e2music

You're in a bar, a bar in goddamn New York City. You've been nursing a glass of whiskey for hours. Hell, of course you've been. What else would you be doing, a night like this, and after that boy...well, we won't get into that, will we? Romance is so difficult these days. Everyone's so crazy. It's the city, you think, it's the city that's driving everybody so nutty. It's gotta be. Goddamn New York City.

Up on the stage there's a girl who's been singing for a while. Some kinda avant-garde thing. She's been screeching and hollering her way through a bunch of old Blues standards for maybe a half hour now. Not really your thing, but she is pretty. Pretty, hell. She's beautiful. A simple, tasteful black dress contrasts harshly with her face, which is powdered so heavily as to look like a porcelain doll. Her lips are bright, bright red. Her eyelids have been painted a glittering golden color. She's stopped singing now, and she's talking to you. Well, she's talking to the audience anyway, witty banter to introduce her next song.

"This is a very sweet little song..." she says. Everybody laughs.

"No, really."

"I played it in San Francisco one night, and a journalist really, really gave me a very bad review."

She starts to play some notes on her piano. The tune's upbeat, kinda bluesy, kinda ragtime-y. The kind of thing your father always used to put on the turntable when he needed to relax. Then she starts to sing. She's not hollerin' or screechin' any more. Her voice is confident and controlled, but soft.

Arms covered in blood, the war has begun
Hide the straight razor 'cos baby's insane
New telephone number, new lock on the door
Hide all the knives 'cos baby's insane

Baby's insane, baby's insane
Baby's on a trip to the moon again
Baby's insane, baby's insane
Hide all the knives cos baby's insane

She stops singing for a moment, looks out at the audience. "It's very pretty, doncha think?" she asks in a dirty, mocking tone. Everybody laughs. By this point, you're kinda entranced by the whole act, the whole damn film noir nightclub perversity of the act, the mockingness of the song. Hell, you think, after that damn boy, maybe I outta just go insane. I can show him a thing or to about insanity. He thinks he's so tough....

The roaches are flying while she sleeps at night
Scream over her bed "help us find some light"
It stinks of Velveeta, one is under her tongue
Dreaming of you with a hand on her gun

She runs down your birthday till the cats on the lawn
All bare their claws at the sound of your name
Don't knock on her window, don't knock on her door
She's rigged up your welcome one inch off the floor

Baby's insane, baby's insane
Baby's on a trip to the moon again
Baby's insane, baby's insane
Hide all the knives 'cos baby's insane

She's picked your white roses from the funeral page
There's a whole lot of cities where a good man can age
I know that she loves you but it's time to move on
Don't miss the bus 'cos baby's insane

Baby's insane, baby's insane
Baby's on a trip to the moon again
Baby's insane, baby's insane
Don't miss the bus cos baby's insane

The audience bursts out in applause as soon as the final rendition of the chorus breaks into those final finishing chords. "He was such a spoilsport, " the songstress continues when the claps die down, "trying to ruin all my fun...And I wrote that one myself, motherfucker..."

But you're already out of there. Before she can even start up her next song, some deranged alleycat version of a Hank Williams tune, you've already downed the last of your whiskey and are out on the streets, muttering under your breath. This damn city. It'll get to ya, man, it'll get to ya.

With all due apologies to Diamanda Galás, who wrote the above song and gave the above performance of it, as documented on her live album La Serpenta Canta.

A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there
But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home
When there's no one there to hold you tight
And no one there you can kiss goodnight

Burt Bacharach's music has been dismissed by many critics over the years as post-Standard pop kitsch. However, there's something to be said for a composer whose music is so enduring and melodies so often lingering ("hummable," if you will).

The lyric excerpt above is from "A House is Not A Home," a cut that first appeared on Bacharach's 1967 collaboration album with lyricist Hal David, Reach Out (A&M CD re-release). The original title was "House is Not A Home," but the "A" made it in there after a few singers tackled the song. And tackle is an appropriate word; the music is so complex and filled with jumps from flats to sharps that if performed by a less-than-talented vocalist it becomes nothing more than an emulation of a drunken karaoke night at some gin joint. Among the talented people who've recorded the song (along with their genres) are:

Aretha Franklin (Soul)
Alicia Keys (R&B)
Pearl Baily (Soul)
Perry Como (Easy Listening)
Eric Alexander (Jazz)
Bill Evans (Jazz)
Stan Getz (Jazz)
Lulu (Pop)
Peter Nero (Easy Listening)
Joe Sample (Smooth Jazz)
Sonny Rollins (Jazz)
Barbra Streisand (Pop)
Mel Torme (Jazz Vocal)
Sarah Vaughan (Jazz Vocal)
and
Dionne Warwick (Jazz Vocal)

Now, for fans of the song, composer, and the artist who made this song "his own," I've intentionally left one R&B artist for last: Luther Vandross.

Sure, Ms. Franklin's version is soulful, but scattered. Sassy Vaughan, (who knows why), failed to tell a story. The story. And the lyrics tell a story in metaphor and in bleak reality in such a fashion that the word "moving" used as a descriptor seems to be insufficient. But just like careful handling of this wonderful music and beautiful lyrics, saying more than "moving" is taking it over the top; emoting; over-acting (Nero, Streisand, and Warwick were all guilty of a lack of restraint).

The album Reach Out contains some other Bacharach/David songs that skyrocketed up the charts and have become pop favorites performed by numerous artists: "Alfie," "Bond Street," "I Say A Little Prayer," (a huge hit for both Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin) and "What the World Needs Now is Love." One has, arguably, found its way into the Great American Songbook: "The Look of Love" from the movie Casino Royale (performed by Diana Krall on two records; most lately Live In Paris (Verve) as well as having been covered by such notable singers/players of Standards as Tony Bennett, Billy May, The Ray Charles Singers, Dusty Springfield, Stan Getz, Shirley Horn, Astrud Gilberto, Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence, Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle. Myriad other singers and instrumentalists in other genres have also covered the tune.

Unless jazz singers embrace "A House is Not a Home" &mdash jazz singers of the calibre of Tony Bennett, Carol Sloane, or Diana Krall (or even Natalie Cole on an album of Standards), the song just wasn't popular enough, the lyrics good but not clever enough, to make it into the Standard Songbook. The music's intense and creative enough, allowing a singer of the ballad to show off a romp up and down difficult riffs while at other times sustend long, lovely notes. Sadly, Shirley Horn's gone; so is Carmen McRae. Those ladies could've accomplished moving this tune off the Bacharach shelf and firmly ensconce it in the precious cabinet which houses the American jazz Standard repertoire. But that's not to be. Oh, and the late Bobby Short could've helped some.

Luther Vandross's album Never Too Much hit the R&B charts running in 1981. "A House is Not a Home" enjoyed immense popularity on the radio on soul stations, smooth jazz and Urban stations as well. I remember listening to Frankie Crocker on WBLS, as well as other romantic-leaning Urban programming like "The Quiet Storm" on the same station, in the late-night spot. The artist's soulful voice and romantic timbre earned him legions of fans in both the R&B and Adult Contemporary genres. I bought the album on vinyl shortly after its release. I've since purchased compilation CDs which contain Vandross's "A House is Not a Home."
 

The Special Meaning Behind The Song

A room is a still a room, even when there's nothin' there but gloom
But a room is not a house and a house is not a home
When the two of us are far apart
And one of us has a broken heart

The house on Waverly Avenue between DeKalb Avenue and Lafayette Avenue in New York's borough of Brooklyn was the largest I'd ever lived in. (The space was enormous compared to the Manhattan apartments I'd dwelled in prior to this opportunity. A friend had bought-up a group of buildings, the carriage houses that abutted (and once served) the mansions lining the East side of Clinton Avenue, the next avenue over. The five carriage houses were gutted and renovated to sheetrock; mine was the only finished and furnished unit and I got to live there in exchange for keeping the "model home" clean and making appointments (particularly on weekends) with the real estate agents and keeping track of calling them back to see if there was any interest.

