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

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

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.