Brecker Brothers Band Reunion [LP], Randy Brecker, Vinyl

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, trumpeter Randy Brecker and his younger, sax-playing brother Michael Brecker charted a new course in modern music by blending sophisticated jazz harmonies and searing solos with slamming funk grooves and a visceral energy that grabbed rock ears. The funk-fusion juggernaut known as The Brecker Brothers helped define a sub-genre within jazz and set the tone for a generation of aspiring musicians who followed. The CD and the vinyl double LP contain dynamic studio versions of some of the live tunes, performed by a host of special guests. Guitarist Dean Brown, a member of the '90s edition, appears on First Tune of the Set, Merry Go Town, Really In For It and Adina. Guitarist Adam Rogers plays on the beautiful Stellina and the funky boogaloo number The Dipshit, in which Randy slyly drops a quote from Lee Morgan's Sidewinder (the tune's obvious inspiration). Rogers is also the sole accompanist to Randroid (transformed here as a Delta bluesman) on the downhome. Perhaps the most moving track on the collection is Randy's Elegy for Mike. As simple, beautiful and affecting as Herbie Hancock's Chan's Song (a tune that Michael recorded on his 2001 album Nearness of You: The Ballad Book), it is a poignant ode to one of jazz's all-time greats. It was nice to have a tune with that feel and with Mike in mind, Randy says.