As the other four homes sold, over a period of two years, I knew that sooner or later someone would buy the amazing 3,500 square foot residence I was privileged to call "my own." The house had a terrace covered with potted plants and eclectic outdoor furniture, on the second floor in the rear. The living room measured a whopping 35' x 24'. The place was appointed with two and a half bathrooms tiled in marble. The kitchen opened out onto an informal dining room which made the place great for intimate entertaining; the dimensions of the living room and the 25' x 18' dining room made entertaining for groups a breeze. The gigantic windows which faced the front of the house looked out not on other buildings, but on Underwood Park; a tiny one-block patch of greenery in this eclectic neighborhood; gentrified homes and Pratt Institute on one side and the slums of Brooklyn's notorious Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood a little farther away on the other.

A stately, ornate stone cathedral-styled Baptist church sat directly across Underwood Park from the house. On summer Sundays when the weather allowed, the gospel music floated out of their stained-glass windows and into the five-foot-tall windows in the front of the carriage house. Their windows were always open in the summer due to lack of air conditioning. I'd cut the air conditioning off and hoist my counterweighted windows open just to listen, and gladly endure the sweltering heat for the sake of a free concert.

An interesting aside: my house once was the stable and carriage house for the gigantic brownstone mansion located behind it on Clinton Avenue, a stately, tree-lined boulevard as grand as the enormous homes which line the Avenue. (My street, Waverly Avenue, was merely a service road which ran behind the mansions, originally for the purposes of taking deliveries, boarding the horses and storing the carriages owned by the wealthy homeowners.) The mansion behind (or, more properly, in front of) my carriage house was once owned by socialites William and Ann Woodward. They also had homes in Oyster Bay Cove, New York and in Maryland's racing country. William came from a family of wealth (banking) famous for raising three Kentucky Derby winning steeds. Ann gained her socialite status by marriage; her mother-in-law, pillar of New York high society Elsie Woodward opposed the marriage. Gossip and innuendo quickly branded Ann a "gold-digger."
 

High Society Ghosts?

In a nutshell, here's the story of Ann's further claim to notoriety. The Oyster Bay area of Long Island had been at the time (1955) been plagued by a series of burglaries. The Woodwards had taken to keeping firearms at bedside while sleeping at night (in separate bedrooms; not uncommon among the wealthy and privileged). On the evening of October 30th Mr. and Mrs. Woodward attended a high-society gala ball in honor of the Dutchess of Windsor. Upon returning home, they retired for the evening. According to Ann's story, she was awakened by a figure at the hallway door whom she thought was an intruder. She picked up the 12-gauge shotgun at her bedside and discharged it twice. One spatter of lead shot bore a hole in a wooden door; the other caught her husband in the face and chest, killing him instantly. Now, the details of this story will certainly become another node herein.

The story of the high-society murder, replete with jealousy, private detectives, adultery, and accusations flying about like tennis-balls at Wimbledon sold newspapers like crazy. Ann ended up not being indicted by a Grand Jury, and got off free as a bird, based predominately upon the testimony of a man who claimed he, indeed, had been in the house and was the Oyster Bay Burglar. Rumor had it that despite her hatred for Ann, Elsie Woodward was rich and powerful enough to arrange for her daughter-in-law's freedom, sparing the family any further embarrassment.

Ann Woodward's story was the basis for two novels; Dominick Dunne's "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles'' and Truman Capote's "Answered Prayers.''

Neighborhood rumors had it that the house, after being vacated by Ann in favor of an apartment in a high-rise building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, remained empty for protracted amounts of time, the latest being for nearly twenty years ending in the early 1980s, when plans were made to divide the manse into four large condominiums. Throughout my occupation of the carriage house, friends and I would look out the small window looking up at the mansion, located in one corner of the living room, which used to be the rear of the carriage house. Now, it could've been booze, it could certainly have been drugs, but myself and three others swear to this day that we saw a flickering light moving around the upper floors of the old house. The house was boarded up on the first floor and alarmed against fire and burglars. The occasional realtor with information about the house assured me that nobody, not even maintenance men, had entered the house in years. Who knows? Was the light the ghost of William? Or was it the ghost of Ann, who committed suicide in her Manhattan apartment in 1975. (This not too long after Esquire magazine published portions of Capote's book; the character in "Answered Prayers," based on Ann Woodward, was found guilty.)
 

How Deeply Can One Love An Inanimate Object?

Before I moved out of the carriage house, I enjoyed the Luther Vandross record immensely. To this day every time I hear "A House is Not a Home" I think of my absolute feeling of sadness and loss as I packed the boxes with my belongings, readying for the move back to Manhattan and an apartment less than a third of the size of the Waverly Avenue house. I sat on the staircase in the empty house, feeling bleak and thinking of that song.

Why? Obviously, the freedom afforded by the vast size of the carriage house was something one could easily get attached to. But perhaps it was the blood, sweat and tears I put into that house, decorating, re-decorating, cleaning up after carpenters were brought in (three different times) to change the first-floor's configuration so as to make it more appealing to potential buyers. And I needn't tell you the effort it takes to vacuum a 36' x 24' expanse of off-white cut-pile carpeting (the living room) with a Hoover that's about 12 inches wide. After six months of doing that; I gave in and hired help to keep the house clean. Keeping the gritty black filth that New York deposits on one's windowsills and furniture at bay, cleaning a double kitchen and three baths, as well as sweeping and polishing what seemed like acres of wide-board flooring and light-colored carpeting. "Fluffy" the transvestite housekeeper and her army of young Latino boys did the task well, and cheaply (and didn't drink too much of my booze, except on Fridays).

The last vestige of the glory that was the carriage house, the elaborate staircase, handrail and banuster, was reserved for me, a terry-cloth towel, and my trusty bottle of Scott's Liquid Gold furniture polish. It gleamed. Every time I did that chore I wondered why more of the architectural gems built into the house remained hidden behind sheetrock or inside closets.

Perhaps it was the delightful mix of people in the neighborhood; an eclectic mix of the Italian hangers-on from the early days of the DeKalb Avenue neighborhood, college students from several small colleges as well as the art and engineering mecca of Pratt Institute, or the folks who'd made their fortunes and moved into and gentrified many of the neighborhood buildings after fleeing the squalor and danger of the enormous ghetto called Bedford-Stuyvesant.
 

Now and then I call your name
And suddenly your face appears
But it's just a crazy game
When it ends, it ends in tears

I've never been as attached to a residence (certainly not to an apartment) as I have to the carriage house on Waverly Avenue. Although my Zodiac sign is Cancer, and we're supposed to be "nesters," I'd never become nearly as attached to a residence as I had this one. I have friends who wax wistfully about a favorite car or a favorite piece of furniture. Not me. Not "things."

Shortly after moving out, I sat in my new apartment in a chair that I purchased for the carriage house and bawled my eyes out while listening to the song. Perhaps I'm a sucker for punishment, but I re-played the cut a number of times that night. Leaving that place left a dent in my heart that has since healed but left a scar. Show me a person who has no scars upon their heart and I'll show you a person without passion.

Yet another shaogo submission for E2 Quest: More Than Walls

SOURCES:

• Burt Bacharach on Starpulse.com: http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Bacharach,_Burt/Discography/
• The website of ASCAP: www.ascap.com/ace_search/
• A-Z Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/luthervandross/ahouseisnotahome.html
• Luther Vandross discography on line: http://www.masuma.nu/luther/ldisco01.htm
• "Long Island History," a section of Newsday's website: http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history-hs804a,0,7223234.story
• The writer's familiarity with the music of Burt Bacharach and the Great American Songbook in general.

UPDATE: MICHAEL BRECKER MEMORIAL
Tuesday, February 20th
Town Hall Theater, 123 West 43rd Street, New York City, 6:00-7:30pm, General Admission, Public Invited, Doors open at 5.15pm

Jazz saxophonist, music educator and recording artist. Born March 29, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He recorded only 13 albums as leader, yet his technique was taught to more students and emulated by more of his peers than that of perhaps any other tenor saxophone player, and certainly any tenor player of the last 25 years. The humble Brecker named John Coltrane as his biggest inspiration and influence.

