All-Star Gathering at Town Hall Pays Tribute to Michael Brecker

By Bill Milkowski I Aug. 7, 2024

The June 19 Town Hall celebration of Michael Brecker was the culmination of the 10-night Peperoncino Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Joseph Vella)

Although it’s been 17 years since tenor titan Michael Brecker passed away, the memories of his towering instrumental prowess, along with his unfailing kindness and humility, are still strong among those friends and colleagues who gathered at New York’s Town Hall on June 19 to pay tribute to the beloved saxophonist-composer-bandleader and father.

Before the music began, individual members from the all-star ensemble came forward in a one-on-one setting with interview host Dave Schroeder, professor of jazz studies at NYU Steinhardt, to share stories with the assembled crowd of about 1,200 Brecker fans and devotees.

Bassist John Patitucci, musical director of this Peperoncino Jazz Festival event, spoke about first seeing Michael play live at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach when he came to that famous jazz club with John Abercrombie’s group in the mid-’80s. As he told the crowd, “I had been transcribing his solos. We met briefly then and when I moved back to New York, Mike became a friend and a mentor to me.” He added, “He played on my first album in 1987 and was so self-effacing in the studio. He’d say, ‘Let me do another take.’ And he would proceed to destroy the world and rebuild it on every take.”

Said pianist Joey Calderazzo, who began his longstanding membership in Brecker’s quintet in 1987 at the age of 22, “He made me a much better musician and a much better person than I might’ve been.” Said tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, Brecker’s bandmate alongside Dave Liebman in the Saxophone Summer from 1999 to 2005, “It was like a beautiful journey to share the space with Mike and initiate ideas alongside him, where we feed off each other and you try to tell your own story. That’s the approach that we took to the bandstand in Sax Summit and I still do to this day. But playing alongside Mike, you could really feel the humanity in his playing.”

Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, Brecker’s partner in the early to mid-’80s band Steps Ahead, added, “He was like the gentle genius giant. He was so focused. I just feel so grateful that he was a part of my life.” Tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis talked about the personal friendship that he forged with Brecker off the bandstand. “He was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. We hung out for a week in Japan at a jazz festival there, and we never once talked about music, we talked about our lives. He was the best. What a cool guy he was. And as far as playing, I don’t know if John Coltrane would’ve played that James Taylor solo (on “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”) as good as Michael did.”

As for the music, the Town Hall crowd was captivated by Marsalis and trumpeter Marcus Printup trading eights with drummer Bill Stewart on the opening “Midnight Voyage,” an easy swinging medium-tempo number from Brecker’s 1996 album Tales From The Hudson. Vibist Mainieri set the tone for a faithful version of Don Grolnick’s “Pools” (from Steps Ahead’s self-titled 1983 debut) that also highlighted tenor saxophonist George Garzone’s big tone and blowtorch intensity. Mainieri then accompanied Lovano on a tender duet reading of Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood,” a piece that Mainieri had memorably played on synth alongside Brecker’s EWI on the 1986 Steps Ahead album Magnetic.

The Three Italian Tenors — Lovano, Garzone and Jerry Bergonzi — then took the stage for a rousing rendition of “Alexander The Great,” a Lovano original from the Sax Summit’s 2004 debut, Gathering Of Spirits, based on the changes to “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Bassist Gerald Cannon subbed for Patitucci on this spirited jam.

Marsalis, Printup and alto saxophonist Steve Wilson then led dual bassists Cannon and Patitucci, pianist Calderazzo and drummer Stewart on a version of Brecker’s churning “African Skies” (originally on Tales From The Hudson and revisited on The Brecker Brothers 1994 album Out Of The Loop). The three horn solos on this invigorating 12/8 workout were each outstanding in their own way as the piece built to a near-hypnotic crescendo.

Marsalis on soprano sax then joined Calderazzo on an affecting duo rendition of the pianist’s Chopin-informed “Hope,” reprising the intimate chemistry they established on their 2011 duet album Songs Of Mirth And Melancholy. Said Calderazzo to the Town Hall audience, “When Michael was sick, he encouraged me to continue to write. And I wrote this tune in the spirit of Mike.” Marsalis’ passionate soprano solo on this pensive yet uplifting number struck a chord with the crowd.

The exhilarating finale, a rousing take on Grolnick’s swinging “Nothing Personal,” from Brecker’s 1987 self-titled debut on Impulse!, featured a phalanx of horns across the front of the stage. Branford soloed first on this uptempo burner, flaunting plenty of swag and urgent blue notes as he wailed. He was followed in order by Lovano, calling in the spirits in his inimitable fashion, then Bergonzi playing in the altissimo zone that Michael used to regularly inhabit. Trumpeter Printup then thrilled the crowd by launching into some high-note bravado against the driving rhythm section of Patitucci, Calderazzo and Stewart. Mainieri, a marvel at age 86, added a burning vibes solo before Garzone dug deep on his own earth-shattering tenor solo and Wilson followed with a stunning alto sax solo to put an exclamation point on the proceedings.

It was a triumphant salute to one of the greats, whose legacy remains vital to this day.

This Town Hall celebration of Michael Brecker was the culmination of the 10-night Peperoncino Jazz Festival, presenting Italian jazz musicians at a variety of venues around New York City. Billed as “Ten Days of Fine Red-Hot Jazz, Art, Food & Wine,” it also featured John Patitucci’s Brazilian Trio (with guitarist Yotam Silberstein and drummer Rogerio Boccato), drummer Elio Coppola’s New York Trio (with bassist Joey Ranieri and pianist Emmet Cohen), drummer Paul Wertico’s trio with pianist Fabrizio Mocata and bassist Gianmarco Scaglia and George Garzone’s Italian Quartet with saxophonist Daniele Germani, pianist Stefano Battaglia and drummer Adam Arruda. DB