#brecker

@vaveyard

A beautiful ballad by Pat Metheny to end the evening

Ce sont mes principes, et si vous ne les aimez pas… je suis désolé, je suis pauvre et je n’en ai pas d’autres.

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Pick Up The Pieces - The Atlantic Family

Happy Birthday Michael Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) Brecker's Shapes of Infinity When I was in university I had the privilege of meeting and learning from the great tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker. Growing up I was never particularly drawn to his sound, I thought it was ‘cheesy’ and tinged with '80s cliche production and I often chose to listen to Coltrane or Chris Potter instead. Often I encounter people who tell me, 'I love the saxophone!’ and usually the sound that they’re talking about is Brecker - he was an original. His discography is daunting, he was THE session guy of the '80s and he played on countless jingles, pop recordings, jazz, pioneered the electronic wind instrument, and he even established the classic Saturday Night Live tenor sound. He recorded with Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Springsteen, Pat Metheny, and so many more. Brecker was an outstanding technical genius who had full mastery over his instrument. I have never heard anyone execute the most technically challenging patterns in all keys and the full range of the horn, as easily as he could. One lesson I remember in particular that he said really helped him advance was to take a four note pattern (sometimes a grouping of four unrelated notes) and move it around the full range of the horn though different root relationships. For example take the “Giant Steps” pattern of 1,2,3,5 (in “C” it’s C, D, E, G) and practice it this way. 1. Ascending chromatically (Bb, B, C, C#, etc…) 2. Desending chromatically (Bb, A, Ab, G, etc…) 2. Ascending whole steps (Bb, C, D, E, etc…) 3. Desending whole Steps (Bb, Ab, Gb, E, etc…) 4. Ascending minor 3rds (C, Eb, Gb, A, etc….) 5. Descending minor 3rds (Bb, G, E, C#, etc…) 6. Ascending Major 3rds (Bb, D, F# / B, D#, G, etc….) 7. Desceneding Major 3rds (A, F, C# / C, Ab, E, etc…) 8. Circle of 4ths (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db…etc) 9. Circle of 5ths (Bb, F, C, G, etc…) - Aaron Leaney www.aaronleaney.com

This electronic Brecker situation is dope! I’m buying an EWI right now!