Although he produced only 13 lead albums, his discography as a sideman boasts over 900 albums. Brecker's the most-recorded jazz saxophonist to date. He's earned an astounding 11 Grammy awards during his career. He was the first to win the "Best Jazz Instrumental Performance" and "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo" Grammies two years in a row. Extremely versatile in genre while still producing amazing jazz-flavored improvisation "on cue" for recording sessions and concerts alike, the list of people he's recorded with reads like a "who's who" of pop, rock and jazz. For instance, there are two Franks (Sinatra and Zappa). There are two Jameses (Taylor — his collaboration with Taylor lasted over 25 years and included the use of pop vocalist Taylor on Brecker's recording of jazz Standards — and Brown). John Lennon and Yoko Ono. White Elephant and The Average White Band. Carly Simon and Paul Simon.

Both of his feet firmly planted in jazz, Brecker could adapt to myriad genres, including:

• Disco (Candi Staton), (Kiki Dee);
• Funk (Parliament Funkadelic, James Brown, Wild Cherry, Cameo, more);
• Rock/Jazz Fusion (The Brecker Brothers, James Taylor, Larry Coryell, Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, Billy Joel, more);
• and all sub-genres of jazz from Smooth Jazz to Post-Bop and everything in-between (George Benson, Earl Klugh, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Roy Hargrove, Mark Murphy, more.

Stars who tapped him for his services include: Ringo Starr, Michael Franks, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Donald Fagen, Dire Straits, The Carpenters.
 

Musical Beginnings

Brecker and his older brother, Randy (a trumpet player and very accomplished in his own right) grew up in a household filled with music. The boys started playing from a young age (Michael took up the clarinet at the tender age of 6, switching finally to tenor saxophone in high school). The Breckers' father was an attorney who played jazz piano recreationally. Michael would often play along with his father, or play along to records from his father's vast jazz collection. Brecker's first idol was "Cannonball" Adderley. He'd learn the difficult solos and commit them to memory (at that time he either couldn't or wouldn't notate the solos but would either play them or, in his words, "sing" them).

Michael and Randy organized a popular funk-jazz ensemble known as "The Brecker Brothers" which recorded and was popular in large venues worldwide.

The Brecker brothers were mentioned by name by Frank Sinatra in a rhyming, musical ad-lib tribute to his band on Sinatra's recording, The Main Event (Warner Bros.)  during the cut "Mack the Knife" performed by the Quincy Jones orchestra. Also mentioned were Newman Foster, Lionel Hampton and Quincy Jones.
 

"The Hardest Working Musician in Showbusiness"

Myriad musicians (as well as actors and comedians) try to earn the title 'Hardest-Working _______ in Show Biz.' Of all the jazz musicians this writer can conjure up, Michael Brecker takes the cake, (jazz-wise), from a pure frequency of live performance and appearance on record. Throughout most of his career (spanning three decades), Michael Brecker recorded more often, and in a wider variety of musical styles, than any of his peers, on any instrument. The discography at the bottom of this writeup will make clear the tremendous variety of performers Brecker has recorded with.

In an interview taken about ten years ago, Brecker expressed his growing interest in the saxophone's use in the classical genre, although he never pursued it on recording. He listed the names of three well-known saxophone coaches with whom he'd worked in the recent past, but kept the name of his current coach under wraps. Imagine the most emulated performer; one whose work is included as essential to study for saxophone and jazz students alike; seeking the aid of a coach. His response: "I need to check in with another player, who can be objective and look at what I’m doing, at the very least from a technical standpoint. I’m out there touring a lot on the road and sometimes begin to develop bad habits, ever so slowly. Not only that, I just found myself wanting some suggestions for possible things I could change. So I contacted a great woodwind player friend of mine for coaching."

Four of the sources for this writeup cited Jazziz Magazine as best describing Brecker's place in jazz history: "You'll find no better example of stylistic evolution than Michael Brecker, inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years." 
 

He Put His Money Where His Mouth Was

Michael and Randy Brecker were co-owners of New York City's venerable jazz venue "Seventh Avenue South." This is important to note because many, many jazz musicians approach club owners and other music industry movers and shakers and often suggest that they open a night club. Suffice it to say that a) a jazz club is one of the most difficult entertainment venues in which to make a profit, and b) in the business of jazz clubs, ten profit-making years is a business home-run; most make a little money for three to five years. The problem is that the jazz crowd is fickle. In fact, there's no such thing as just a "jazz club," really. Each venue becomes popular for the sub-genre of jazz that it's most popular for presenting to its clientele. This comes first, even before atmosphere or acoustics. Who better than a pair whose experience and versatility seemed to please everybody, all the time, to open a jazz venue?

Until recently, jazz fans have traditionally had one favored style of jazz — be-bop, Dixieland, swing, free jazz or whatever subdivision attracted attention — disdaining all others. Club owners and concert producers tended to follow the same lines, aiming at one specific element of the jazz audience. And just as adherents of one type of jazz viewed followers of other styles with irritation — after all, there was only one "real jazz" — rival club owners and promoters kept their distance from each other.

— John Wilson, The New York Times

When things are easy, complacency develops ... you can book easy, safe acts. Now we have to be creative to be competitive. There's a feeling of excitement now, a feeling that things are happening.

— Phyllis Weisbart, jazz promoter, who took over co-ownership of NY jazz venue "Sweet Basil" in 1982

Seventh Avenue South, as well as The Blue Note and several other venues popped up in New York's Greenwich Village all at once in the early 1980s. Jim Merry, founding owner of Sweet Basil, saw the unpredictable changes coming like a freight train and sold to Ms. Weisbart and her partner, Mel Litoff in 1981. Sadly, the club, once home to mostly bebop and swing acts, died a slow and unpleasant death due to diversification (a two-edged sword that Ms. Weisbart attests to in the quote hereinabove). Seventh Avenue South, perhaps merely because of the reputation and integrity of its owners, survived the cutthroat competition in the '80s and only shut its doors after things got too hectic for the Breckers and they could no longer have any semblance of "hands-on" management of the place.
 

Late Start Recording was Worth the Wait

Although Brecker earned the acclaim and respect of both fans and musicians alike as a sideman during the 1970s and 1980s, it took him until 1987 to cut his first album as leader. Michael Brecker was voted "Jazz Album of the Year" in Jazziz and Down Beat magazines. His next lead outing, Don't Try This At Home, earned him his first Grammy. Solo releases and a reunion with brother Randy brought Grammys in 1994 and 1997 as well as more accolades in the jazz press. Of note is Brecker's achievement Nearness of You: The Ballad Book on which he gathered a "dream team" ensemble featuring Pat Metheney (who also produced), Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette. Of course a vocalist is necessary on an album of Standard ballads. Brecker tapped James Taylor for two of the cuts. Yet two more Grammys were added to Brecker's collection, as well as accolades from the U.S. and Japanese jazz press. By the way, the album was a popular hit; sales of the album topped anything Brecker had done previously, and many albums that had held their own as "best-sellers" until that time.

2002's Directions in Music, featuring Herbie Hancock and Roy Hargrove, was recorded live. The Directions tour became very high-profile, selling tickets in the hundreds of thousands. The album picked up a Grammy for "Best Jazz Instrumental Album." Brecker's most recent album, 2004's Wide Angles, the first to feature a big band (the 15-piece Michael Brecker Quindectet) won two Grammys. The Quindectet sold-out tours of Japan and Europe and was very well received in the U.S.
 

The Music Fades; Then Ends Tragically

Mr. Brecker, 56, was recently found to have myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. His doctors say he needs a blood stem cell and bone marrow transplant, a harrowing procedure that will be possible only if Mr. Brecker finds a stem cell donor with a specific enough genetic match for his tissue type. So far, they have been unable to find one from the millions of people on an international registry for bone marrow donors.

— Corey Kilgannon, The New York Times, August 18, 2005

As fans, friends and family watched helplessly, Brecker's health began to fail. Soon, the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) became full-blown leukemia. His red blood cell count was decimated by chemotherapy. Legions of new potential donors were recruited via statements by colleagues and family to the press, music industry promotion, and the involvement of the Jewish community (the blood stem cells necessary for Brecker were genetically determined to most likely come from an person with Eastern-European Jewish heritage). No donor was found. (Donor testing, by the way, involves no needles; just a smear from inside one's cheek. As Brecker's quest for a donor became more urgent, a charitable organization began paying for the smears to be taken and testing performed.)

