so insanely epic, watch that here: th-cam.com/video/9OcRD9u1ZEw/w-d-xo.html
Subscribe to get more epic solos in your feed and learn from the legends through our transcriptions and breakdowns.
You can also support us on Patreon and drop suggestions there (+ exclusive Pdf's and many other extra's): patreon.com/sharpeleventranscriptions
I dont need Dr John ma
i watched the video..nah..i'm underwhelmed.
„I have often mentioned that the most treacherous location in the jazz world was to be on a bandstand as the guy who has to play the solo right after Mike Brecker.“ - Pat Metheny’s very true words at the memorial service.
Randy spoke about a video on TH-cam where you can see him having one of those moments. When you watch it, you can absolutely see it in his eyes. Mike had just gotten finished ripping a hole in the space/time continuum… I would have taken it back to the head immediately. 😂
Frequently that guy that had to follow Michael Brecker was his brother Randy...
After Michael Brecker died, I heard Pat Metheny on the radio talking about Brecker's amazing solo on James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight". Metheny said that he was driving when he heard it, and nearly drove off the road. I can understand.
@@steveruzich3273 that was Michael Brecker!?!? I never realized!
Snooze.
When it's the 90's and you're lookin on the weather channel but the music just keeps you parked there.
That's so nostalgic, being a kid vibing to the weather doppler jazz mix together with my Dad who would use said channel to fall asleep.
The Local On the 8's always got me.
YESS! TRUTH!!!!!
@dadelapena i used to use that channel to fall asleep as a kid. I honestly think The Weather Channel and Peanuts started my love for jazz. Lol
@@dreamingoffall7694 Absolutely can't forget about the peanuts, a lot of the older cartoons and media in general used so much jazz and classical in their soundtracks wish it was more common nowadays.
This, this is why Mike reigns supreme. He knew when to shred, when to play bebop, but he also knew how to be soulful. Everything he did was 100% intentful, from his heart and mind. He was the best of the best.
Damn right
There is no "best of the best"
I absolutely love Mike's playing, originality, many of his songs and overall humble spirit he has. His tone on the other hand has always bugged me.
@@jarrilaurila His tone bugs you??!! That is one of his hallmark qualities above any other - that sound! You are literally the first person I have ever heard say that about Michael Brecker. Lol Now I'm very curious, whose tone does appeal to you? Name a few. I'm honestly interested.
@@sbaiar i was speaking about Mike Stern. Im not an expert of Sax, but Breckers tone is topnotch. Sorry my bad.
How does Mike Stern always write the most devastatingly beautiful ballads? Just heart-stopping, every single one of them 😭
Yeah. Pretty much. "devastatingly beautiful" That's a great turn of phrase. A wonderful oxymoron.
@@SamIAm-kz4hg like bro Mike who hurt you 😭
I have to admit that outside of the brass world, I don't know many soloists, so I have no idea how the algorithm got me here - I'm just glad it did. This was an unbelievable solo!
I just can't belive how even when he plays such technically demanding phrases, it never ceases to be musical.
There is no way not to love this. And what makes it even more special is the 90s clothing and haircuts aka "wow, my accountant really knows how to play the sax!"
It always touches me how Michaels solos were simultaneously so technically complex and impressive but also told wonderfully meaningful stories at the same time. I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing that balance and that is just fine with me. The world misses your goodness, Michael ❤❤❤
I always think of great performances, particularly in jazz, as having a conversation with someone *really* smart, but who is also a really good communicator. You understand the words and concepts they are using, but they put them together in such an elegant way that it elevates your understanding.
Musicians can do that same thing, but with sound. Michel Petrucciani, my favorite pianist, did that. You could always follow him, even if he dove down a rabbit hole, lol. Same exact thing here. He gets all the technical jargon behind music, but never let go of the heart of it
I told my brother how sad it was that there was no donor match for his cancer. My brother quite casually observed, "That's because he was one of a kind."
This is "how to talk with a sax" lesson.
