Some Skunk Funk

It's been a little over a year since saxophonist Michael Brecker passed away, and, in my opinion, the giant tenor sax hole he left in the modern jazz world has yet to be filled. Joshua Redman comes close. So do Branford Marsalis and Joe Lovano. But I can't think of anyone that has covered the kind of ground that Brecker did, from straight-ahead jazz to fusion and avant garde. At least, no one that could sound so "at home" in nearly any musical situation. He was pretty much the it guy for tenor sax. What jazz musicians call a "first call" guy, in that whenever any big name in jazz (or otherwise) wanted tenor sax on their record, they called Brecker first. He was that rare perfect blend of technical wizardry and artistic musical sense.

I was just checking out some Brecker clips on YouTube, and found this gem from back in 1992. Michael and his brother, trumpet player Randy Brecker, had a insane fusion group called the Brecker Brothers. This is a clip of them playing their tune "Some Skunk Funk" with an amazing rhythm section that includes Dennis Chambers on drums and Mike Stern on guitar. It's flat-out great playing all around, but dig how Michael's solo absolutely smokes.