Brecker's wife and sister utilized email lists and mailing lists of major music-industry and Jewish organizations to drum up more donor registration. A New York-based Russian saxophonist who goes by the name "Arkady" mounted his own tremendous effort. Arkady also details on his website the anguish of having email recipients send him "remove from list" requests with explanations ranging from 'I've given to enough charities' to 'I receive enough SPAM.' Some responses displayed anger along the lines of 'there are millions of people suffering in this world, why encourage people to help one of them who, by his celebrity, has better means than the others to have his plight be known.'

The Brecker family stressed many times that they'd prefer that potential blood stem cell donors and bone marrow donors be tested to be put on the International Donor Registry, not just Brecker's own registry. It was their way of helping many while fighting their own private battle.

In his final interview in The New York Times, from his hospital room, he said, "I'm functioning as if it's going to work out," and joked about his fellow hospital patients "not liking it very much" if he were to regain the strength to practice the saxophone for a little while each day.

Brecker passed away at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City on January 13, 2007.

Discography as Leader:

Swish (1980) EWCD
Cityscape (1983) Warner Bros.
Michael Brecker (1986) Impulse!
Don't Try This At Home (1988) Impulse!
Now You See It...Now You Don't (1990) GRP
Tales from the Hudson (1996) Impulse!
Two Blocks from the Edge (1997) Impulse!
Cost of Loving (1999) Jazz Door
Time is of the Essence (1999) Verve
Nearness of You: The Ballad Book (2001) Verve
Wide Angles (2003) Verve
Jazz Academy (2006) C&B Productions
Michael Brecker Band in Japan (2006) Toshiba

An incomplete discography (as sideman) culled from www.united-mutations.com follows the "Sources" listing below:

SOURCES:

• "Saxophonist Michael Brecker dies at age 57" by Nahal Toosi, Associated Press (Feed - Courtesy email from The Hartford (Connecticut) Jazz Society) 1/13/07 4:52 EST
• "Michael Brecker Dies at 57; Prolific Jazz Saxophonist" by Ben Ratilff, The New York Times January 14, 2007
• Website: www.michaelbrecker.com (accessed 1/14/07)
• Website of Ukranian Jazz Musician "Arkady" http://home.nyc.rr.com/arkady/jfletter.html (accessed 1/14/07)
• Website of Verve Records: http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid=2703 (accessed 1/14/07)
• Website of The Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music: "Talking Saxophone with Michael Brecker: A Different Set of Sensibilities" by John Robert Brown: http://www.abrsm.org/?page=newsArticles/item.html&id=101 (accessed 1/14/07)
• "Not Notes, but 'Herbie's World'" by Ben Ratliff, The New York Times June 24, 2006
• Website of Peter Van Laarhoven, United Mutations "Mike Brecker" http://www.united-mutations.com/b/mike_brecker.htm (accessed 1/14/07)
• "His Saxophone is Silent; His Life Hangs in the Balance" by Corey Kilgannon, The New York Times August 18, 2005 (accessed 1/14/07)
• "A New Spirit of Eclecticism in Jazz" by John Wilson, The New York Times September 12, 1982.

The following discography omits some records and has been corrected where it provides misinformation:

