"I also just play" - so wise & so important to strike a balance between consciously working at your instrument....and then also just relaxing and letting some things come out, effortlessly. I find that too much work and striving and rating & critiquing yourself can drain the whole experience of why you wanted to play in the first place. Keep some fun and child-like energy in your mix (is my humble contribution to this conversation). RIP, Michael.
@@Samuelee97 Thanks, Brother! You're right, too: the amazing technicians of this era could smoke the early Jazz pioneers off the stage in terms of speed & mastery of the instrument, but do they really bring more joy, relaxation & plain old fun & enjoyment to their audiences? THAT's the top metric that matters to me & MOST listeners, I bet!
"I have to practice or I feel I have shirked my responsibility" As a man and a musician, in equal measure, Michael Brecker is one of the most inspirational people I can think of. On his instrument he is grace, elegance and power incarnate. I'm a guitarist, but there are few other musicians who inspire me more than Michael. Sincere thanks for posting these wonderful videos.
"...in every key..." "...in every key..." "...in every key..." If there's one single piece of advice aspiring horn players should take to heart from these interviews...it's to learn it and practice it "in every key". It doesn't matter what the tune or the exercise is. Until you can play it in every key you haven't truly learned it.
I listen to Michael, and get inspired. I listen to Michael, then feel like throwing my Sax down and STOMPING on it! What an Incredible Talent He was. My biggest Inspiration,,,
@JRKSAX I was lucky enough to be a student of Mike's for a limited time early in my career (late 80s) and he was really a slave to the horn, more than you may have ever imagined. I have never seen a more humble and tortured virtuoso. I miss him terribly and wish more had rubbed off.
This is exactly the Reason that Mike IS so well LOVED, RESPECTED and IMITATED; his humility, "humaneness", humanity and unselfishness do belie his "saxophonic" brilliance and virtuosity. Michael still "BIGS UP" his idols, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane et al, despite his ability to have gone toe-to-toe with the best, even in his early 20's. Jazz Tv Guy, you have got the receipts; preserve and continue to share them. Respect, sir.
I have loved Mike's playing for about 40 years....met him at Camden Community College in NJ when he played with Billy Cobham....I think we can all say that Mike's music will live on in us forever! An incredible jazz icon.
I also felt that i shirked my responsibility when missing a day or two of not practicing. Makes me glad to see I'm not the only one. Great masters like him know the value the practice and knew practicing showed morality in a musician.
@Modes9 most definitely, I refer to the torture as a love/hate relationship...that joy and frustration that comes from pushing yourself further with each new combination, not so much a negative connotation as a true love of the art. For me, he embodies that love more than anyone I have ever seen.
Thanks to this example, among some others (as Kenny Werner books) I had one of the happiest realizations of my life as musician after many crazy inconscious years in wich practicing was only a neccesary but tedious and sometimes exausting work who had to be avoided when possible, in my late thirties finally practicing became not only an objective in itself but a daily necessity, (but not a compulsion) fullfilment, a relaxing pleasure, a thrilling exploration, a loving meditation... call it what you want... (and that was when I started to really grasp a little bit of the thing of playing for the right reasons or something ;)
these interviews are great for aspiring musicians like myself. hearing an established musician state that he practices just for maintenance is reassuring.
I'm a slow convert to the Michael Brecker world. It wasn't until I heard the great Jaco Pastorius album and wondered: "Where have I heard this sax player before?" that it really kind of sank in. Right now I have the intro to "Straphangin'" stuck in my head: reminds me when I too was a slave to the subway, but in a whimsical way!
For those of you who are interested, Chuck Sher has just published Michael Brecker's Practice Journals. I've only read the appendix which is available free for download. Pretty amazing treatment of just one 4-Note Idea.
It's really nice to hear a monster player like Micheal say how he goes through periods where he only practices enough to get by. Maybe there's hope for me after all.
So true! You look at people like him, and knowing that he feels the same way about practicing gives you courage when you're just trying to keep the neurons connected and the lips in shape.
My sadness about his passing is slowly going away.MB's music has been a constant for mesince I was a kid.I can barely listen to Pilgrimage........breaks my heart everytime.
This guy made me want to play sax back in 1975 when I first heard the Back to Back album. It's a song called, Keep it Steady. Shortly afterwards in 76, I heard Larry Graham and the ball game changed!
The interview was with Paul Desmond and Parker said that he USED to practice 11 to 15 hours a day,over a period of 3 to 4 years. In other words, when he was a kid.Your comment implied that Parker kept on practicing that amount when he was a professional musician and famous, and from the extensive reading I've done relating to his life, I doubt that very much. Of course Coltrane did maintain that kind of obsessive practice regime even after he became famous.
hy...can anyone pls help me.?.where can i find karaoke mp3 files to buy.?...any kind of jazz files....thx..i hope you did understand i was trying to say...
