MICHAEL BRECKER - Keyboards, Tenor Saxophone, Akai EWI
JIM BEARD - Synthesizer, Piano
JOEY CALDERAZZO - Piano
JACK DEJOHNETTE - Drums
PETER ERSKINE - Drums
DON GROLNICK - Piano
HERBIE HANCOCK - Piano
MIKE STERN - Guitar
JEFF ANDREWS - Electric Bass
CHARLIE HADEN - Acoustic Bass
JUDD MILLER - Synthesizer
ADAM NUSSBAUM - Drums
MARK O'CONNOR - Violin
TOMMY GILL - Piano Technician
RICKY SCHULTZ - Executive Producer
JAMES FARBER - Engineer, Mixing
KAREN ROBBEN - Assistant Engineer
GARY SOLOMON - Assistant Engineer
GREG CALBI - Mastering
RHONDA SCHOEN - Digital Editing
KATHLEEN COVERT - Art Direction, Design
MARK SELIGER - Photography
KAREN KRAMER - Production Coordination
JERRY WORTMAN - Production Assistant
GEORGE VARGA - Liner Notes
1988 CD Impulse! MCAD-42229
1988 CS MCA MCAC-42229
This 1988 album, "Don't Try This At Home", earned Brecker his first
(from 8) Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.
1987's DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME is Michael Brecker's second album as a
leader following nearly two decades as an in-demand session musician
(Paul Simon, Steely Dan, etc.) and one-half of the Brecker Brothers
with his trumpeter brother Randy. It's basically a continuation and
refinement of ideas first explored on 1986's MICHAEL BRECKER. Brecker
plays more tenor sax on this album, and his experiments with MIDI
synthesizers are better integrated into the whole of the largely
acoustic arrangements. Rather than the stable group that backed him on
his debut, the cast of DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME reads like a Who's Who of
post-bop fusion: Herbie Hancock (playing acoustic piano, not synth),
acoustic bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Jack DeJohnette all make
impressive showings in Brecker's largely self-composed and usually
quite memorable tunes.
CDUniverse.com
Michael Brecker's second album as a leader is almost the equal of his
first. Surprisingly, only one song ("Suspone") uses his working quintet
of the period (which consists of guitarist Mike Stern, pianist Joey
Calderazzo, bassist Jeff Andrews and drummer Adam Nussbaum) although
those musicians also pop up on other selections with the likes of
pianists Don Grolnick and Herbie Hancock, bassist Charlie Haden,
drummer Jack DeJohnette and violinist Mark O'Connor. Brecker (on tenor
and the EWI) is in superb form, really ripping into the eight pieces
(mostly group originals). Recommended.
Jetzt beherrscht Michael Brecker den "EWI" genannten Synthesizer
für Blä- ser so vollkommen wie das Tenorsaxophon. Doch nur
beim Saxophon wird fühl- bar, wie sensibel Brecker die schwingende
Luftsäule kontrolliert. Ein per- fektes Jazzalbum mit exzellenten
Sidemen, darunter den Pianisten Herbie Hancock.
Adel verpflichtet. Die Talentschmiede impulse! zählt aufgrund
ihrer Ver- dienste in der Vergangenheit zweifellos zum Platten-Adel,
und wenn Michael Brecker für dieses Label aufnimmt, verpflichtet
er nicht nur die Hautevolee des modernen Jazz-Adels - Charlie Haden,
Jack DeJohnette oder Herbie Hancock - zur Mitarbeit, sondern adelt sich
auch noch selbst - mit lupenreinem, modern schwingendem Jazz. Die
Musiker sind so gut drauf, daß sie im Titelstück regelrecht
abheben - nur die Zimmerdecke bereitet diesem Höhenflug auf der
Heimanlage ein jähes Ende. ** Interpret.: 7-10
1987's DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME is Michael Brecker's second album as a
leader following nearly two decades as an in-demand session musician
(Paul Simon, Steely Dan, etc.) and one-half of the Brecker Brothers
with his trumpeter brother Randy. It's basically a continuation and
refinement of ideas first explored on 1986's MICHAEL BRECKER.
Brecker plays more tenor sax on this album, and his experiments with
MIDI synthesizers are better integrated into the whole of the largely
acoustic arrangements. Rather than the stable group that backed him on
his debut, the cast of DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME reads like a Who's Who of
post-bop fusion: Herbie Hancock (playing acoustic piano, not synth),
acoustic bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Jack DeJohnette all make
impressive showings in Brecker's largely self-composed and usually
quite memorable tunes.