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Michael Brecker: Time is of the Essence

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Michael Brecker
Title: Time is of the Essence
Released: 1999
Label: Verve Records
Time: 69:57
Producer(s): George Whitty
Appears with:
Category: Jazz
Rating: ******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2001.07.20
Price in €: 14,99
Web address: www.michaelbrecker.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Arc of the Pendulum (M.Brecker) - 8:59
[2] Sound Off (L.Goldings) - 6:04
[3] Half Past Late (M.Brecker) - 7:54
[4] Timeline (P.Metheny) - 6:05
[5] The Morning of This Night (M.Brecker) - 7:42
[6] Renaissance Man [For Eddie Harris] (G.Whitty) - 8:36
[7] Dr. Slate (M.Brecker) - 7:40
[8] As I Am (P.Metheny) - 6:49
[9] Outrance (M.Brecker) - 10:08

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


MICHAEL BRECKER - Tenor Saxophone

LARRY GOLDINGS - Organ
ELVIN JONES - Drums
PAT METHENY - Guitar
JEFF "Tain" WATTS - Drums
BILL STEWART - Drums

JAMES FARBER - Engineer, Mixing
SCOTT YOUNG - Assistant Engineer
ANDREW FELLUS - Assistant Engineer
ANDREA YANKOVSKY - Assistant Engineer
GREG CALBI - Mastering
CAMILLE TOMINARO - Production Coordination
ROBERT SILVERBERG - Release Coordinator
THEODORA KUSLAN - Release Coordinator
HOLLIS KING - Art Direction
LELAND BOBBE - Photography
DARRYL PITT - Photography
DAVID RIEGEL - Graphic Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1999 CD Polygram 547844



Michael Brecker introduces a couple of new wrinkles to his sound on his sixth album, in the form of two new sidemen. Larry Goldings's organ makes for an unusual quartet that also includes Brecker on tenor sax, frequent guest Pat Metheny on guitar, and one of three different drummers, in that there is no bass. As a result, Metheny often fills in that role when he isn' t soloing. Goldings's touch is light, in contrast to the more intense playing of Brecker and Metheny. But it is the second new sideman who makes a difference: Elvin Jones guests on drums on three tracks. Brecker has never shied away from announcing his influences, and with Jones behind the traps, especially on the opening track, "Arc Of The Pendulum, " and the closer, "Outrance" (both Brecker originals), he indulges his affection for John Coltrane, playing freely and aggressively across the rhythm. Jones, who gets a showcase solo in "Outrance, " is unmistakable, and his support often makes Brecker sound like Coltrane. With Bill Stewart behind the drums, the group performs "Renaissance Man, " a tribute to another major Brecker influence, Eddie Harris, and Brecker unabashedly recalls Harris there. The tunes, five by Brecker, two by Metheny, and one each by Goldings and producer George Whitty, are loosely structured and run from six to ten minutes each, so that the disc runs 70 minutes. Clearly, they could have gone longer: Several of them fade out, sometimes during a Brecker or Metheny solo, an oddity on a jazz album.

William Ruhlmann - All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



History is littered with the detritus of slapped-together all-star projects, featuring improvisers unfamiliar with the predispositions of their session mates, that fizzled out in the studio. That's decidedly not the case on TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE, on which state-of-the-art tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker explores the ample sonic field of an organ-guitar-drums support unit. Hammond B3 futurist Larry Goldings and guitar icon Pat Metheny frame the tenorist's flint-hard declamations, while elder statesman drum innovator Elvin Jones, and two of his descendants -- Jeff Watts and Bill Stewart, cutting-edge tradition piggybackers with their own trapset dialects -- sculpt the flow in ongoing rhythmic dialogue. Brecker offers nine originals marked by clear melodies and complex, logical forms. An amazingly consistent soloist, he plays with characteristic blue-flame-to-white-heat clarity and a tone whose muscularity is less buff and more fluid than some years back. Goldings, a proactive comper and imaginative soloist, trumps the leader's ideas and tosses out intriguing postulations; Metheny, an infrequent visitor to the organ function, plays with a bluesy feel and spare discretion. But the payoff is Brecker's dance to the vivid beats of his different drummers -- all in spot-on form -- for three selections apiece. Each drum man strikes sparks that elevate the proceedings to something much more than just another routinely well played date. Brecker's third consecutive release devoted to full-bore improvising, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE shows a hungry 50-year-old master searching for -- and often reaching -- the next level.

