The Jazz Cruise ’24 is a Constellation of Stars. There are more top jazz musicians on this cruise than any other jazz event, festival or concert in the world. More music, more variety and more stars than ever before!
January 18-24, 2024. Sailing from Miami to Labadee, Puerto Plata and St. Thomas.
Please check out my new updated Itinerary for the rest of the year 2021. Get Vacc’ed and let’s all keep things moving forward safely!! — best,Randy
Let’s welcome Dylan Brecker Feinberg into the world…he was born a month early on March 29th 2021 which also happens to be his late Grandfather, Michael Brecker’s birthday too! Grandmother Susan Brecker and Dylan’s parents Jess (Brecker) Feinberg and Josh Feinberg are over the moon (!) and Mikey is I’m quite sure, smiling down too.
I played a couple nights live in Cincinnati April 2 and 3 at a lovely Jazz Club called Caffè Vivace and did some workshops in the afternoons…All with Covid-19 protocols in place. It sure was fun to play live again, after months and months…some more things are in the fire…I’ll keep ya’ posted!”…Randy/April 19th 2021
Dynamic Duo is Joined on August 21st Release by George Whitty, Dave Weckl and John Patitucci
What do you get when you pair two visionaries who happen to be kindred spirits? You get an ace in the hole! Multi Grammy award-winners saxophonist Eric Marienthal and trumpeter/flugelhornist Randy Brecker deliver ten thrilling originals on their anticipated Shanachie Entertainment debut Double Dealin’ out August 21, 2020. It’s all aboveboard on Double Dealin’ as Marienthal and Brecker opt not to follow suit but rather let the spirit of the moment be their guide as they draw some wild cards and the blur boundaries between traditional and contemporary jazz. Randy Brecker, who was a key player in numerous ground-breaking fusion bands like Blood, Sweat and Tears and Larry Coryell’s The Eleventh House, states “Duke Ellington said ‘There are only two kinds of music, good and bad’ and we both love the latter!” Double Dealin’ marks Marienthal and Brecker’s first co-led recording. Danny Weiss, Shanachie Entertainment VP Of Jazz A&R says, “This album is a rarity – funky and brilliant at the same time. One plus one equals five with these two jazz giants.”
“The duo of multi-GRAMMY Award winners Randy Brecker and Eric Marienthal blurs the boundaries between traditional and contemporary jazz on Double Dealin’. While the trumpeter/flugelhornist and the saxophonist have played together in the past, this is their first co-led recording. It features ten thrilling original tracks as well as keyboardist George Whitty, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl.” — Matt Micucci, JAZZIZ Magazine
We have a new release coming out on Piloo Records Feb 22nd “Rocks”: Randy Brecker with the NDR Big Band-The Hamburg Jazz Orchestra, with special guests Dave Sanborn, Ada Rovatti and Wolfgang Haffner Arr by Jörg Achim Keller with all Randy Brecker compositions from different periods. It’s great!
Later in the year: “Brecker Plays Rovatti” 10 of Ada’s new compositions played/produced by us, with Dave Kikoski, Alex Claffy, Rodney Holmes and Café! w/appearances by Jim Beard and Adam Rogers!…the best CD ever, and most commercial with a special guest appearance by 10 year old singer Stella Brecker!
Also, Together my recent CD with the UMO Jazz Orch and Mats Holmquist receives best of 2018 pick from Wicked Local:
Randy Says :
“These are HITS I played on in the day as ‘de-ranged’ by Kenny Werner: James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, Garland Jeffeys,BS&T and more! Recorded LIVE with an All-Star Cast: Amanda Brecker, Kenny Werner, David Sanchez, Adam Rogers, John Patitucci, and Nate Smith!”
New York, August 28, 2015 – Randy Brecker turns 70 years old in November, a good reason to celebrate the soundtrack of his (and our) life. Randy POP! brings into fine focus Breckerʼs lasting service to pop musicʼs most noteworthy recordings,
Beginning in the ʼ60s, Brecker distinguished himself as a first-call studio “cat“ who could play any music a producer or artist needed. His reputation was well-earned, considering the timeless recordings featuring his trumpet.
Randy POP! highlights these recordings, but with a twist. Long-time associate Kenny Werner has “de- ranged“ the songs of James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, et al, with an ear towards creating a new musicial canvas for Randy and his bandmates to paint on.
Captured live at the Blue Note jazz club in New York, Randy is joined by David Sanchez, Adam Rogers, John Patitucci, Nate Smith and Werner himself – with a special guest appearance by shining vocalist and daughter Amanda Brecker.
The album was produced by Kenny Werner, Randy Brecker and Jeff Levenson.
From Randy:
JAZZTIMES REVIEW:
“High-brass firepower is the theme of Trumpet Summit Prague, and there’s plenty of the good stuff to go around, thanks to the on-point playing and improvising of a trio of trumpeters. Here, American players Randy Brecker and Bobby Shew, and Jan Hasenöhrl, founder of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, join forces with the CSNO and St. Blaise’s Big Band in a 2012 concert at the celebrated Smetana Hall.
But this project is less about a long-form cutting contest than it is about high-level sparring and appealing playfulness. Take Thad Jones’ “Three and One”, where the trumpeters open with round robin volleys followed by unison lines and tangy three-part harmonies. A short time later, Vince Mendoza’s arrangement has Hasenöhrl going baroque for a bracingly agile exchange with drummer Martijn Vink, followed by the big band’s return in full swing, underscored by the orchestra. Brecker steps in for a similarly agile solo before the three recombine to restate the melody.
Shew, a virtuoso player too often taken for granted, is center stage on a lush version of Kurt Weill’s “Lost in the Stars”; his flugelhorn, whether stating the melancholy melody or sailing in flights of improvisation, is a thing of beauty, expertly cushioned by the large ensemble. Brecker is featured on two of his originals: the album-opening “Village Dawn”, with its hopscotching melody and a bracing solo spiced with smears, high-speed runs and high-register forays; and the bluesy, hard-grooving “Creature of Many Faces”, which offers solo space for several other players. The program, recorded for Czech television, also offers Mendoza’s own “Rhumba Alias” and a wild and wooly version of Ellington’s “Caravan”, with even more space for three part trumpet harmonies and round-robin soloing. Three’s a crowd? Not this time.”
-Philip Booth, JazzTimes
Randy says:
“Rock Candy Funk Party is quickly moving to the top of the charts! My friend drummer Tal Bergman asked me to write 9 Horn Charts and play on this Super Funky CD…With the help of Ada Rovatti on saxophones and Jim Campagnola on bari we made a good horn section. the great Joe Bonamassa is featured on Guitar! Check it Out if you like 70s style FUNK!”