1964 MOUZON, ALPHONSE- DISTANT LOVER 
1964 SILVER, HORACE: BEST OF HORACE SILVER, VOL. 2 
1965 BENSON, GEORGE: THIS IS JAZZ 
1969 BRECKER, RANDY: SCORE 
1969 MAINIERI, MIKE: WHITE ELEPHANT 
1970 MICHAEL BRECKER: DREAMS 
1971 PRAIRIE MADNESS: PRAIRIE MADNESS 
1972 DREAMS: IMAGINE MY SUPRISE 
1972 SUNSHINE: SUNSHINE 
1972 WHITE ELEPHANT: WHITE ELEPHANT 
1972 CORYELL, LARRY: REAL GREAT ESCAPE 
1972 SILVER, HORACE: IN PURSUIT OF THE 27TH MAN 
1972 RUNDGREN, TODD: SOMETHING/ANYTHING? 
1972 TAYLOR, JAMES: ONE MAN DOG 
1972 BROWN, JAMES: GET ON THE GOOD FOOT 
1972 WASHINGTON, GROVER JR.: HOUSE FULL OF LOVE
1972 ALLISON, LUTHER: MOTOWN YEARS 1972-1976 
1972 MURPHY, MARK: STOLEN & OTHER MOMENTS 
1973 FABULOUS RHINESTONES: FREEWHEELIN' 
1973 PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC: STARRING CHARLIE ALLEN 
1973 STARDRIVE: INTERGALACTIC TROT 
1973 MURPHY, MARK: BRIDGING A GAP 
1973 LENNON, JOHN: MIND GAMES MDASH> 
1973 REED, LOU: BERLIN 
1973 RUNDGREN, TODD: WIZARD, A TRUE STAR 
1973 CROWBAR 1: CROWBAR 
1973 ONO, YOKO: FEELING THE SPACE 
1974 JONAH: JOHAN 
1974 THOMAS, B.J.: LONGHORN & LONDON BRIDGES 
1974 COBHAM, BILLY: TOTAL ECLIPSE 
1974 COBHAM, BILLY: SHABAZZ 
1974 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: AWB 
1974 SIMON, CARLY: HOTCAKES 
1974 TAYLOR, JAMES: WALKING MAN 
1974 RUNDGREN, TODD: TODD 
1974 WINTER, JOHNNY: JOHN DAWSON WINTER III 
1974 COBHAM, BILLY: CROSSWINDS 
1974 ABERCROMBIE, JOHN: WORKS 
1975 CAVALIERE, FELIX: DESTINY 
1975 SATTEN, STEVE: WHATCHA GONNA DO FOR ME? 
1975 MARDIN, ARIF: JOURNEY 
1975 ALLISON, LUTHER: NIGHT LIFE 
1975 CARTER, RON: ANYTHING GOES 
1975 SEBESKY, DON: RAPE OF EL MORRO 
1975 COBHAM, BILLY: FUNKY THIDE OF SINGS 
1975 PHILLIPS, ESTHER: WITH JOE BECK 
1975 MORRIS, RUSSELL: RUSSELL MORRIS 
1975 STARK & MCBRIAN: BIG STAR 
1975 SIMON, CARLY: BEST OF CARLY SIMON 
1975 SIMON, PAUL: STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS 
1975 SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE: BORN TO RUN 
1975 BENSON, GEORGE: GOOD KING BAD 
1975 PAVLOV'S DOG: SOUND OF THE BELL 
1975 PHILLIPS, ESTHER: WHAT A DIFF'RENCE A DAY MAKES 
1975 MURPHY, MARK: MARK MURPHY SINGS 
1975 MANHATTAN TRANSFER: MANHATTAN TRANSFER 
1975 BRECKER BROTHERS: BRECKER BROTHERS 
1975 BRECKER BROTHERS: BRECKER BROTHERS COLLECTION, VOL. 1 
1975 SANBORN, DAVID: TAKING OFF 
1975 BRECKER BROTHERS: BRECKER BROTHERS COLLECTION, VOL. 2 
1975 TRIUMPHANT SAX: TRIUMPHANT SAX! 
1976 COLLINS, BOOTSY: STRETCHIN' OUT IN BOOTSY'S RUBBER B 
1976 MATTHEWS, DAVE 2: SHOOGIE WANNA BOOGIE 
1976 MURPHY, ELLIOTT: NIGHT LIGHTS 
1976 ORLEANS: WAKING AND DREAMING 
1976 GALE, ERIC: GINSENG WOMAN 
1976 PHILLIPS, ESTHER: CAPRICORN PRINCESS 
1976 CHERRY, DON: HEAR AND NOW 
1976 CORYELL, LARRY: ASPECTS 
1976 CORYELL, LARRY: TWIN HOUSE 
1976 GREEN, GRANT: MAIN ATTRACTION 
1976 LEE, JOHN 1: STILL CAN'T SAY ENOUGH 
1976 SIDRAN, BEN: FREE IN AMERICA 
1976 TROPEA, JOHN: JOHN TROPEA 
1976 ATLANTIC FAMILY LIVE AT: ATLANTIC FAMILY LIVE AT MONTREUX 
1<976 THOMAS, JOE SAX #2: FEELIN'S FROM WITHIN 
1976 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: SOUL SEARCHING 
1976 BLUE OYSTER CULT: AGENTS OF FORTUNE 
1976 BUCHANAN, ROY: STREET CALLED STRAIGHT 
1976 FRANKS, MICHAEL: ART OF TEA 
1976 JOHN, ELTON: BLUE MOVES 
1976 NYRO, LAURA: SMILE 
1976 PARLIAMENT: CLONES OF DR. FUNKENSTEIN 
1976 PARLIAMENT: MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION 
1976 STARR, RINGO: RINGO'S ROTOGRAVURE 
1976 TAYLOR, JAMES: IN THE POCKET 
1976 TAYLOR, JAMES: GREATEST HITS 
1976 BENSON, GEORGE: GEORGE BENSON COLLECTION 
1976 STATON, CANDI: YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE 
1976 MANHATTAN TRANSFER: COMING OUT 
1976 BRECKER BROTHERS: BACK TO BACK 
1976 LEWIS, MEL: MEL LEWIS AND FRIENDS 
1976 PASTORIUS, JACO: JACO PASTORIUS 
1976 GALPER, HAL: REACH OUT 
1976 MOFFETT, CHARNETT: NET MAN 
1977 ARTFUL DODGER: BABES ON BROADWAY 
1977 JEFFREYS, GARLAND: GHOST WRITER 
1977 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: BENNY & US 
1977 DEE, KIKI: KIKI DEE 
1977 GRIMES, CAROL: CAROLE GRIMES 
1977 PRATT, ANDY: SHIVER IN THE NIGHT 
1977 RIVERA, SCARLET: SCARLET RIVERA 
1977 SIEFERT, ZBIGNIEW: ZBIGNIEW SIEFERT 
1977 SIMON, PAUL: GREATEST HITS ETC 
1977 TORNADER: HIT IT AGAIN 
1977 TROIANO, DOMENIC: BURNING AT THE STAKE 
1977 WILD CHERRY: ELECTRIFIED FUNK 
1977 TROPEA, JOHN: SHORT TRIP TO SPACE 
1977 BRACKEEN, JOANNE: TRING-A-LING 
1977 MAINIERI, MIKE: LOVE PLAY 
1977 KHAN, STEVE: TIGHTROPE 
1977 COBHAM, BILLY: INNER CONFLICTS 
1977 CRAWFORD, HANK: TICO RICO 
1977 TOMLINSON, MALCOM: COMING OUTTA NOWHERE 
1977 EARLAND, CHARLES: REVELATION 
1977 AUSTIN, PATTI: HAVANA CANDY 
1977 FRANKS, MICHAEL: SLEEPING GYPSY 
1977 GEILS, J. BAND: MONKEY ISLAND 
1977 SNOW, PHOEBE: NEVER LETTING GO 
1977 STARR, RINGO: RINGO THE 4TH 
1977 OGERMAN, CLAUS: GATE OF DREAMS 
1977 WILKINS, JACK: MERGE 
1977 JAMES, BOB: HEADS 
1977 BAKER, CHET: YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN 
1977 SIDRAN, BEN: CAT AND THE HAT 
1978 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: WARMER COMMUNICATIONS 
1978 MELANIE: PHONOGENIC NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY 
1978 ALESSI BROTHERS: ALL FOR A REASON 
1978 BABY GRAND: BABY GRAND 
1978 BERNHARDT, WARREN: BLUE MONTREUX 
1978 BERNHARDT, WARREN: BLUE MONTREUX 2 
1978 CHINNOCK, BILL: BADLANDS 
1978 FUKAMACHI, JUN: J F & N Y ALL STARS: LIVE 
1978 FRISAURA, LORRAINE: BE HAPPY FOR ME 
1978 HALL, JOHN: JOHN HALL 
1978 HOLMES, RUPERT: PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS 
1978 JEFFREYS, GARLAND: ONE EYED JACK 
1978 LARSEN, NEIL: JUNGLEFEVER 
1978 MACDONALD, RALPH: PATH 
1978 SPINOZZA, DAVID: SPINOZZA 
1978 VANLEER, THIJS: NICE TO HAVE MET YOU 
1978 BLUE MONTREUX: BLUE MONTREUX, VOLS. 1 & 2 
1978 BLUE MONTREUX: BLUE MONTREUX, VOL. 2 
1978 FARRELL, JOE: LA CATHEDRAL Y EL TORO 
1978 GALPER, HAL: SPEAK WITH A SINGLE VOICE 
1978 KHAN, STEVE: BLUE MAN 
1978 MINGUS, CHARLES: ME, MYSELF AN EYE 
1978 MINGUS, CHARLES: SOMETHING LIKE A BIRD 
1978 SIDRAN, BEN: LIVE AT MONTREAUX 
1978 HARRIS, ALLEN: OCEANS BETWEEN US 