Ted Panken - Barnes & Noble



Recorded at Avatar Studios and Right Track Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Michael Brecker. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group and "Outrance" was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Tenor saxophone master Michael Brecker has shared the stage and studio with most every major drummer in modern music at one time or another. It was three very special stick-slingers, however, that Brecker chose to feature on TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: the fiery Jeff "Tain" Watts, the inventive Bill Stewart, and the incomparable powerhouse Elvin Jones. Along with Brecker's muscular wail, guitar legend Pat Metheny and organ wizard Larry Goldings offer some stunning musical vehicles for these three outstanding percussionists. It is Brecker's signature tenor tone and bravado that prominently conducts the proceedings and he is in fine form sparring with Jones on the waltzing opener "Arc of the Pendulum," complete with Elvin's signature loping gallop. Watts gives a commanding performance on the quirky "Dr. Slate" that offers some of the most rhythmically intricate ensemble work on the disc. Stewart is his usual amazing self on such tracks as the funky "Half Past Late" and "Renaissance Man," urging Brecker, Metheny, and Goldings onward with seemingly endless intensity. Elvin gets the closing remark with Brecker's "Outrance," another dancing groove that features exemplary playing by all.

CDUniverse.com


"...travels a wide path between mainstream jazz and pop inflections with integrity and ease..." - Rating: B+ Q (2/00, p.84) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...swinging lightly and beautifully with acoustic rhythm sections....digging a little deeper into the energy, agression and mathematical ability that helped him earn a reputation as the most advanced saxaphonist on the world..." Down Beat (8/00, p.27) - Ranked #6 Jazz Album in Downbeat "Critics Poll 2000". Down Beat (2/00, p.63) - 4.5 out of 5 - "...displays the patentable Brecker style - deeply rooted in Coltrane, with an emphasis on high energy and involved improv patterns....a varied, appealing repertoire with no dearth of top drawer playing..." JazzTimes (1-2/00, p.96) - "...easily Brecker's most satisfyingly and celebratory project to date, deeper and more incandescent....a dream date for Brecker as well as for his legion of fans.

Entertainment Weekly (12/3/99, p.103)



Tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker has offered his horn to countless studio sessions since the late 1960s, many including his own bands. Purists might have considered Brecker's reputation sullied by his association with fusion--especially as performed in the 1970s by the Brecker Brothers, which featured him alongside his brother Randy on trumpet, and later by Steps Ahead--but since the mid-1980s, the tenorist has been on a post-bop roll. Time Is of the Essence extends Brecker's broad command of the styles pioneered during the mid-1960s. He's playing with a veritable supergroup, Pat Metheny adding efficient strums and riffs on guitar and Larry Goldings pillowing the atmosphere on a Hammond B3 organ. Three drummers alternate on the session, with the great Elvin Jones making the most turbulent storm and Bill Stewart providing the most detailed textures. Jeff "Tain" Watts mixes Jones's romping power with a sense of the delicate, loaning Brecker's melodies an added dimension. For his part, Brecker plays hard and fast with absolute proficiency. The tunes are gutsy and sharp, with lots of creative soloing and up-tempo energy.

Andrew Bartlett - Amazon.com



To a peerless technique honed by years of negotiating the turn-on-a-dime, tricksy themes in which fusion abounds, Michael Brecker, in his latest incarnation as a leader of predominantly acoustic small jazz groups, adds a number of skills more readily associated with improvised music. Most important of these is his spontaneous interaction with his fellow soloists (here guitarist Pat Metheny in soft, straightahead mode, and intelligently funky organist Larry Goldings) but this relaxed, informal yet polished album also showcases another Brecker trademark: his penchant for sculpting eloquent bustling solos into carefully formed, logical musical statements. Judiciously balancing easy lopes and funky shuffles with the odd elegant ballad, this is state-of-the-art late-1990s jazz.

