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Music

In memory of a jazz great

Three concerts and a jazz arranging competition honor talented saxophonist and composer Michael Brecker.

By Marty Clear
Published April 19, 2007

This weekend's series of concerts featuring the music of Michael Brecker began as a festive tribute to a jazz great.

Organizers at the University of South Florida's Center for Jazz Composition wanted not only to highlight his work but to feature Brecker playing saxophone.

But the concert, intended to follow last year's successful Chick Corea tribute, now has become a posthumous homage. Brecker died at 57 in January from leukemia.

"It was supposed to be a tribute," said Chuck Owen, the artistic director of the Center for Jazz Composition. "It just wasn't supposed to be a posthumous tribute. It was our original hope that he would attend, and we really hoped he would be able to play. We were completely shocked and obviously saddened that he passed away. I was not aware that things had gotten that bad."

So the center turned to the logical and more than able substitute: trumpeter Randy Brecker, Michael's brother.

"I'm going to come down and I'm going to bring my horn and blow a little," Randy Brecker said from his home in Manhattan, N.Y. "I played at the memorial, but this is the first tribute to him I've played at."

The tribute concerts are Saturday in St. Petersburg, Sunday in Orlando and Monday in Tampa.

Both Breckers are widely known in the jazz world and beyond. In the 1970s and '80s they were at the forefront of the jazz fusion movement with the Brecker Brothers band. Michael Brecker was also well-known in pop and rock circles for session work with everyone from Paul Simon to Aerosmith.

Less recognized is Michael Brecker's talent as a composer.

"The body of work that Michael has composed has gotten overshadowed by his work as a saxophonist," Owen said.

So in addition to honoring Brecker, the concerts are designed to call attention to his compositions.

There's another purpose as well.

The Center for Jazz Composition, already widely respected in jazz circles, wanted to broaden its national and international profile. So the center sponsored a competition in which arrangers were asked to adapt Brecker's compositions for a big band. Two of the winning entries will be performed at the concerts by the Jazz Surge, USF's renowned jazz ensemble.

Also on the program are commissioned arrangements of other Brecker compositions, including one piece from a Michael Brecker solo album that has yet to be released. Audiences at the tributes will be among the first to hear that piece, Owen said.

Marty Clear can be reached at mclear@tampabay.rr.com.

Preview

A tribute to Michael Brecker

The event, featuring Randy Brecker and the Jazz Surge, will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Palladium Theater, 727 822-3590, mypalladium.org; at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Rollins College, Orlando, (407) 646-2000, rollins.edu; and at 8 p.m. Monday at USF Theatre I, (813) 974-2323. $10 to $30. For more information, go to CenterForJazzComp.Arts.usf.edu.

More jazz

The Smooth Jazz Fest with David Pack, Kirk Whalum and B.K. Jackson. 5-9 p.m. Friday and with Nils, Walter Beasley, Brian Mcknight, Les Sabler And Citiheat, 3-9 p.m. Saturday, Coachman Park, 301 Drew St., Clearwater. $15 general, $30 reserved, 12 and younger free.

[Last modified April 18, 2007, 11:23:31]