@cliffbnelson I'm not sure it's healthy to look at it as torture. I love to work on ideas from the Nicolas Slonimsky Thesaurus of Scales and transpose them to other keys because it's fun and those things sound great. Some people like crossword puzzles or rubics cubes. I like that...and obviously Michael Brecker liked that kind of musical study and analysis more than just about anybody.
@77syzygy See, Brecker was born in 1949. If this was filmed in 1966, he would've been 17 years old! Get where I'm going? Is he really that young in this video? I doubt it. Once again, this is probably footage from the 1980's, or the late 1970's at best.
It's called a typo~lol. Again what everone is saying is correct. I'm a clarinet player sax and harmonica as well. I also happen to play trumpet at least enough to sub for someone and make some extra bread though I would call myself a trumpet player. Fact is when I studied Clarinet at Juilliard as a youth I DID practice 10-15 hours a day myself since I didn't have responsibilities. All Coltrane had to do was practice, play club dates, and record. There's more to life than that but so what?
you can tell the way he struggles to word things so carefully... the music in his head is beyond explanation through talking. he could explain much better by just showing, but then we would be so lost as to whats going on that it wouldn't help us lol. just a completely different level
YOU'RE still mistaken. We don't need 10 hours sleep. Where did you pickup that information? Average is 6-9 hours. But in actually when you understand sleep cycles w e don't even 5 hours. Eistein used to sleep 4 hours a day.
If you can't play it in every key you run the risk of not being able to play something you hear because it's not under your fingers. (and you run the risk of not being able to communicate anything if someone calls it in another key.)
Parker didn't practice 12 hours a day, man.He woodshedded one summer in the late 1930's. He also drank an enormous amount and took shitloads of drugs. Ok, Coltrane was obsessive about practice, right up until he died. The information goes in faster for "geniuses". But there's always hard work involved.
"Even swing giant Benny Goodman borrowed from Joe fletcherson." ......Huh? Did you mean to say Fletcher Henderson? Or perhaps Joe Henderson....who came along about 30 years after the peak of Benny's career.
not necassary to play something in every key - if you can play it in only one key, but communicate something to people, express an emotion that touches people, that's enough (IMHO)
"blacks got the rhythm better" is pretty stupid. These days there are great jazz musicians both black and white, and there have been for a long time. It's hardly "black music". I wish the interview was longer though, I really need help with my practice technique.
bullshit "!"""""!!!!! gerry mulligan !!! paol desmond benny goodman , is true ony : if you born under the sun you are more musicaly .......... ( has south italian ) .. but way finnisch jazz play or swedom jazz play are better then other ?
He said he's slow!! What a motivation!! Best saxophonist ever lived.
Humility is the most important attribute to becoming a better musician
Best ever, steady on!!
Perhaps that is false modesty.
"I also just play" - so wise & so important to strike a balance between consciously working at your instrument....and then also just relaxing and letting some things come out, effortlessly. I find that too much work and striving and rating & critiquing yourself can drain the whole experience of why you wanted to play in the first place. Keep some fun and child-like energy in your mix (is my humble contribution to this conversation).
RIP, Michael.
@@Samuelee97 Thanks, Brother! You're right, too: the amazing technicians of this era could smoke the early Jazz pioneers off the stage in terms of speed & mastery of the instrument, but do they really bring more joy, relaxation & plain old fun & enjoyment to their audiences? THAT's the top metric that matters to me & MOST listeners, I bet!
"I have to practice or I feel I have shirked my responsibility"
As a man and a musician, in equal measure, Michael Brecker is one of the most inspirational people I can think of. On his instrument he is grace, elegance and power incarnate. I'm a guitarist, but there are few other musicians who inspire me more than Michael. Sincere thanks for posting these wonderful videos.
"...in every key..."
"...in every key..."
"...in every key..."
If there's one single piece of advice aspiring horn players should take to heart from these interviews...it's to learn it and practice it "in every key". It doesn't matter what the tune or the exercise is. Until you can play it in every key you haven't truly learned it.
I listen to Michael, and get inspired. I listen to Michael, then feel like throwing my Sax down and STOMPING on it! What an Incredible Talent He was. My biggest Inspiration,,,
@JRKSAX I was lucky enough to be a student of Mike's for a limited time early in my career (late 80s) and he was really a slave to the horn, more than you may have ever imagined. I have never seen a more humble and tortured virtuoso. I miss him terribly and wish more had rubbed off.
This is exactly the Reason that Mike IS so well LOVED, RESPECTED and IMITATED; his humility, "humaneness", humanity and unselfishness do belie his "saxophonic" brilliance and virtuosity.