1978 SYMS, SYLVIA: SHE LOVES TO HEAR THE MUSIC 
1978 HINZE, CHRIS: BAMBOO MAGIC 
1978 GALPER, HAL: CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT 
1978 BENSON, GEORGE: IN YOUR EYES 
1978 BROTHERS JOHNSON: BLAM!! 
1978 JONES, QUINCY: SOUNDS & STUFF 
1978 PALMER, ROBERT: DOUBLE FUN 
1978 SIMON, CARLY: BOYS IN THE TREES 
1978 FRANK ZAPPA: ZAPPA IN NEW YORK 
1978 PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: BORN TO DANCE 
1978 WIZ: WIZ 
1978 BLUE MONTREUX: BLUE MONTREUX 
1978 BRECKER BROTHERS: HEAVY METAL BE-BOP 
1978 FADDIS, JON: GOOD AND PLENTY 
1978 GALPER, HAL: REDUX 1978 
1978 SANBORN, DAVID: HEART TO HEART 
1978 WILLIAMS, TONY: JOY OF FLYING 
1978 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: WARMER COMMUNICATIONS... AND MORE 
1979 BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST: ORDINARY MAN 
1979 BEAR, RICHARD T: RED HOT & BLUE 
1979 BROOKLYN DREAMS: SLEEPLESS NIGHTS 
1979 FOTOMAKER: TRANSFER STATION 
1979 KHAN, CHAKA: CHAKA 
1979 LARSEN, NEIL: HIGH GEAR 
1979 LLOYD, IAN: GOOSE BUMPS 
1979 LONGMIRE, WILBERT: CHAMPAGNE 
1979 MACDONALD, RALPH: COUNTERPOINT 
1979 MAYALL, JOHN: BOTTOM LINE 
1979 PAGES: FUTURE STREET 
1979 TEE, RICHARD: STROKIN' 
1979 TURNER, TINA: LOVE EXPLOSION 
1979 WALDEN, NARADA MICHAEL: AWAKENING 
1979 COLOMBIER, MICHEL: MICHAEL COLOMBIER 
1979 JOHNSON, MICHAEL: DIALOGUE 
1979 SANTAMARIA, MONGO: RED HOT 
1979 KHAN, STEVE: ARROWS 
1979 TROPEA, JOHN: TO TOUCH YOU AGAIN 
1979 BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST: LOOK OUT 
1979 AUSTIN, PATTI: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE 
1979 AVERAGE WHITE BAND: FEEL NO FRET 
1979 JAMES, BOB: LUCKY SEVEN 
1979 LOGGINS, KENNY: KEEP THE FIRE 
1979 ROSS, DIANA: BOSS 
1979 SIMON, CARLY: SPY 
1979 GARFUNKEL, ART: FATE FOR BREAKFAST 
1979 SPYRO GYRA: MORNING DANCE 
1979 BROWNE, TOM: BROWNE SUGAR 
1979 WATANABE, SADAO: MORNING ISLAND 
1980 AKKERMAN, JAN: 3 
1980 KHAN, CHAKA: NAUGHTY 
1980 SCHLITZ, DON: DREAMERS MATINEE 
1980 STEPS AHEAD: STEP BY STEP 
1980 MITCHELL, JONI: SHADOWS & LIGHT 
1980 PARLIAMENT: TROMBIPULATION 
1980 STEELY DAN: GAUCHO 
1980 GIBB, ANDY: AFTER DARK 
1980 SIMON, PAUL: ONE TRICK PONY O.S.T. 
1980 DIBANGO, MANU: GONE CLEAR 
1980 BRECKER BROTHERS: DON'T STOP THE MUSIC 
1980 BRECKER BROTHERS: STRAPHANGIN' 
1980 METHENY, PAT: 1980-1981 
1980 SPYRO GYRA: CARNIVAL 
1980 WATANABE, KAZUMI: TO CHI KA 
1980 BRECKER BROTHERS: DETENTE 
1981 KHAN, CHAKA: WHAT CHA' GONNA DO FOR ME 
1981 FOGELBERG, DAN: INNOCENT AGE 
1981 GARFUNKEL, ART: SCISSORS CUT 
1981 JEFFREYS, GARLAND: ESCAPE ARTIST 
1981 ROSS, DIANA: WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE? 
1981 SIMON, CARLY: TORCH 
1981 HORNE, LENA: LIVE ON BROADWAY (LENA HORNE: THE L 
1981 CHIC: TAKE IT OFF 
1981 ONO, YOKO: SEASONS OF GLASS 
1981 FUNKADELIC: ELECTRIC SPANKING OF WAR BABIES 
1981 COREA, CHICK: THREE QUARTETS 
1981 PASTORIUS, JACO: WORD OF MOUTH 
1981 MAINIERI, MIKE: WANDERLUST 
1981 PASTORIUS, JACO: BIRTHDAY CONCERT 
1982 FINNERTY, BARRY: NEW YORK CITY 
1982 STEPS AHEAD: SMOKIN' IN THE PIT: LIVE! 
1982 STEPS AHEAD: PARADOX 
1982 FAGEN, DONALD: NIGHTFLY 
1982 FRANKS, MICHAEL: OBJECTS OF DESIRE 
1982 STEELY DAN: GOLD 
1982 VANDROSS, LUTHER: FOREVER FOR ALWAYS FOR LOVE 
1982 CARLTON, LARRY: SLEEPWALK 
1982 ERSKINE, PETER: PETER ERSKINE 
1982 UZEB: FAST EMOTION 
1983 MANCHESTER, MELISSA: EMERGENCY 
1983 WATANABE, KAZUMI: MOBO, VOL. 1 
1983 AMBROSETTI, FRANCO: WINGS 
1983 DUDZIAK, URSZULA: SORROW IS NOT FOREVER...BUT LOVE IS 
1983 JOEL, BILLY: INNOCENT MAN 
1983 SIMON, CARLY: HELLO BIG MAN 
1983 TRAMAINE: SEARCH IS OVER 
1983 CARLTON, LARRY: FRIENDS 
1983 KNOPFLER, MARK: LOCAL HERO 
1983 STEPS AHEAD: STEPS AHEAD 
1983 WATANABE, KAZUMI: MOBO, VOLS. 1 & 2 
1983 WHEELER, KENNY: DOUBLE, DOUBLE YOU 
1983 MULLIGAN, GERRY: LITTLE BIG HORN 
1983 MOUZON, ALPHONSE: MORNING SUN 
1983 JAMES, BOB: GENIE 
1984 ASHFORD & SIMPSON: SOLID 
1984 LENNON, JULIAN: VALOTTE 
1984 REED, LOU: NEW SENSATIONS 
1984 ROSS, DIANA: SWEPT AWAY 
1984 SINATRA, FRANK: L.A. IS MY LADY 
1984 M+M: MYSTERY WALK 
1984 GIBB, BARRY: NOW VOYAGER 
1984 FOOTLOOSE: FOOTLOOSE 
1984 ABERCROMBIE, JOHN: NIGHT 
1984 SANBORN, DAVID: STRAIGHT TO THE HEART 
1984 STEPS AHEAD: MODERN TIMES 
1985 FORMAN, MITCHELL: TRAIN OF THOUGHT 
1985 AMBROSETTI, FRANCO: TENTETS 
1985 GOMEZ, EDDIE: DISCOVERY 
1985 CAMEO: WORD UP 
1985 CARPENTERS: LOVELINES 
1985 DIRE STRAITS: BROTHERS IN ARMS 
1985 FRANKS, MICHAEL: SKIN DIVE 
1985 TAYLOR, JAMES: THAT'S WHY I'M HERE 
1985 BECK, JOE: JOE BECK AND FRIENDS 
1985 GROLNICK, DON: HEARTS AND NUMBERS 
1985 WATANABE, KAZUMI: MOBO SPLASH 
1985 AMBROSETTI, FRANCO: GIN & PENTATONIC 
1985 ROBERTO GATTO: NOTES 
1986 DENON JAZZ SAMPLER VOL.: DENON JAZZ SAMPLER, VOL. 1 
1986 WILLIAMS, PATRICK: TENTH AVENUE 
1986 CLAPTON, ERIC: AUGUST 
1986 JOEL, BILLY: BRIDGE 
1986 TYLER, BONNIE: SECRET DREAMS & FORBIDDEN FIRE 
1986 FRANKLIN, ARETHA: ARETHA 
1986 SMITH, MICHAEL W.: BIG PICTURE 
1986 KENIA: INITIAL THRILL 
1986 KLUGH, EARL: LIFE STORIES 
1986 STEPS AHEAD: MAGNETIC 
1987 FOGELBERG, DAN: EXILES 
1987 FRANKS, MICHAEL: CAMERA NEVER LIES 
1987 SIMON, CARLY: COMING AROUND AGAIN 
1987 ABERCROMBIE, JOHN: GETTING THERE 
1987 BULLOCK, HIRAM: GIVE IT WHAT U GOT 
1987 JAMES, BOB: OBSESSION 
1987 MEMBERS ONLY: MEMBERS ONLY 
1987 SANBORN, DAVID: CHANGE OF HEART 
1987 STERN, MIKE: TIME IN PLACE 
1987 WILLIAMS, PATRICK: 10TH AVENUE 
1988 SUPERFRIENDS: TASTE OF SUPERFRIENDS 
1988 AUSTIN, PATTI: REAL ME 
1988 DIRE STRAITS: MONEY FOR NOTHING 
1988 SIMON, CARLY: GREATEST HITS LIVE 
1988 SIMON, PAUL: NEGOTIATIONS AND LOVE SONGS 1971-19 
1988 TAYLOR, JAMES: NEVER DIE YOUNG 
1988 IGLESIAS, JULIO: NON STOP 
1988 NINE AND A HALF WEEKS: 9 1/2 WEEKS O.S.T. 
1988 TUCK & PATTI: TEARS OF JOY 
1988 CARLTON, LARRY: COLLECTION 
1988 ELIAS, ELIANE: SO FAR SO CLOSE 
1988 ERSKINE, PETER: MOTION POET 
1988 OGERMAN, CLAUS: FEATURING MICHAEL BRECKER 
1988 SOS ALL-STARS: NEW YORK RENDEZVOUS 
1988 BURTON, GARY: TIMES LIKE THESE 
1988 GRP ALL-STAR BIG BAND: GRP ALL-STARS: WNUA 95.5 : SMOOTH S 
1988 GRP ALL-STAR BIG BAND: GRP ALL-STARS: WQCD : COOL SOUNDS O 