Exactly. These are the words for Michael.
I think it's the combination of his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz harmony and history, combined with having played on thousands of pop records, where he needed to create beautiful hooks in a moment's notice on a short 8 or 16 bar solo. He could move between those 2 worlds (and many more) seamlessly.
I've been listening, and playing all of my life. I've listened to Mike all of my life. This is, hands-down, the best solo, any genre, I've ever heard. Mike was a gift. RIP
How about My one and only love?
...there are a few that are even better. Not many though.
@@hankwilliams5622 which ones are your top3 then?
@@danon668 Hwew is one of several...th-cam.com/video/2oyhlad64-s/w-d-xo.html
@@danon668 Hmmm, in my humble opinion his solos on Trains and Pools are colossal.
This makes me cry every time. Rip Michael Brecker.
Me too…:(
the way this solo ends is really what gets me. after building the softest bits to snare hits that feel like slaps, and michael builds it to a point that seems so nuts you can't imagine what comes next, the band softening to a whisper, and it seem like michael can barely get the next notes out. really intense
At the peak of musical greatness, at the top of the pyramid, is the notion of 'transcendence'. Where all the theory, dexterity, musicality, ensemble awareness, and pure technical mastery of one's instrument just fade away, and all that is left is feeling. Itzhak Perlman, Michael Brecker, Bill Evans are three. It's a pretty short list. We miss you Michael; so glad I got to see you all of the times that I did, you made them unforgettable.
I very possibly may have commented on this before, but that is without question, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of Michael's most unbelievable solos. It has brought me to tears on multiple occasions, gives me chills every time. Oh, I miss you Mike.
How did i get tears in my eyes and then end up smiling within a few minutes. That was absolutely incredible.
Oh men, this solo is really something, always touched my heart. Just show how at the same night he can break your face with "Some Skunk Funk" and be so technical and emotional at once, and then melt your heart with this. The thing I love the most about Mike Brecker was the fact that he was very emotional and using phrases and feels that came from the more "popular music"/"smooth jazz" world and at the same time being able to kick your ass playing the most sophisticated kind of jazz at the same time, Giant Steps or something. My favourite Saxophone player of all times.
Well said. 👍
Is there a CD that I can purchase with this live performance? Thanks!
When I was 18 I was listening to this recording at least a 100 times, and especially loved Mike Brecker's solo. It's just so sublime and immensely beautiful. Thanks for the transcription!
You're welcome. Absolute favorite of mine as well
Ouffff What a SOLO ! Michael know how to build a solo to a climax and then just depose it like a feather . the one and only Michael.
Is there a CD that I can purchase with this live performance? Thanks!
Thanks Mike Stern for this composition. Unlimited thanks Michael Brecker , unlimited thanks... crying for this celestial solo.
On which album can l find this song
@@jabudube9826 ask to the owner of the channel
@@jabudube9826 www.youtube.com/@SharpElevenMusic
@@jabudube9826 This is a Mike Stern tune off his Odds & Evens record. There is another version on the Brecker Brothers Live cd, but it is not this exact performance.
This is a clip taken from the Return Of The Brecker Brothers - Live In Barcelona DVD.
It is so amazing to hear how someone is able to tell a story without using words, just let his heart speak through his tenor saxophone! 🎷🇳🇱
Often overlooked by his incredible shredding, Mike Stern writes some amazing ballads and “Common Ground” is among my favorites with such beautiful changes. It’s the perfect palette to showcase Breckers melodic lyrical soloing. Listen to the original recorded version on Mike’s “Odds or Evens” especially his solo which is as riveting as Breckers one here. Huge fan of both.
Thank you for remindier to check out Mike's incredible original version. Just spun it for the first time in many years (on Odds Or Evens not Upside) Stunning playing.
@@L9C1C5 you are correct it’s on Odds or Evens. Corrected
Michael Brecker! Never disappoints. Genius, RIP.
One of the musicians I miss the most and this is a great example of why. Thanks for posting it.
