2007年VOA标准英语-Jazz World Mourns Saxophonist, Composer Michael

By Doug Levine
Washington
17 January 2007

Renowned¹ jazz saxophonist and composer Michael Brecker died January 13 of leukemia in a New York City hospital. He was 57 years old. As VOA's Doug Levine tells us, Brecker's impact on today's generation of jazz hopefuls is immeasurable.

Michael Brecker plays  a saxophone for Super Unit during Tokyo Jazz 2002

Michael Brecker's wide appeal brought him multiple Grammy Awards, and won the admiration² of aspiring³ jazz musicians everywhere. Many of today's young jazz stars, especially sax players, say Brecker's prolific⁴ body of work was one of the reasons they pursued jazz.

Philadelphia native Michael Brecker had been a mainstay in jazz for more than 35 years. He found work almost immediately after his arrival in New York in 1970. At 21, he was a member of the short-lived fusion⁵ band Dreams, featuring his older brother Randy on trumpet⁶. Following stints⁷ with Horace Silver and Billy Cobham, Michael reunited with Randy to form The Brecker Brothers Band, a groundbreaking jazz-rock group that had a successful seven-year run from 1975 to 1982.

 

Michael Brecker was one of the busiest studio musicians of the 1980s. Recordings⁹ by Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and James Taylor are among hundreds that feature his melodic¹⁰ tenor¹¹ sax solos.

In 1987, Michael Brecker released his first solo album to much acclaim¹². It won jazz album of the year awards in both Downbeat and Jazziz magazines. World tours and non-stop recording⁸ dates kept him busy for years after.

Jazziz recently called Brecker "inarguably the most influential¹³ tenor stylist of the last 25 years." Four of Brecker's 11 Grammy Awards came in the past five years, including a pair for his 2003 album, Wide Angles. His final performance was with pianist Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall in June 2006. Though his health had deteriorated¹⁴, he was able to finish work on a new album due out later this year.

1 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

3 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

4 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

5 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

7 stints   

n.定额工作( stint的名词复数 )；定量；限额；慷慨地做某事

参考例句：

• He stints himself in [of] sleep. 他节制睡眠。 来自辞典例句
• She never stints herself of money to buy books for her children. 她从不吝惜掏钱让子女们买书。 来自互联网

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

10 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

11 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

12 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

13 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

14 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。