Michael still "BIGS UP" his idols, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane et al, despite his ability to have gone toe-to-toe with the best, even in his early 20's.
Jazz Tv Guy, you have got the receipts; preserve and continue to share them.
Respect, sir.
I have loved Mike's playing for about 40 years....met him at Camden Community College in NJ when he played with Billy Cobham....I think we can all say that Mike's music will live on in us forever! An incredible jazz icon.
I'm a guitar player, but this guy is one of my biggest inspirations in music!
Such a modest man; an inspiration.
The greatest sax player ever. Legend!
RIP Michael Brecker
We miss you Michael.... A really great loss for the jazz world and a loss of a great person :(
I also felt that i shirked my responsibility when missing a day or two of not practicing. Makes me glad to see I'm not the only one. Great masters like him know the value the practice and knew practicing showed morality in a musician.
Got to sit right in front of him in 1975 in a small jazz club in Milwaukee ....amazing!
Which club? Not the Estate..
Can’t remember. Small club down town.
Michael Brecker
I miss your groundbreaking genius Music so much
Rest in Peace
Wow, I am speechless. One of the greatest ever lived
kinda nostalgic seeing the 90s music gear. i remember when everything was in its own box and needed cables and racks. seems so long ago now.
Simple, direct, no secrets. Great man.
you think he'll tell you his secrets? serious
Amazing player and a lovable person!
Best saxophonist of our generation.
One and only master
Michael you will be deeply missed, rest in peace.
Someone needs to publish Breckers book of practice phrases... if they can find them??
If I am not mistaken they in fact were found and published. I am sure I have seen some pages from them some years ago.
Fascinating and inspirational :)
Tales From the Hudson is a beautiful recording
try listening to this interview with a 160bpm metronome in the background, it's pretty interesting how his speech sounds like jazz
haha!! true!! thx, good idea, i ll try this with more players now! ;P
@Modes9 most definitely, I refer to the torture as a love/hate relationship...that joy and frustration that comes from pushing yourself further with each new combination, not so much a negative connotation as a true love of the art. For me, he embodies that love more than anyone I have ever seen.
Thanks to this example, among some others (as Kenny Werner books) I had one of the happiest realizations of my life as musician after many crazy inconscious years in wich practicing was only a neccesary but tedious and sometimes exausting work who had to be avoided when possible, in my late thirties finally practicing became not only an objective in itself but a daily necessity, (but not a compulsion) fullfilment, a relaxing pleasure, a thrilling exploration, a loving meditation... call it what you want...
(and that was when I started to really grasp a little bit of the thing of playing for the right reasons or something ;)
Gentle giant... play for us in the great Beyond, Michael!!
How inspiring is that !!
Guy Mann
Thanks!! Wonderful.
these interviews are great for aspiring musicians like myself. hearing an established musician state that he practices just for maintenance is reassuring.
I'm a slow convert to the Michael Brecker world. It wasn't until I heard the great Jaco Pastorius album and wondered: "Where have I heard this sax player before?" that it really kind of sank in. Right now I have the intro to "Straphangin'" stuck in my head: reminds me when I too was a slave to the subway, but in a whimsical way!
Glad you escaped slavery to the subway.
For those of you who are interested, Chuck Sher has just published Michael Brecker's Practice Journals. I've only read the appendix which is available free for download. Pretty amazing treatment of just one 4-Note Idea.
Chuck has some great educational content. Musicians, please check out his site: www.shermusic.com
still love your attitude and your music!!
one of the greatest!
Great to have this on tape !!!!
Love ya, Mike. Miss listening to that genius...
Mike was something else
Such a special musician- missed by all.
'some skunk funk' (live version), the solo with the autowah is still my fav sax solo of all time. rest in peace mike
It's really nice to hear a monster player like Micheal say how he goes through periods where he only practices enough to get by. Maybe there's hope for me after all.
So true! You look at people like him, and knowing that he feels the same way about practicing gives you courage when you're just trying to keep the neurons connected and the lips in shape.
My sadness about his passing is slowly going away.MB's music has been a constant for mesince I was a kid.I can barely listen to Pilgrimage........breaks my heart everytime.
I totally agree. His influence is felt far beyond soprano and tenor sax players...
This guy made me want to play sax back in 1975 when I first heard the Back to Back album. It's a song called, Keep it Steady. Shortly afterwards in 76, I heard Larry Graham and the ball game changed!
Always & forever Mike!
C.G.T. Ukiah, CA
Facility, agility, humility. That's Michael (and Randy) Brecker.
What a great album Tales from...is. Amazing line-up.
he's talking about all of his inspirations and it's funny because he's really my inspiration
Inspiring.
A master!!!!
@JRKSAX Yeah man, I love seeing the human side of people with godly talents. Brecker for the win.
