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The Brecker Brothers: Heavy Metal Bebop
The Brecker BrothersHeavy Metal Bebop
Arista
1978
While artists more often than not look for an album title that in some way reflects the music contained within, few have come up with a name that, in three simple words, says it all as much as today's Rediscovery: The Brecker Brothers' Heavy Metal Bebop. A positively incendiary live recording (barring bassist
And, as expected, it sounds absolutely tremendous through my Tetra Speaker rig. This is an album that—featuring a core quintet where saxophonist
Michael Brecker
saxophone, tenor1949 - 2007
Randy Brecker
trumpetb.1945
Barry Finnerty
guitar, electricb.1951
Terry Bozzio
drumsb.1950
A slight breather comes with Don't Stop the Music's generally mellower "Funky Sea, Funky Dew," Michael's only compositional contribution to the set. Still, an extended a cappella and heavily processed saxophone outro is both an album highlight and demonstration of why Michael was already one of the most influential saxophonists of his generation...and would go on to become even more so in the decades leading to his untimely passing in 2007 at the too-young age of 57. A closing "Squids," from the same record, also feels less wholly unfettered than the album's first three live tracks, but still possessed more attitude and energy per square inch at a time when fusion was, in general, slowly morphing its way into the easier-on-the-ears predecessor to what would ultimately become smooth jazz. The album's only previously unheard live track is also its first live one: Randy's potently altered blues, "Inside Out," played with a greasy shuffle from Jason and Bozzio that, quite simply, means it.
Throughout this 42-minute set—all but three of them recorded live at My Father's Place in Roslyn, NY—the entire band plays as if its life depended on it. Michael Brecker soars, while older brother Randy (similarly processing his horn with a harmonizer, envelope filter and more) matches his younger sibling's energy note for searing note, the pair seemingly unable to play anything but the right note at the right time—except, occasionally, when they played the wrong note at precisely the right time...because with music this unshackled, there are no wrong notes, just ones that drive the player(s) in unexpected directions. While rarely featured, Jason and Bozzio keep the pulse at a fever pitch throughout, thundering where necessary—especially on the high octane "Sponge" where, with a new solo section, a three- way trade-off between the two Breckers and Finnerty represents the album at its most reckless, raw and relentless—but laying back as required with equal aplomb.
The surprise of the set is, however, Finnerty. Having first heard the guitarist on a live radio broadcast of the
Crusaders
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1960
Joe Sample
piano1939 - 2014
Larry Carlton
guitarb.1948
So, when finally hearing Heavy Metal Bebop for the first time—a little late to the game, a couple years after it was first released—I already knew he had all he needed to not just match the two Breckers, but to actually up the ante. While the Breckers take the lion's share of the solo space, every time Finnerty is featured it's a revelation...and all the more a crime that, despite remaining active in the ensuing years, the guitarist has never managed to garner the broader acclaim he deserves—if nothing else based on his contribution to Heavy Metal Bebop but, with
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Billy Cobham
drumsb.1944
Hubert Laws
woodwindsb.1939
Eliane Elias
piano and vocalsb.1960
The Brecker Brothers would continue recording and touring—even reuniting in 1992, after a lengthy hiatus, for two superb studio records: The Return of the Brecker Brothers (GRP, 1992) and Out of the Loop (GRP, 1994), along with a live concert video crying out for DVD and/or Blu Ray reissue. But while the group would make other superb records, in particular its first-period swan song, Straphangin' (Arista, 1981), it would never make another record like Heavy Metal Bebop.
Still, with the same lineup reuniting in 2014 for tours of Europe and Japan (with
Ada Rovatti
saxophone, tenorb.1976
Hope may spring eternal...but in the meantime there's still Heavy Metal Bebop—indeed the heaviest album The Brecker Brothers ever made; a fusion record that, with its in-your-face energy and attitude, could only have come out of the Big Apple...and is the perfect Rediscovery to scratch a most particular itch.
So, what are your thoughts? Do you know this record, and if so, how do you feel about it?
[Note: You can read the genesis of this Rediscovery column here.]
Tags
The Brecker Brothers
Rediscovery
Brecker Brothers
John Kelman
United States
New York
New York City
Neil Jason
Michael Brecker
randy brecker
Barry Finnerty
Terry Bozzio
Crusaders
Joe Sample
Larry Carlton
Miles Davis
Billy Cobham
Hubert Laws
Eliane Elias
Ada Rovatti
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About Brecker Brothers
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
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