…and he did, yet again, what he always did. Put it where it needed to be. He had the gift of a full range of emotion that would hit you if you were in the last row of a balcony or at home in front of the speakers… bring a tear to the eye or make you feel like you could run through a Wall… every time. So grateful for recordings.
This solo, like so many others, shows him effortlessly being able to do whatever he felt like doing on the horn. All the tools at hand a player could want and always went for it… no reservations… no thinking about what to do… he just let it loose… and we have been lucky enough to get to hear those moments. It’s a beautiful thing.
I was so happy when you posted this man. I heard this song when I was 16 on my local Sunday jazz radio show and they didn't mention the name and I could never find it, even after becoming a semipro musician and talking to the guy who ran the show. So thank you for tieing a name to this and letting me know it's the saxophonist who's already been taking over my tromboning this year haha
Thanks Sharp Eleven, this guy talked through his sax. He'll be in my mind as soon I hear the sound of a saxophone.
My wife and I saw this band in NYC this same year at The Village Gate(?). Still stands as one of the most other-worldly musical experiences we’ve ever had! Sitting there one table away from Joe Lovano we heard every soloist create emotional masterpieces beyond compare. Sometimes the energy would build to a climax that could not be eclipsed..only to hear it reach higher, then higher again! Totally monumental!! Thanks much for the reminder.
I didn’t know a sax solo could make me cry😯
Right? I've never heard a Brecker solo that didn't knock me out.
This has got the most beautiful and heartfelt solo I've ever heard . The way the solo is constructed is a masterpiece as well, proving that we mere mortals are in the presence of genius.
This is really, honestly and truly, the best solo anyone ever did. Ever.
Michael's technique supporting emotion in heaven's level
Man, I dunno. It's freakin' gorgeously, no doubt, and certainly up there. To me, though, there's just something magical about Gilmour's second guitar solo in Comfortably Numb live at Pulse, 1994. True to Gilmour's usual form, it's not overly ornate, or even, technical, but it's just exactly what was called for in the moment. To me, that joker is humanity's crowning achievement.
@@prometheusfallen can’t argue with you. Picking “one” is really silly - I was obviously emotionally overcome at the time.
@@jdrosboroughhey, I get it, amigo. Truly. It happens! 😂 That's when you know it's good. 😉
Is there a CD that I can purchase with this live performance? Thanks!
You really do need to watch the whole song to get a greater appreciation for the setup and emotional ride - absolutely beautiful artistry
His solo on a tune called Maxine by Donald Fagen is absolutely superb....my favorite sax solo ever. Not a very long solo, but every note is just solid gold.
Oh shit, had no clue it was MB on that. That's one of my favorite Donald tunes,
That solo is spotless.Only 16 bars but he.makes every note count. Its on Fagen's album "The Nightfly" if you don't know it.
Never heard this one before, but it provides a perfect bookend to the very first Michael solo I ever heard, which was 'Heather' off the Cobham album from '74 ('Crossings'?). Heard it in Rick Braun's dorm room when we were students at Eastman. I've been a Breckerhead ever since, and this solo is absolutely stunning in every way. 18 years after the Heather solo, with all that life experience and musical growth present in his playing. Gone too soon. Thanks for posting and transcribing.
Color is so rich and commitment endless, One of the best solos ever!
Best tenor ever , n.1 forever , thanks for all your gifts like this Michael, RIP god and angels enjoy your tenor now, lucky them
Great playing. This is reminiscent of A Remark You made, Weather Report, both in the phrasing and some of the chord sequences.
Yes I was thinking the same thing exactly . Same feel , same mood, but Jaco omg
You are so right…..
My favorite Weather Report tune
I never got to meet Mike or see him play live, but it makes me immensely sad to know that he’s still not out there making music. So thankful for places like YT that allows his greatness to live on. RIP brother
I had tickets to see him at the Hollywood bowl and he didn’t make it because he was sick. Next thing I know I saw he has some weird blood cancer disorder and he died. I never got to see him live either.
