The world of jazz and rock suffered a great loss this weekend with the passing of tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker. He was a consummate musician whose accomplishments were capped by eleven Grammy Awards.
Born to a musical family, he played drums, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and EWI, an electronic wind instrument. His musical sensibilities were shaped by Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane. He applied Coltrane's language to popular music and performed with a wide array of artists including Aerosmith, James Brown, Elton John, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Frank Zappa. In the jazz world, he headlined the Brecker Brothers and the Steps (which later became the Steps Ahead). He worked as a saxophone soloist with Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, and Pat Metheny.
His enormous discography which encompasses over 900 albums, may be sampled in Chet Baker's You Can't Go Home Again, Paul Simon's The Rhythm of the Saints, and his own Nearness of You: the Ballad Book.