Randy Brecker: Some Skunk Funk

by John Kelman
July 20, 2006

The 2003 performance documented on Some Skunk Funk may be credited to trumpeter Randy Brecker, but his brother, saxophonist Michael, joins in for a Brecker Brothers reunion with the added oomph of Germany's WDR Big Band. And if ever a band's repertoire was custom-made to be retrofitted with a larger horn section, it's that of the Brecker Brothers. Some of the material comes from Randy Brecker's solo career: “Shanghigh" and “Let It Go" from 34th N Lex (ESC, 2003), “Wayne ...

Randy Brecker: Some Skunk Funk

by Woodrow Wilkins
July 7, 2006

The Brecker Brothers burst onto the fusion scene in the 1970s. After many years of working separately, Randy and Mike Brecker reunited in the early 1990s. The brothers' affiliations--together or separately--have included Billy Cobham, David Sanborn, Steely Dan, Spyro Gyra, Carly Simon, Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth Big Band, Bruce Springsteen and Janis Joplin. Collectively, the Brecker brothers have won three Grammy awards--two for Randy's Into the Sun (Concord, 1997) and 34th n Lex (ESC, 2003), and one for the ...

Randy Brecker: Some Skunk Funk & Soul Bop Band-Live

by Jim Santella
June 7, 2006

Ever since his early years with the Brecker Brothers and Blood, Sweat & Tears, Randy Brecker has pioneered the fusion of jazz and rock. He has a contemporary sound that's broad and powerful enough to unite many, if not all, of us under one umbrella. Randy BreckerSome Skunk FunkTelarc2006Recorded live at a 2003 concert performance in Germany with the WDR Big Band, this brotherly funk session (Michael's here too) rocks ...

Tom Scott with Special Guest Phil Woods: Bebop United

by Michael P. Gladstone
May 11, 2006

The unblemished record of Pittsburgh's Mancheaster Craftsmen's Guild as a venue for recording jazz albums continues with the this new recording from Tom Scott with special guest Phil Woods. Scott has amassed a lengthy discography which has reflected high energy fusion, pop-soul and smooth jazz over the past two decades. His earlier years, however, found him playing strongly as a member of the Don Ellis and Oliver Nelson Big Bands.

In 1992, Scott returned to the mainstream with Born Again, ...

Tom Scott: Bebop United

by Jim Santella
February 25, 2006

For Bebop United Tom Scott convened a a group of veterans for a straight-ahead live auditorium performance in Pittsburgh. His cohesive ensemble interprets each selection with a comfortable groove and a lot of soul. Featuring Phil Woods on three numbers, the concert brings slow ballads and up-tempo romps to its audience convincingly. Trumpeter Randy Brecker and tenor saxophonist Scott provide much of the dialogue, each bringing a warm presence to the concert.

For “His Eyes, Her Eyes, soloists ...

Tom Scott: Bebop United

by John Kelman
February 23, 2006

He's had a multifaceted career in almost every imaginable area of jazz--not to mention working as a gun for hire on albums by singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carole King. It's easy to forget that saxophonist Tom Scott actually started out as a jazz traditionalist. While his own albums have leaned more towards fusion and contemporary jazz, the early days of his career found Scott cutting his teeth on albums by Oliver Nelson, Don Ellis and Thelonious Monk.

So when ...

G.Org: A New Kind of Blue

by John Kelman
July 3, 2004

Paying homage can be risky business, especially when the source is as seminal as Miles Davis' classic Kind of Blue. Comparisons are not just begged, they're expected. And how can anyone hope to capture the same magic? Or the confluence of events that put Davis, Julian “Cannonball" Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb together to create one of the greatest jazz albums of all time, an album that changed the face of music and ...