1989 KNIGHT, HOLLY: HOLLY KNIGHT 
1989 BELLE, REGINA: STAY WITH ME 
1989 BOLTON, MICHAEL: SOUL PROVIDER 
1989 KING, CAROLE: CITY STREETS 
1989 LITTLE FEAT: REPRESENTING THE MAMBO 
1989 STARR, RINGO: STARR STRUCK: BEST OF RINGO STARR, 
1989 OCONNOR, MARK: ON THE MARK 
1989 THIRD WORLD: SERIOUS BUSINESS 
1989 KNOPFLER, MARK: LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN 
1989 STERN, MIKE: JIGSAW 
1989 SOME OTHER TIME: TRIBUTE TO CHET BA 
1989 BAILEY, VICTOR: BOTTOM'S UP 
1989 BEIRACH, RICHIE: SOME OTHER TIME 
1989 TOLVAN BIG BAND: COLOURS 
1989 GROLNICK, DON: COMPLETE BLUE NOTE RECORDINGS 
1990 TAYLOR, JAMES: BEST OF JAMES TAYLOR 
1990 COLINA, MICHAEL: RITUALS 
1990 EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL: LANGUAGE OF LIFE 
1990 ORLEANS: STILL THE ONE 
1990 SIMON, CARLY: MY ROMANCE 
1990 SIMON, CARLY: HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY 
1990 SIMON, PAUL: RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS 
1990 BUTLER, JONATHAN: DELIVERANCE 
1990 GROLNICK, DON: WEAVER OF DREAMS 
1990 JAMES, BOB: GRAND PIANO CANYON 
1990 LOEB, CHUCK: LIFE COLORS 
1990 PATITUCCI, JOHN: SKETCHBOOK 
1990 WECKL, DAVE: MASTER PLAN 
1990 BRECKER, RANDY: TOE TO TOE 
1991 AEROSMITH: PANDORA'S BOX 
1991 COLINA, MICHAEL: SHADOWS OF URBANO 
1991 HOLLIDAY, JENNIFER: I'M ON YOUR SIDE 
1991 TAYLOR, JAMES: NEW MOON SHINE 
1991 TWO ROOMS: CELEBRATING THE SONGS OF 
1991 SIMON, PAUL: PAUL SIMON'S CONCERT IN THE PARK, A 
1991 BEARD, JIM: SONG OF THE SUN 
1991 REYNOLDS, L.J.: L. J. REYNOLDS 
1991 CALDERAZZO, JOEY: IN THE DOOR 
1991 METHENY, PAT: WORKS II 
1991 METHENY, PAT: WORKS I 
1991 OGERMAN, CLAUS: CLAUS OGERMAN FEATURING MICHAEL BRE 
1992 DEWINKEL, TORSTEN: MASTERTOUCH 
1992 REED, LOU: BETWEEN THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION: THE 
1992 JEFFREYS, GARLAND: DON'T CALL ME BUCKWHEAT 
1992 ONO, YOKO: WALKING ON THIN ICE COMPILATION 
1992 ONO, YOKO: ONO BOX 
1992 MANHATTAN TRANSFER: ANTHOLOGY: DOWN IN BIRDLAND 
1992 FRANK ZAPPA: YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 6 
1992 BRECKER BROTHERS: RETURN OF THE BRECKER BROTHERS 
1992 DREAMS: DREAMS 
1992 SIMON, JOHN: OUT ON THE STREET 
1993 SIMON, CARLY: CARLY SIMON'S ROMULUS HUNT: A FAMIL 
1993 SIMON, PAUL: BORN AT THE RIGHT TIME VIDEO 
1993 NYRO, LAURA: WALK THE DOG & LITE THE LITE (RUN T 
1993 SIMON, PAUL: 1964-1993 
1993 DELANO, PETER: PETER DELANO 
1993 THIRD WORLD: REGGAE AMBASSADORS: 20TH ANNIVERSAR 
1993 GARFUNKEL, ART: UP 'TIL NOW 
1993 WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY JAZZ GROUPS 
1993 BLUESIANA HOT SAUCE: BLUESIANA HOT SAUCE 
1993 KHAN, STEVE: CROSSINGS 
1993 BLENZIG, CHARLES: SAY WHAT YOU MEAN 
1993 PASQUA, ALAN: MILAGRO 
1993 SILVERTSEN, KENNETH: REMEMBERING NORTH 
1993 LEONHART, JAY: WITH HIS FRIENDS LIVE AT FAT TUESDA 
1994 NGUINI, VINCENT: SYMPHONY-BANTU 
1994 JAMES, BOB: RESTLESS 
1994 SALVATORE, SERGIO: TUNE UP 
1994 BRICKELL, EDIE: PICTURE PERFECT MORNING 
1994 JARREAU, AL: TENDERNESS 
1994 BRECKER BROTHERS: OUT OF THE LOOP 
1994 HAMMER, JAN: DRIVE 
1994 GRP ALL-STAR BIG BAND: ALL BLUES 
1994 SANDKE, RANDY: CHASE 
1994 BEACCO, MARC: SCAMPI FRITTI 
1994 MILES, JASON: WORLD TOUR 
1994 BRUBECK, DAVE: YOUNG LIONS & OLD TIGERS 
1994 URBANATOR: URBANATOR 
1995 STATON, CANDI: BEST OF CANDI STATON 
1995 PARLIAMENT: BEST OF PARLIAMENT: GIVE UP THE FUN 
1995 TYNER, MCCOY: INFINITY 
1995 FRANKS, MICHAEL: ABANDONED GARDEN 
1995 JAZZ TO THE WORLD: JAZZ TO THE WORLD 
1995 MIRAMAR COLLECTION, VOL. 2 
1995 SIXUN: LUNATIC TAXI 
1995 MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN: PROMISE 
1995 HANCOCK, HERBIE: NEW STANDARD 
1995 GROLNICK, DON: MEDIANOCHE 
1995 DOKY BROTHERS: DOKY BROTHERS 
1995 WILLIAMS, TONY: WILDERNESS 
1995 PASQUA, ALAN: DEDICATIONS 
1995 COSTER, TOM: FROM THE STREET 
1995 BLUE SUEDE SNEAKERS: BLUE SUEDE SNEAKERS 
1995 FLYING MONKEY ORCHESTRA: BACK IN THE POOL 
1995 PATITUCCI, JOHN: ONE MORE ANGEL 
1996 BOLIN, TOMMY: FROM THE ARCHIVES, VOL. 1 
1996 CAMEO: BEST OF CAMEO, VOL. 2 
1996 LOEB, CHUCK: MUSIC INSIDE 
1996 PEOPLE MAKE THE WORLD GO 'ROUND 
1996 FOR OUR CHILDREN TOO: FOR OUR CHILDREN TOO 
1996 MILES, JASON: MR. X 
1996 BACK TO THE BASICS, VOL. 1 
1996 COLE, NATALIE: STARDUST 
1996 CARPENTER, KAREN: KAREN CARPENTER 
1996 WALDEN, NARADA MICHAEL: ECSTASY'S DANCE: THE BEST OF NARADA 
1996 WHITE, LENNY: RENDERERS OF SPIRIT 
1996 INSTANT FUNK: GREATEST HITS 
1996 URBANIAK, MICHAL: URBANATOR II 
1996 PURDIE, BERNARD: SOUL TO JAZZ 
1996 CASIOPEA: SUPER BEST OF CASIOPEA 
1996 GROOVY: A COLLECTION OF RARE CLUB T 
1996 FRANK ZAPPA: LÄTHER 
1996 LEDFORD, MARK: MILES 2 GO 
1997 LANDGREN, NILS: PAINT IT BLUE 
1997 ITOH, KIMIKO: SOPHISTICATED LADY 
1997 KAWASAKI, RYO: MIRROR OF MY MIND 
1997 NORBY, CAECILIE: MY CORNER OF THE SKY 
1997 GARFUNKEL, ART: ACROSS AMERICA 
1997 TAYLOR, JAMES: HOUR GLASS 
1997 RANKIN, KENNY: HERE IN MY HEART 
1997 JAZZ FUSION, VOL. 1: JAZZ FUSION, VOL. 1 
1997 JAZZ FUSION, VOL. 2: JAZZ FUSION, VOL. 2 
1997 ORLEANS: WE'RE STILL HAVING FUN: THE BEST OF 
1997 DALTREY, ROGER: MARTYRS & MADMEN: THE BEST OF ROGER 
1997 ONO, YOKO: STORY 
1997 RONEY, WALLACE: VILLAGE 
1997 RUNDGREN, TODD: VERY BEST OF TODD RUNDGREN 
1997 VANGUARD COLLECTOR'S ED: VANGUARD COLLECTOR'S EDITION SET 
1997 JOEL, BILLY: GREATEST HITS, VOL. 3 
1997 CTI RECORDS: THE BIRTH: CTI RECORDS: THE BIRTH OF GROOVE 
1997 RCA VICTOR 80TH ANNIVER: RCA VICTOR 80TH ANNIVERSARY, VOL. 6 
1997 STERN, MIKE: GIVE AND TAKE 
1997 ART OF SAXOPHONE: ART OF SAXOPHONE 
1997 SILVER, HORACE: PRESCRIPTION FOR THE BLUES 
1997 RHODES, RICK: DEEP IN THE NIGHT 
1997 BEST OF SMOOTH JAZZ: BEST OF SMOOTH JAZZ 
1997 MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD & EVIL : SOUNDTRACK
1997 SPYRO GYRA: BEST OF SPYRO GYRA: THE FIRST TEN YEARS 
1997 ITOH, KIMIKO: STANDARDS MY WAY 
1997 FRANK ZAPPA: HAVE I OFFENDED SOMEONE? 
1998 WALDMAN, RANDY: WIGGED OUT 
1998 MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS / M+M: THEN AGAIN: A RETROSPECTIVE 
2000 JASON MILES / VARIOUS ARTISTS: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF WEATHER REPORT

