The Brecker Brothers

Musical Group

Forfans of jazz fusion, funk and jazz-rock; musicians interested in virtuosic live performance; collectors of 1970s fusion.
2 Reviews 0 Definitions 2 Charts

The Profile

American jazz fusion band led by brothers Randy Brecker (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Michael Brecker (tenor sax), prominent in the mid-1970s fusion scene and known for both their records and extensive session work.

Michael Brecker died in 2007. The brothers worked as in-demand session musicians and collaborators (review cites work with Steely Dan, Casiopea, Parliament and association with Frank Zappa). Terry Bozzio is mentioned in the review as the drummer associated with the Heavy Metal Be-Bop concerts.

A positive, detailed appreciation of The Brecker Brothers' 1978 live album Heavy Metal Be-Bop, praised as a pinnacle of funky fusion and jazz-rock. The review highlights strong melodic sense, virtuosity, and influences from Zappa, Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke. Notes the Breckers' session work and live energy. Reminds that Michael Brecker died in 2007 and is widely acclaimed.

Notable Quotes

❝ ‘Heavy Metal Be-Bop’ (1978), a live album by the acclaimed Brecker Brothers, is one of the pinnacles of the funky fusion and jazz rock genres, from which it only diverges by a lesser emphasis on instrumental parts (despite the extremely high level of virtuosity) in favor of the overall melodiousness of the tracks, which are, however, always well-structured and harmonized in a jazz key.