Philly native, Randy Brecker, talks about his early days
Trumpeter joins an all-star line up at 2017 Berks Jazz Fest
Widely regarded as one of the jazz community’s most coveted treasures, Grammy Award winning trumpeter and flugelhornist Randy Brecker, now 71, continues to thrive as a solo artist and a highly sought after session player and collaborator.
An artist whose masterful playing knows no boundaries, Brecker’s talent has found him routinely delving into the world of jazz, rock and R&B with ease, working alongside such luminaries as Charles Mingus, Stanley Turrentine, Jaco Pastorious, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Zappa, among many others. Brecker is without question a legend in his own time.
With the 27th Annual Reading Berks Jazz Fest approaching, Brecker returns to the area for what is sure to be another memorable appearance. He performs on April 2.
“The Berks Jazz Fest has become really important,” says Brecker, from his home in NewYorkCity. “I’ve played there many times, too many to count or remember. It’s developed into a great event. The crowds are so knowledgeable and it’s such a great hang. I get to see musicians I only get to see once or twice a year. The whole thing is really a big thrill. The musicians enjoy the fans, the fans enjoy us, and it’s just one big happy family. It’s such a great time.”
“I can guarantee you for this year’s Berks Jazz Fest we have a great band that we are dedicating the whole showto my good friend and guitarist Mike Stern,” addsBrecker. “Hewas supposed to be there but recently had an operation to fix his shoulders and the nerve in his hand from a bad fall months back. He’s healing and we’re hoping he will be out there soon and we’re dedicating the whole concert to him.”
“I really hope everybody comes out to the concert,” says Brecker. “I think we have something really good planned. We’re doing a little of everyone’s tunes all played together throughout the years so I think it will really be something special.”
Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, Brecker grew up in a musical family, and first picked up the trumpet at age eight. Routinely exposed to the works of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, courtesy of his father, the seed was planted for what has ultimately blossomed into an astonishing career.
“I came up playing a lot of different styles of music in Philadelphia, which was really a melting pot of all kinds of music from the Philadelphia Orchestra to American Bandstand,” recalls Brecker. “All those great artists from South Philly and singers that came through. Of course all the great jazz musicians that came from there, blues, rock, R&B. By the time I left Philly I had a lot of different styles under my belt so I became flexible as a player and enjoyed different styles of music. I’ve never stuck to one format or another. In other words, I try not to put the same record out year after year so they’re all kind of different.”
Agraduate of Cheltenham High School, Brecker relocated to New York City following his studies at Indiana University performing with a variety of orchestras before ultimately expanding his creative energies into the world of jazz, rock and R&B.
Forming the infamous Brecker Brothers in 1975 with his brother, the late Michael Brecker, the group released six albums on the Arista record label garnering seven Grammy nominations before disbanding in 1982. Reuniting in 1992 their “Out of the Loop” (1994) album release was a double Grammy winner. In 2012, Legacy Recordings released the boxed set “The Brecker Brothers – TheCompleteArista Albums Collection.”