Album: Take Off And Landing
Artist: Yoshinori Sunahara
Label: Bungalow (Europe), Ki/oon (Japan)
Release: 1999
Summary: A vivid painting of how air travel should be.

This album is an impressive achievement.  Composed and produced by Yoshinori Sunahara - practically a de facto spokesman for the iconic, erstwhile Pan American World Airways - Take Off And Landing is a tremendously detailed and visual work.  It evokes the glory days of flight, when air travel was the adventures of pioneers as opposed to the air-marshalled, routine drudgery that seems now to form most people's experiences.  Reminiscent of a time when flight was glamorous, synonymous with discovery and exploration, when airline pilots were celebrities second only to astronauts and stewardesses were like 50s movie stars.

Take Off And Landing is the first in a series of airport-themed electronic/ambient/dance/funk productions from Sunahara, followed closely by Pan Am - The Sound of '70s and Tokyo Underground Airport.  Heavily-processed samples anchor several of the tracks firmly in that optimistic spirit of the youthful skyways, without harming the album's extremely modern and groovy feel.  It is produced to death, and I've never heard anything like it (that's a literal description, not an attempt at a superlative).  It is also probably the only album I own with steel drums on it. If you like Cornelius, Susumu Yokata or... hmm, LFO maybe, there's a fair chance you'll like this.

kthejoker says re Take Off And Landing: Sunahara is highly reminiscent of Stereolab and The Pizzicato Five. Probably more so than Cornelius (though they're not unsimilar, either.)

Album opener Information of TUA (Tokyo Underground Airport) starts with a juxtaposition of increasingly oversped recordings of a home environment, trains and buses with the serene bustle of an airport with an announcer making its introduction.  Textured synths overlaid with muffled tannoy announcements give a feeling of activity and departure, fading on a high but relaxed note.  Crosswind Take Off is frankly a very silly track which had me rolling about laughing for the first couple of listens, but is a pleasing illustration of the attention to detail of the recording.  In-flight tannoy announcements and flight instruction tapes are scratched, chopped and oversped to insanity while air traffic control transmissions chatter away in the background of a rough beat which is also not free from a common interference pattern of Take Off And Landing: beats are overlaid, paused for a random sample or 2-second serene interlude or wound up to ridiculous speeds before continuing like nothing happened.

Magic Sunset St. is rather a repetitive track but is still reasonable, with heavily-processed and chopped vocals accompanying an odd cross between a dance beat with a ride cymbal in the background giving a teensy bit of jazz in there.  My favourite part of this track is an unintelligible female vocal drenched in reverb which gives an odd feeling of the calm of a point of departure. Not the album's high point, though.  SONY Romantic Electro Wave is a swinging relax-fest with gentle steel drums and a processed vocal that I can only occasionally make out.  Orchestral elements and gently and slowly scratched samples make me feel like I'm watching a sunset from the window of a 744 at flight level 410 (sorry, I can't help it - I say 'ay-firm' instead of 'yes' now, too).

Sun Song '80 is a track given Bossa Nova treatment in Pan Am - The Sound of '70s.  It opens with cooing doves and drives into a rolling beat with upbeat, understated electric guitars and pianos with a terribly sincere female vocal. Very little beat-messing in this track, which segues (actually with a fading chop) into 2300 Hawaii.  This is another curious track stuffed with samples, slow interrupted beats, scratched synths and a looped news clip about the Nixons which is processed so differently each time it almost sounds like you're listening to a whole broadcast.  Towards the end of the track this is looped repeatedly at increasing speed while a great textured synth rises in accompanying tone. In the last 30 seconds this is subject to the most awesome bit of scratching I've ever heard (I'm not talking DJ-type scratching here - this is something different altogether) that alternately makes me grin then drop my jaw, seguing nicely into a similar opener for Count Down.

Although this isn't really a music track, it's one of my favourite on the album for the feeling of anticipation it creates.  A constant, beaten synth is backing for channel-faded news clips from the Apollo launches giving a great feeling of the building excitement and tension leading up to the launches, which is sadly absent in the public (me included, it must be said) today.  This blends into a dance track which is backing for a reading from the writing of Louise Huebner (the self-proclaimed 'Official Witch of Los Angeles')...

Since Witchcraft attempts to deceive, cajole and otherwise disturb natural inclination and occurrence, then so too, with bits of color, attitudes and words, do children, politicians, actors, and women in love ~ weave spells; the success of which many times is dependent entirely upon the magic of their confidence.

...followed by radio communication from an astronaut, looped and processed to absurdity.  Further interest is added with more pausing, slowing beats and overspeeding. The track pauses in the middle for a clip from an old advert for Pan Am's Space Clipper service, followed some stuttering insanity and dialogue from a children's storybook about the moon which ends up sounding like a clip from a cheesy black & white movie about a moon holiday.

Life & Space is a track I found rather annoying at first, as it has a very short clip of dialogue repeated over and over again for most of its length (you'll probably be hating on the word 'cavalcade' after the first couple of listens), but I've come to find it very relaxing against its backdrop of serene piano and soft synths, with the odd disparate sample thrown in for good measure.  No Sun is one of the more conventional tracks on the albums - a dance beat backing a repetitive vocal without too much variety, save for the occasional pauses and scratches.  The Good Timing of World of Love Song is also not a track as such, but has a beautiful-though-sadly brief choral interlude bookended with bells ringing and softened applause, which has so far given me a smile and goosebumps every time. The track winds up at the end with sounds of surf winding up into the bouncing, swinging Summer.  The fuzzy beat, processed steel drums, unidentifiable samples and textured backdrop give it a very upbeat and happy feel.

My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose is something of an aberration, with sounds of flowing water backing a string introduction to what either is, or is made to sound like, an old vinyl press of... My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose ("My love is like a red, red rose/That's newly sprung in June/My love is like the melody/That's sweetly played in tune..").  The majority of the track is just noisy, hissy male vocals with piano backing (occasional electronics playfully swooping in the background), with strings coming back in towards the end. Its inclusion as a patent musical antique is curious but it does, with a final sample of a jet swooping in to land, provide a splendid counterpoint to the next track.  Album closer Welcome To Japan comes back in full fidelity; a hi-tech, warbling electronic sound with a tremendously infectious, bouncing snare-driven beat I defy the listener not to bob their head to.  The sound grows with soaring synths, processed guitars and tannoy announcements from our airliner and destination airport.  It marks the conclusion of our journey, welcoming us to our destination and, with a backdrop of calm monotones, bidding us a heavily-accented goodbye.

As someone who has never flown commercially and has only ever been to airports to tour their air traffic control facilities, it is quite likely that I have been sucked into the bright, happy world the album paints (to say nothing of the fond snaps of 70s/80s airline brochures in the liner notes) to the exclusion of reality.  So what, I say.  I'm enjoying this delusion of possibility and optimism that I imagine the world felt at the embrace of commercial flight and dawn of the space age.  I'm keeping the Speedbird, I'm keeping the Blue Meatball, I'm keeping the Connie.  Wake me up when we reach Mars.

1. Information of TUA - 2:49
2. Cross Wind Take Off - 3:41
3. Magic Sunset St. - 5:53
4. SONY Romantic Electro Wave - 4:35
5. 2300 Hawaii - 7:18
6. Count Down - 1:22
7. Journey Beyond The Stars - 7:03
8. Life & Space - 8:11
9. No Sun - 8:02
10. The Good Timing of World of Love Song - 2:41
11. Summer
12. My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose - 3:23
13. Welcome to Japan - 4:47
    

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This is my first music review. Have mercy.