I instantly knew this was the guy from Steps Ahead even though I know next to nothing about jazz. What a unique and iconic voice on the saxophone
That was the great thing about Brecker. He had all the knowledge and technique in the world, but he backed it up with an immense depth of soul
absolutely gorgeous playing by MB and writing by Mike Stern. I was lucky enough to see Mike Stern in Scottsdale a few years back with Jeff Lorber. Two jazz titans!
Thanks!
Thank you!
Such a complete player in every regard. He left us way too early. Great post, thanks!
Michael Brecker is the greatest
That is soul touching. The purpose of music to gather all that have sometime celt this feeling.
A universal masterpiece.
So sweet and vibrant solo
One of the greatest that ever blew a sax. RIP
One of my all time favorite sax solos ever. Gives me goosebumps every time. So beautiful...
What are your other favourites?
@@Tom06 Trains and Cajun solos from the Tokyo concert (the whole concert is extraordinary), the 'Pools' solos from Copenhagen. 'Original Rays' from Wiesen, Austria. Pretty much every of his solos on 'My one and only Love'. Also his playing on his Steps/Smoking in the Pit album. One of the rare occasions where the energy is really on the same level with the skill.
@@HansBaier couldn’t agree more - great suggestions :)
@@Tom06 I forgot to mention the Album 'Cityscape' which is stellar
One of the greatest solos of all time of any genre.
Rest in Power, Michael Brecker. You enriched our lives with your unique sound and superhuman dynamic control.
This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.
The Michael Brecker solo on HEATHER ( CROSSWINDS ) will have you in tears.
The legato!!! Such smooth transitions! Awesome technical skill and intuition.
Rest in peace, master of the masters! That bastard never fails to make me cry with this one.................................
Needed that, yes there was tear. sadly sadly missed.
The greatest jazz solo of all time, the only that makes me cry, so deep, what a masterpiece.
The best kind of signing instrumental lines *actually* sing. They aren’t showy, they aren’t sophistry, they are positively teeming with pent up intensity and emotive fire, bundled in one continuous line, one continuous stream of thought that make for cosmic submission of sublimity. The one of the absolute best examples of this, maybe ever, is the middle movement of Ravel’s piano concerto in G… and what we have here in this solo is something that is gratifyingly and vibrantly along those lines.
This solo made me rethink life, and how grand it is!
thank you steve jobs for that solo
Similarly to Steve Jobs, Michael Brecker was a guy that would've become brilliant in any endeavor he would've had chosen. Incredible creativity combined with the work ethic and pure soul put in every action would've made him a world class actor, lawyer, accountant, inventor, doctor, engineer or any type of professional he would've wished to be.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Sax-iphone
☺
George Kastanza FINALLY got a real job
That's such pretty music, its just so amazing the feeling mike brecker was able to communicate via the saxophone. One in a gazillion.
Yes indeed!! That's a heartfelt solo man! ...One of my other favorites of M.B. Is the Grolnick tune-'the cost of living' off Michael's first solo album (synergy -I think)
Anyway.
Just when he played -- hair-raising ...
Stern too!
I got to see them --(that band with Adam Nussbaum on drums)
Both he and Mike Stern practically had people on the tables in a jazz club --- the energy was a lesson in 'real music' (if I could have been astute to get that from it at that time)
I can still 'Feel' their playing even now!
R. I. P. Michael Brecker
There's only one way to appreciate that solo more than a guy like me who spent many years trying to become a good tenor sax player. Those who succeeded and MASTERED the instrument are even more in awe.
The saxophone is one of the most emotionally expressive instruments, in my book. I could name other examples but the one that comes to mind straight away is the sax solo at the tail end of Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V). That whole song transports me but, when that sax solo kicks in, it takes me to another dimension.
This guys are best of the best of the best.. Mike Stern's compositions are often very emotional or in contrast very "robust" sounding so to speak , to my ear at least. Ed Bickert is another telecaster master that have "some" chops and can also be so emotional. Love you're video..
