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You are here: Home / Jazz Lessons / Stylistic Lessons / The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 1
The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 1

The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 1

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 2 customer ratings
(2 customer reviews)

$9.99

SKU: 100 Category: Stylistic Lessons Tags: jazz improvisation, jazz saxophone, Michael Brecker, tenor sax, video lesson
  • Description
  • Reviews (2)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

Michael Brecker has been one of my main influences on the tenor saxophone since my first year of college in 1985.  I was hanging out in someone one dorm room and they put on an album that totally blew me away.  I believe it was the first Steps Ahead album.  I had never heard it before and the sax player blew me away.  I asked who it was and the person answered “Michael Brecker”.  I remember they were astonished that I had never hear of Brecker.  I was only an alto sax player up to that point in my life but soon after that I bought a tenor and started practicing to Michael Brecker albums.  I bought everyone I could find at the local record store.  I remember buying all the Steps Ahead stuff.  A Mike Nock album, a Jony Mitchell album with Jacco on it and the first  Michael Brecker album that he did.  I had no idea what he was playing but I loved it.  That was a long long time ago and I have done a lot of shedding since then.  Enough to understand some of the lines and concepts that I couldn’t way back then.

In this lesson I talk about 6 Michael Brecker type lines that he would use on a minor chord.  I have taken the lines from different solos of his and transposed them to the keys of D minor and E minor. Brecker had a playing style that was so hip.  He  would play these intense lines that would weave in and out of the tonality and really catch your attention.  As I play through these lines with a backing track, I talk about how I think about the lines and the thought process I go through to try to learn from Brecker’s recordings.  I show you what kind of things I do to figure out the thinking behind the lines and how I try to take that and then create my own lines. I play the examples from the D minor PDF  on tenor sax.  I hope this lesson will help you get a little bit closer to playing those Brecker type lines that were and are so hip.  (27 minute video lesson with PDF)

2 reviews for The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 1

  1. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    jazzyardbird – September 1, 2009

    Hey Steve,
    Just stumbled upon your site and bought your Brecker immediately. I am a pro alto and guitarist in Philly, and I feel like I have a lot under my fingers, but always wanted to get that chromatic Breckerish/later Coltranish thing down. I was always more of a Bird/older bebop style player, but now I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of the more modern thang, which I know I will be able to get into my playing almost immediately. Thanks so much, you are a Beast!!!!

  2. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jeff Howlett – March 13, 2010

    I’m a reasonably advanced tenor player and, like many others, a long-standing admirer of Michael Brecker’s work.

    I’d just like to say that your conceptual approach to analyzing Brecker’s improvising style has opened a whole new window of understanding for me.

    I have pretty much all of the available transcriptions of Brecker’s solos and have spent many hours attempting to analyze his methods. I’m not interested in learning his solos note for note because (apart from the fact that I couldn’t technically play much of what he does) I want to sound like me and not like him.

    However, I would like to play in the style of the great man and I can see that your ideas will help me in that.

    Many thanks for your invaluable work, and I look forward to downloading more of your online lessons in the future. But first, I intend to absorb the Brecker material.

    Best wishes,
    Jeff Howlett

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/Breckerisms%201%20clip.mp4

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Steve,  Just want to say thanks for all you are doing for all of us. I’ve learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

If you can give some tips on One Note Samba, Ceora, and Wave… that would be cool.  I really like learning how you apply your concepts to actual songs!

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Keith
I just started looking at my lessons and I have to say, dude you are awesome.  I ABSOLUTELY will learn from you!  I started the tenor about 1 ½ yrs ago and have since picked up an alto, and more recently a soprano.  I spend most of the time on the tenor, followed by soprano, and have only gotten to the alto a few times.  I think I’ll be sticking with tenor.  I’m having a great time and hope one day to play well enough to get regular gigs.  I’ve been playing keys for about 35 years (… Read more
Wil
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
Patrick
I am a music book junkie and I have to say that your books are the most clear, user friendly, and helpful books I own.  They are my absolute favorites and I only wish I had them years ago.  I wouldn’t change a thing about the experience I had in acquiring my degree at Berklee, but my playing has perhaps grown more in the time I’ve spent buried in your books and lessons.  Keep up the great work!!! Thanks, John
John
I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you for being you, your playing, your website and your desire to help others. I’m a professional musician in the US Army and I’ve visited your website almost every day since discovering it a couple of months ago. Your lessons are profound and easy to use. I’ve purchased most of your PDF books and now am starting to delve more into the video and audio lessons.  Thank you for being a great resource!
James

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