Music Book Review: Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times of Michael Brecker by Bill Milkowski

Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker
by Bill Milkowski (Music 781.65 Bre)

Michael Brecker is likely the most influential saxophonist in the post-Coltrane era, and at last we have a comprehensive biography of his work, called Ode to a Tenor Titan: The Life and Times and Music of Michael Brecker. Author Bill Milkowski is an esteemed music journalist with an emphasis on jazz, having written for Downbeat, Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Jazziz, and many more publications, as well as writing several books about jazz and rock-related subjects. He’s obviously deeply researched his subject, and this proves to be both a great biography of Brecker and a solid overview of the jazz scene, especially of the 80s and 90s.

 

Although he’s been gone for 15 years now, the beginning and ending of Ode to a Tenor Titan still carry a tone reminiscent of a funeral for someone gone far too soon. Michael’s brother Randy provides a brief but touching foreword to the book, pointing out that he is remembered by many not just for his music, but also for his helping many people facing substance abuse issues, and for raising awareness of myelodysplastic syndrome. For those more familiar with his music than his life story (like me), we’ll learn far more in the pages of this book. And at the end of the book, there is a substantial appendix made of so-called “Testimonials to a Tenor Titan,” remembrances of Brecker given by many of his contemporaries. Reading through these obviously brings home the impact he had on so many.

 

As for the main body of the book, it’s a chronological journey through Brecker’s life. Things start off with some family remembrances courtesy of Randy Brecker, who tells us what a musical family the brothers grew up in. Eventually, both attended Indiana University’s music school, with Randy graduating as Michael entered the freshman class. Even in those early years, his classmates recalled that his prowess as a soloist turned heads. Also of note is that Michael was already interested in adding elements of rock music into jazz, and his first bands were essentially fusion bands. His first band ended rather badly after relocating to Chicago to record a demo — I’ll let you read up on the details in the book — and then he moved to New York City, where his career really began. Almost immediately after arriving in New York, Michael made his recorded debut on Randy’s first solo album, called “Score,” when he was only 19.

 

Michael ended up living in a loft, and becoming part of the 70s loft scene, where free jazz was continuing to develop in the wake of players like Coltrane and Ayler. And he was continuing to develop his interests toward a kind of jazz-rock fusion as well. In the band Dreams, the Brecker brothers worked together with drummer Billy Cobham, and created a powerful rock-band-with-horns lineup in the spirit of other bands like Chicago.

 

In the 1970s section of the book, I was especially taken by the description of the basic conditions jazz musicians practiced under, as reported by guitarist Steve Kahn: “During this time, there was no Real Book, there were no playalong tapes, no YouTube, no instructional videos, there was nothing like that. And so if you wanted to know all those great Blue Note tunes, or all the Miles solos, or whatever, you had to do it yourself.” So everyone had notebooks full of their own self-disciplined practices, transcribing tunes and solos. It’s hard to even imagine how different things were not so long ago.

 

The Brecker brothers kept playing with various jazz combos, and became top session musicians in New York. They formed the Brecker Brothers band, and played with lots of musical luminaries, from Yoko Ono to Frank Zappa. Michael Brecker was one of the busiest horn players on the planet. And somewhere in that chaos, like many of his contemporaries, he turned to heroin. Although it’s obviously not a pleasant story, there is an unflinching look at some of the substance abuse issues that plagued the NYC jazz scene in the 70s here, with Brecker and more generally. Fortunately, by the early 80s he’d had enough, and managed to permanently break his habit after a five-week rehab stint. And what’s really heartening to read is how he was then able to help so many of his colleagues and friends get their own lives on track in the coming years. As a musician whom many looked up to, he took his role as a mentor seriously, both on a musical and a personal level.

 

Toward the end of the book, Milkowski addresses what would prove to be Brecker’s final challenge, which was being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. Despite being in considerable pain in the last several years of his life, he continued to compose, record and perform as much as possible, and approved the final mixes of his last album just days before he died. He maintained his optimism and stayed in touch with friends and family through it all, and the publicity around trying to find a matching stem cell donor turned out to be the beginning of a public awareness campaign that has continued through the work of his wife, Susan. In subsequent years, she has hosted benefit concerts, started the Time Is of the Essence Fund, and coproduced a documentary. Many people have found matches because of her film. She is also keeping Brecker’s musical legacy alive by donating his musical ephemera to create the Michael Brecker Archive at William Paterson University, and by founding the Michael Brecker International Saxophone Competition.

 

It’s a finely-detailed book — I haven’t even mentioned the coverage of Brecker’s activities in the 80s and 90s here — and if you’re a fan, this is an essential read.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Jazz Rock: A History by Stuart Nichsolson or Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s by Michael C. Heller.)

 

( official Ode to a Tenor Titan page on the official Bill Milkowski web site )

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

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