For Immediate Release Please
PILOO RECORDS TO RELEASE A CD/DVD SET
RANDY BRECKER'S
THE BRECKER BROTHERS BAND REUNION
with
DAVID SANBORN
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MIKE STERN
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WILL LEE
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DAVE WECKL
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GEORGE WHITTY
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ADA ROVATTI
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and others...
AVAILABLE ONLINE SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
AVAILABLE IN STORES OCTOBER 8, 2013
New York, September 13, 2013 - Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, trumpeter Randy Brecker and his younger, sax-playing brother Michael
helped define a sub-genre by blending sophisticated jazz harmonies and
searing solos with slamming funk grooves and a visceral energy that
grabbed rock ears. The Philly-born Brecker Brothers set the tone for a generation of aspiring musicians who followed.
"When
the band started back in the day, the original intent was to do a Randy
Brecker record," Randy explains. "We were rehearsing tunes every week
with Michael, Don Grolnick, David Sanborn, Steve Khan, Chris Parker and
Will Lee. Somehow, producer Steve Backer had gotten wind of the
rehearsals. He knew of us - Michael and I had played together in Dreams,
Billy Cobhamʼs band and Horace Silverʼs quintet. He rang me and said,
ʻIf you call this band The Brecker Brothers, Iʼll sign you tomorrow
to Clive Davisʼ new label, Arista Records.ʼ" Randy recalls his first
inclination was to say no, because "I wanted to do my own record," but
he ultimately relented. "And thatʼs how this whole thing started."
Sadly,
in 2005 Michael Brecker was diagnosed with the blood disorder
myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and died from complications of leukemia
on January 13, 2007.
During
the process of assembling a band for a week-long engagement at New York
Cityʼs Blue Note jazz club last year for a solo record, Randy realized
that all the musicians he has contacted have played in various editions
of The Brecker Brothers Band: bassist Will Lee (who served the earliest
incarnation of the group in the mid-ʻ70s), along with guitarist Mike
Stern, keyboardist George Whitty and drummer Dave Weckl (veterans of the
early ʻ90s edition). Filling in for his late brother is saxophonist Ada
Rovatti, an accomplished improviser and bandleader, also known as
Randyʼs wife and the mother of their four-year- old daughter, Stella.
"Here it is 30-some years later, Iʼm getting set to do another solo
record, and the Brecker Brothers thing creeps in again," Randy says. "In
fact," he continues, "the club billed it as 'Brecker Brothers Band
Reunion'. At first I wasnʼt crazy about the idea. But the week was sold
out, it became an event, and fans loved hearing the old tunes along with
the new ones. I realized this band was my legacy."
This
set of original compositions, among them tunes like "Some Skunk Funk"
and "Straphangin", brings back the excitement of the 70s with the
technological advances of the 21st century. Add to the mix, the
appearance of Randroid, a vocalist fans of Randy Brecker will recognize.
DISC 1
CD, Studio Recording
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DISC 2
98 minute DVD, Live at the Blue Note
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TRACKS
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TRACKS
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First Tune Of The Set
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First Tune Of The Set
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Stellina
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The Slag
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The Dipshit
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Adina
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Merry Go Town
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Really In For It
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The Slag
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Straphangin'
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Really In For It
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Stellina
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Elegy For Mike
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Merry Go Town
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On The Rise
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Inside Out
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Adina
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Some Skunk Funk
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R N Bee
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Musician's Ol' Lady Dues Blues
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CD personnel: Randy Brecker,
David Sanborn, Will Lee, Adam Rogers, Rodney Holmes, Dean Brown, Mitch
Stein, Chris Minh Doky, Ada Rovatti, Jim Campagnola, Oli Rockberger.
DVD personnel: Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Will Lee, Dave Weckl, George Whitty, Ada Rovatti, Oli Rockberger.
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