Rough Guide / Jazz



Sieben Grammys, sechs Soloalben, hunderte von Aufnahmen mit den größten Jazzmusikern, zu denen er selbst mit Leichtigkeit dazuzurechnen ist: Michael Brecker kann in seinem Jubeljahr (50) mit Stolz auf eine beispielhafte und einflussreiche Arbeit blicken. An ihm misst sich, wer modernes Saxophon spielen will. Brecker hat den Geist Coltranes weitergetragen in den Jazz, Funk und Fusion der 80er und 90er Jahre, ohne den Meister zu kopieren. Sein souveräner Umgang mit dem Tonmaterial, seine Musikalität und die eigene Spielart überzeugen bei jedem Konzert und jeder Plattenproduktion aufs Neue. Nicht anders bei Time Is Of The Essence, seinem letzten Album, mit Pat Metheny an der Gitarre und Larry Goldings an der Orgel. Das mit Fußpedalen ausgestattete Instrument erspart den Bassisten, dafür hat Brecker gleich drei Schlagzeuger engagiert, die auf jeweils drei Tracks zu hören sind: sein großes Vorbild Elvin Jones, Jeff "Tain" Watts und Bill Steward. Man fragt sich warum, es bekommt auch nur einer von ihnen ein kleines Solo: der swingende Elvin Jones, der seine weichen Becken summen lässt wie ein Bienenstock. Die Musik auf Time Is Of The Essence ist zum Teil kantig und verquer, erinnert ein bisschen an Bill Frisell, an Bobby Previt oder auch an Monk. Die Harmonien sind unhandlich und unbequem, das gehört bei Brecker zur Herausforderung. Interessant, dieses etwas andere Konzept zwischen Mainstream und Modern Jazz. Technisch wirkt die Aufnahme sehr trocken und distanziert, fast steril. Schade: die Vibrationen und der intensive Energiefluss während der Aufnahmesession lassen sich nur ahnen.

Katharina Lohmann - Amazon.de



Normalerweise ist Zeit ein relativer Begriff. Bei Michael Breckers CD meint er in erster Linie das Zusammentreffen des Tenoristen mit drei Taktgebern: zwei Superdrummern der jüngeren Generation (Bill Stewart und Jeff "Tain" Watts) und einer lebenden Legende: Elvin Jones. Alle drei haben Maßstäbe in Sachen "Time" gesetzt und spornen Brecker in ungewohntem Kontext mit Gitarre (sensationell soulig: Pat Metheny) und Orgel (zur Zeit der Beste: Larry Goldings) zu erstaunlicher Expressivität an. Brecker formt das Material auf persönliche Weise, die Bindung zu den Rhythmikern wirkt einen roten Faden aus Leiden- und Meisterschaft. Brillanter Jazz, in jeder Hinsicht auf der Höhe der Zeit.

© SCALA (6/99)



Michael Brecker is arguably the most recorded tenor saxophonist ever, a journeyman session veteran whose capricious musicality is capable of everything from moving air with the force of an impassioned Pharaoh Sanders doxology, to blowing ferociously over bebop and hardbop, to countless pop and funk dates. Indeed, his career has left little sonic terrain uncharted, but it's Brecker's earliest professional experiences in R&B, soul, and funk spheres, fused with an unyielding passion for Coltrane, that propels his newest.

Time is of the Essence wastes no time defining itself, rising from dead space with an organ and 3/4-time drum accompaniment that prefaces Brecker's wailing melody played in unison with guitar. Unmistakably, it's 1967 all over again. With organist Larry Goldings (who handles bass parts with his B-3), guitarist Pat Metheny, and drum demigod Elvin Jones, Brecker turns in an indefatigably grooving date building on the soul-jazz school of jazz and the hand-in-glove relationship between saxophone, organ, and guitar.

Throughout, Brecker and crew -- with drum hat worn by Jones, Bill Stewart, and Jeff "Tain" Watts on three tracks each -- evoke a range of exalted soul-jazz titans. The great organ avatar Larry Young pervades album opener "Arc of the Pendulum," while "Rennaissance Man" is a down-home, bluesy salute to Eddie Harris (on which Metheny reveals a rare face, bending strings and permutating into a Chicago blues veteran while hardly abandoning his fleet-fingered runs).

Metheny's minor blues vehicle, "Timeline," swings elegantly with Brecker at his 'Trane-inspired best -- growling, trilling, and squawking in the horn's nether-reaches before ushering the listener into Sunday morning on the gorgeously gospel-tinged "The Morning of This Night." He shines iridescently on the gorgeously ambient ballad, "As I Am," before letting sparks fly with free-jazz abandon on the album's closer. Time is of the Essence exquisitely answers why Brecker is among the saxophone's most documented practitioners.

Mike Bieber - November 1, 1999
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