etnobofin

You disappear for a weekend in Slovenia, and while you’re incommunicado, more great musicians die. I’m wondering if James Brown is currently recruiting for a new band in the sky…

Alice Coltrane and Michael Brecker were very different musicians in many ways, and although they both represented continuations of John Coltrane’s legacy, they accomplished their art in divergent fashions. Alice Coltrane pursued a mystic connection with the multiple spheres that her husband had so passionately explored. And Michael Brecker’s laser-sharp chops and tone that could break granite helped create a massive body of work as a leader and collaborator that stood astride the whole progression of jazz from the 1970s into the 21st Century.

Michael Brecker – obituaries at Song with Orange, Bagatellen and a personal appreciation at The Jazz Clinic

Alice Coltrane - mourning with mp3s at los amigos de durutti, wordsandmusic and Destination Out.

Given that there are currently a lot of Alice Coltrane mp3s floating out there (check the links above), here’s a Brecker classic: Michael and his brother Randy in full flight in New York in December 1976. The rest of the band isn’t too shabby either – it includes Terry Bozzio on drums, Patrick O’Hearn on bass, Ruth Underwood on percussion, Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax, and some hairy guitarist called Frank Zappa running the show.

Frank Zappa – The Purple Lagoon
From Läther: Rykodisc [Buy]