I have become addicted to this solo. It’s so emotional.
So do I. Crying and crying every time I listen to it.
It always has the same effect on me as well. Since approximately 25 years I've been listening to his solos on this song and they're always soooo powerful! What a pity he couldn't share us 30 years longer with his presence
Michael Breckers playing was always dripping with emotion. I cried when I heard he had passed. We had lost another great tenorman.
Wow!!! 😭😭😭 What excellence is this?! What a moving solo 🔥🔥🔥
Michael Brecker
Have been lisening to him all my life. Even met him in Singapore at the Botanical Gardens
where he was perfoming with other great musicians. Took pictures with him. A real wonderful
first grade Jazz saxophonist lots of Soul in his playing. Have ten of his long play records with
his signature on them. BEST solo i ever heard.
Rest in Peace my dearest friend and brother Michael .......................................🙏🫂🌹❤🎷
This is AMAZING... I never had heard Michael Brecker playing that kind of stuff
How have I never heard this before? Also, I got goosebumps the exact same time that the transcription says.
Dang, I did NOT want this solo to end.
This is one of the most beautiful solos I have ever heard, by anyone! I really miss Michael Brecker.
A master class in miniature. The altissimo and 32nd note runs sealed it... RIP
That was insanely emotional 😭
Michael was a beast so underrated. A lot of Coltrane influence but he developed his own sound and phrasing
He definitely had Coltrane's brighter sound, but I feel like he tended to accent his notes more and harder.
It makes sense with what he was playing.
@@julianmitchell3035 So you're saying he's better than Trane? Go to rehab dude lol
@@Steve-mp7by I'm not saying one was better, I'm saying their tones are different.
Coltrane had an altoist's tone because he played alto horn and alto sax before switching. Being a tenor just wasn't in him, and that's partially the reason why he started playing soprano. Brecker, like many other saxophonists, was deeply inspired by Coltrane and modeled their sound after him, although Brecker for his part made his sound a bit fatter and added more direction.
Now I will say that Dexter Gordon's tone is the best. He sounds like an upper register bari and it's beautiful.
Absolutely gorgeous and powerful! Thank you for that spirit, that short moment when you see the light shine through!❤
This solo never fails to move me personally. Everything is in there: expansive motif building (on Randy's last motif of his solo), dexterity, sound (from beautiful subtone to a projective bright sound), and most of all insane amounts of expressiveness. Not to mention how great the band builds together with Brecker (Dennis Chambers, wow!). How the solo builds to a climax, then to lay it down right at the end... It always gives me personally goosebumps, occasionally a tear. And I know I'm not the only one, according to the comment section on the source video.
Why do you think this is such a great solo? Let me know in the comments.
Here is a reaction/breakdown video where I talk you step for step through why I think it is so amazing: th-cam.com/video/9OcRD9u1ZEw/w-d-xo.html
/Jorre
Hard to top your list, but let me add:
The ideas on diminished chords, the occasional dirt, the context adds more emotional value too.
I played it as a transcription test at one of my last conservatory exams last July......I truly believe it's one of the best live solos of all times.....of every genre, every style, every instrument.....so touching, it speaks
Well, it's also a ballad, so that elicits and adds a certain amount of emotion by default. Also, his sound is unparalleled as a saxophonist. Moreover, the crescendo by Chambers, coupled with Michael's melodic (and all the above) response is borderline orgasmic. I'm trying not to exaggerate, but let's be real here!
My old sax instructor, Carl Coan, told me that he actually knew Michael Brecker and that at one point they did a lesson together and Carl showed him a lot of altissimo techniques. To hear Michael scream sounds SO much like Carl played and hearing him play always makes me sad to think of my late mentor. You look up Carl and hear him play and you'll see what I mean. The man was an absolute monster sax player and Michael will always make me think of him.
That solo killed me, fucking perfect.
