Michael Brecker - Wide Angles

Great idea, great execution!

My dumb behind didn't know what a quindectet was before I bought this album. I'd never even heard the word used before. It wasn't in any of my dictionaries and my computer refused to recognise it as a proper word. Maybe Michael Brecker made the word up? Ah, whatever. I guess you live and you learn.

I love the idea though. Brecker basically does big band and playing with his fourteen cohorts here gives him the opportunity to paint a canvas of very complex textures upon which to play his beautiful tenor sax solos. The whole ensemble works well but, apart from the bandleader of course, I have a personal fondness on here for Alex Sasha Sipiagin on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar and the drummer, Antonio Sanchez (now of The Pat Metheny Group). My favourite songs include "Broadband" (which is the opener on my CD and not "Loxodrome" as mentioned in the product overview soundclips), "Night Jasmine", "Scylla" and "Never Alone". Gil Goldstein does a great job co-arranging with Brecker and doing the overall orchestration.

I'll always wonder though, if I'd have liked the album more if Vince Mendoza had done it?

Still. Great stuff. Anyone who likes this will probably also like some of the big band stuff Bob Mintzer (the horn man with Yellowjackets) did back in the 90s. So I respectfully suggest you check him out too.
February 10, 2007

Monstrous sounds

This album is a monster. This is jazz taken to the next level. I can see where the artist who made the cover got their inspiration because the orchestra often sounds like some kind of beastly being coming to ravage everything in its path.

I bought this album about a year ago, and listened to it a couple times, and at the time was not overly impressed with it. I listened to it again more recently and this time more analytically. I must admit that to the average listener, this music might be a little over their head. But for the avid jazz fan, or jazz musician, I think this is jazz on a new level. There are so many things going on in the music that it is a little difficult to hear it all the first time. You really have to listen a few times over in order to get the true feel.

There is a force to be reckoned with in the world of jazz, and his name is Gil Goldman. I am seeing more musicians who use Gil Goldman to write their arrangements these than I can shake a stick at. On this album, his orchestrations give Mike plenty of room to solo the way he wants. I can't help but get butterflies over Mike's fluid improvisations.

This album is Michaels' time to shine, but the contributions by the other musicians are instrumental. There was a lot of rehearal time spent making this album sound great. There are a couple of nice solos by Robin Eubanks, and nice bass work by Pattitucci. This is a great album. July 26, 2006

A Delightful Surprise from the Great Brecker

Whoa. I was used to hearing Brecker in your average funk-fusion (a bit smoother than I like sometimes), and straight-ahead blowing sessions, so this one really took me by surprise. Here he assembled a unique combination of instruments - among them strings, guitar and a somewhat unique (including French horn and Baritone) brass section - which gives the music a kind of heft and richness that is just a joy to hear. The arrangements are great - interesting horn/string lines underneath Brecker's usual masterful and fiery soloing. My faves are "Night Jessamine", and "Modus Operandi" which are two of the grooviest and funkinest jazz songs I've heard in quite a while. The only tiny complaint I have is that Brecker is virtually the only soloist. He gives bassist Pattituci a few spots, as well as a couple for the guitarist and trumpeter, but most of the time it is him wailing on and on. Mind you, he is an awesome soloist, I love his playing, but sometimes you need to break it up a bit and let the other guys shine for a while, too - that is what Jazz is about, individual expression, while still serving the collective. Not even the great Coltrane had a problem letting Eric Dolphy, Don Cherry, or his own McCoy Tyner shine for a while. But, aside from that, this is a superb effort from one of the most important saxophonists since Coltrane. Keep it up, Mike. June 29, 2004

A waste of great sidemen...

A good but not great jazz album. As the reviewer below comments, there is a lot of orchestration in this album. So what you have most of the time is Brecker or one of the other players soloing over the orchestration. I don't find this to be as musically interesting as albums where there is more interplay among members of the ensemble. May 1, 2004

New Territory

For anyone that might be unfamiliar with Michael Brecker, it must be said that there are very very few musicians of any instrument who posess the kind of total command he has over the sax. It is an entirely different kind of experience listening to someone who is thinking completely about the musical ideas they are trying to get across, without having to focus on the execution. The character of each note and phrase shines through much more brightly than it would otherwise.

This is of course as true as ever on "Wide Angles," which opens up new territory in contemporary jazz. Beyond the unusual instrumention (several wind and string instruments and no piano or keys), the WAYS that these instruments function in each composition is original and unique. Rather than traditional improvised piano comping or even written-out ensemble sections limited to the "head" of each song only, all of the instruments are orchestrated throughout almost the entirety of each song. With this structured approach, the songs are able to develop to a level apart from what is possible in the traditional jazz idiom.

The overall sound of the music on this cd is very complex and not what you would call "ear candy." However, there is a tremendous amount of depth to the compositions which can be appreciated and further discovered with repeated listening. Needless to say, the level of proficiency of all the musicians in the group is truly outstanding, providing an additional angle of appreciation by the listener, though certainly not the only one.

In short, this cd contains some of the highest-quality, cutting-edge jazz available today, and I highly reccomend it to anyone open-minded and focused enough to give it a serious listen. I would not say that it achieves quite the INCREDIBLE depth of some of pat metheny's masterpieces, but for what it is it is perfect and probably worth the price of an expensive work of gallery art. Check it out! April 11, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...