Brecker's Electric Band in Full Flight
A saxophonist surrounded by synthesizers, drum machines, and a rhythm section that never stops moving.
Michael Brecker recorded this album at the height of his technical powers, surrounded by a studio band built for the fusion sound of the early 1990s. Jim Beard on synthesizer is the real anchor here — not the headline, but the voice that shapes what this record sounds like. Beard fills spaces, builds textures, and trades rhythmic ideas with Omar Hakim on drums and Victor Bailey on bass in ways that push Brecker forward rather than back him up. The rhythm section is almost aggressively modern: Hakim and Jimmy Bralower on drum machine lock into grooves that feel tight and programmed, while Bailey sits just slightly ahead of the beat, creating a kind of productive tension. Jon Herington on guitar and the percussion layer of Don Alias, Steve Berrios, and Milton Cardona fill the gaps, but it's Beard's synth work that gives the album its personality. This isn't a straightforward tenor-and-rhythm-section date. It's Brecker playing inside a constructed landscape where electric keyboards are doing as much conversational work as the saxophone. Joey Calderazzo on piano is present but doesn't dominate the foreground the way a pianist might on a more traditional session. The album sits firmly in the fusion territory Brecker had been exploring since the 1980s — not a return to acoustic jazz, not an apology, just a saxophonist comfortable enough in this idiom to play at the top of his game.
Who's playing
Victor Baileybass
Joey Calderazzopiano
Jon Heringtonguitar
Michael Breckertenor saxophone
Jim Beardsynthesizer
Omar Hakimdrums
Don Aliaspercussion
Steve Berriospercussion
Milton Cardonapercussion
Jimmy Bralowerdrum machine
Adam Nussbaumcymbal
Where next?
More by Michael Brecker
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