This sounds like an overwhelming grind.
Not for the weak of heart
@@JazzVideoGuy No shit.
The interview was with Paul Desmond and Parker said that he USED to practice 11 to 15 hours a day,over a period of 3 to 4 years. In other words, when he was a kid.Your comment implied that Parker kept on practicing that amount when he was a professional musician and famous, and from the extensive reading I've done relating to his life, I doubt that very much. Of course Coltrane did maintain that kind of obsessive practice regime even after he became famous.
wow rest in peace
a god of music
Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane...and Michael Brecker.
ci manchi !!!
RIP Michael...
The Maestro
Great video. Hey everyone, Gary Campbell wrote a book called triad pairs that has completely changed my playing. I recommend it to everyone!
damn.. 1966!
amen.
@77syzygy Oops. Either they fixed it (it says 1996), or I need new glasses, because I swear it said 1966. :-) I KNEW it just couldn't be in the 60's.
❤️
🔥🔥🔥
hy...can anyone pls help me.?.where can i find karaoke mp3 files to buy.?...any kind of jazz files....thx..i hope you did understand i was trying to say...
1966?! Surely not!
@cliffbnelson I'm not sure it's healthy to look at it as torture. I love to work on ideas from the Nicolas Slonimsky Thesaurus of Scales and transpose them to other keys because it's fun and those things sound great. Some people like crossword puzzles or rubics cubes. I like that...and obviously Michael Brecker liked that kind of musical study and analysis more than just about anybody.
nice video, the beginning says 1966 instead of 1996 tho ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
@77syzygy See, Brecker was born in 1949. If this was filmed in 1966, he would've been 17 years old! Get where I'm going? Is he really that young in this video? I doubt it. Once again, this is probably footage from the 1980's, or the late 1970's at best.
immortal
It's called a typo~lol. Again what everone is saying is correct. I'm a clarinet player sax and harmonica as well. I also happen to play trumpet at least enough to sub for someone and make some extra bread though I would call myself a trumpet player. Fact is when I studied Clarinet at Juilliard as a youth I DID practice 10-15 hours a day myself since I didn't have responsibilities. All Coltrane had to do was practice, play club dates, and record. There's more to life than that but so what?
inspirational 2.49 minutes
you can tell the way he struggles to word things so carefully... the music in his head is beyond explanation through talking. he could explain much better by just showing, but then we would be so lost as to whats going on that it wouldn't help us lol. just a completely different level
Rick Beato brought me here, too!
lol. says "1966 interview" in the intro... the editor had ONE job... ;)
YOU'RE still mistaken. We don't need 10 hours sleep. Where did you pickup that information? Average is 6-9 hours. But in actually when you understand sleep cycles w e don't even 5 hours. Eistein used to sleep 4 hours a day.
lol 1966 interview...
If you can't play it in every key you run the risk of not being able to play something you hear because it's not under your fingers. (and you run the risk of not being able to communicate anything if someone calls it in another key.)
Yadda yadda yadda... just hurry up and play the "Candy" solo. 😁
Parker didn't practice 12 hours a day, man.He woodshedded one summer in the late 1930's. He also drank an enormous amount and took shitloads of drugs. Ok, Coltrane was obsessive about practice, right up until he died. The information goes in faster for "geniuses". But there's always hard work involved.
interesting that he finds random ideas and then learns them in every key, really need to get good at that.
This is not 1966!! More like 86
Actually, it was '96. I messed up on the titles.
The recognition he got right after he died compared to right before disgusts me.
"Even swing giant Benny Goodman borrowed from Joe fletcherson."
......Huh? Did you mean to say Fletcher Henderson? Or perhaps Joe Henderson....who came along about 30 years after the peak of Benny's career.
This was in 1966? Really? I doubt it. More like '86.
66'? or 96'? lol
answer to jangojazz
I'm sorry I have never heard of you. Good luck.
huh are you serious or am i missing something?
musical geniuses are like this because they study 10 hour every day ,,,
from 1966? very good joke
not necassary to play something in every key - if you can play it in only one key, but communicate something to people, express an emotion that touches people, that's enough (IMHO)
rick beato brought me here
Omri Samia same
breaking old habits
Omri Samia me too
I'm infinitely slower than Mike, so I'm supposed to be the greatest saxophone player ever. And I'm a guitar player. 😉
Rock on!
"blacks got the rhythm better" is pretty stupid. These days there are great jazz musicians both black and white, and there have been for a long time. It's hardly "black music". I wish the interview was longer though, I really need help with my practice technique.
bullshit "!"""""!!!!! gerry mulligan !!! paol desmond benny goodman ,
is true ony : if you born under the sun you are more musicaly .......... ( has south italian ) .. but way finnisch jazz play or swedom jazz play are better then other ?