@@AnAmericanComposer The name Carl Coan's rings a bell cause of the Michael Brecker transcription book I was so fond of when I was a teenager, so absorbed in Michael Breckers playing but yet not by far skilled enough to get most of it down. He was an inspiration to me as a transcriber, I reckon he must have been an amazing player. Sad tohear he's no longer with us, as is Brecker. I'll definitely research him. Thanks for the info and story!
/Jorre
Music to lift the soul! I hear a lot of gospel in Breckers sound and miss his beautiful playing.
Nicest thing about Brecker in general, and this solo in particular, is that he does not fall into sax clichés -- always the unexpected.
Michael Brecker podía tocar lo que quisiera, en el sentido de que no estaba limitado por la técnica. Si a ello le agregas todos los años de bagaje musical, en diferentes épocas y contextos lo hacían un saxofonista completo, y sí, él era capaz de tocar con este grado de profundidad, de dramatismo, de sentimiento. Su inigualable carrera está llena de ejemplos de aquello
I think this is the most inspiring tenor saxophone solo ever. I could worship God to this piece of music.
The title said EVERYTHING. I said this while reconsidering life
1:20 it turns into a MILLER-BOYETT PRODUCTION.
Family Matters was filmed in front of a live studio audience.
One, if not the best of our generation. Was lucky enough to see Him with Paul simon ( still crazy) in the 90s in linden. Gifted talented beautiful soul! RIP Michael❤
Il est géniale un son , un phrasé formidable on ne se lasse pas de l'écouter 💙 🤍 ❤ un salut de France
His tone shattered both my heart and my vase at home 😭 now i have to fix both
i actually had tears in my eyes bro
what a perfect way to describe a piece of art that moves you so.
and that is what it's all about. not he/she is "the best". music of all genres brings out the poignant...but each differs in the delivery...this is stellar and thank you for bringing into my life. the "reconsider" for me is brought on more by other performances and I appreciate having a new way to describe those.
always enjoy your posts (and moniker).
Yo estaba en ese concierto. Fue sublime todo el show, como tantos otros. Michael Brecker es un grande y se le echa mucho de menos.
How did he know that it was actually going to give me goosebumps 😭
By reporting how I feel every time - and I listened to this a lot. Guess music is pretty universal, as is the ability of Brecker to move people :)
He was fighting a bad reed or leak and at times that makes you play outside yourself and a real artist makes the problem sound amazing. Nobody can touch his talent and ability. Quit going back to the fifties and listen to his untouchable ability that nobody with their perfect replication of horn and mouthpiece with the all important look of a dull old Finnish that
can not make you even close to this talent. He played shiny horns or dull ones with the same quality of playing. Who sounds like Brecker?
NOBODY no matter how dull the and worn the lacquer is. A real pro that could play with anyone in any style and kill. That's the real shit.😅
Vaya solvencia al saxo!!! Lideró sin dudas a la banda en toda la ejecución. Admirable!!
This absolutely rips. Michael was the man on sax
with tears in my eyes wonderfull playing Mike , as you are not among us anymore , i wil remember your playing masterpiece , thank you my brother in christ you playing for Lord Jesus now amen .
Oh dang - seen all of these cats individually but never together. Wow. Can I please have a time machine so I can go back and see Michael live again? RIP Michael
I remember hearing an mp3 back in the day where it was Pat Metheny playing Clapton's "If I saw you in heaven" and it had a wonderful sax solo. It took me a minute to recognize this is the same soloist.
just like a harmonic melodic waterfall. I really miss this guys playing..
Thank you. Always loved that solo. It was nice to follow along with the transcription.
This totally caught me off guard. This is beautiful ❤
Wow, this just popped up fro me; why I have no idea. Glad that it did. I needed the reminder; that along with Dexter Gordon and Lester Young, Brecker has the greatest sound all time in the history of jazz tenor saxophone.
There are so many great Common Ground performances, even on streaming platforms like Tidal. I deeply recommend checking them all out :) Merry Xmas, thanks for the awesome transcription.