Review by Thom Jurek


It's taken a long time, but he finally nailed it. Everette Harp is a bona fide star in the smooth, or "contemporary" jazz genre. As a saxophonist, his talent is undeniable. One can hear everyone from Junior Walker to Grover Washington, Jr to Stanley Turrentine, Cannonball Adderley, and David Sanborn in his playing, which is forceful, song-like and emotive. He cops to it in the liner notes, and that's just fine; that honesty is what frees him up to make the kind of music he wants to and acknowledging those influences places his own music in a direct line from his predecessors. That said, while some of his records have been very good, he's never gotten exactly what he needed from a label or a producer -- or an engineer for that matter -- to really make it all come together in a way that knocks the ball out of the park. Until now, that is. With his move to Shanachie Records in 2006, Harp found a new creative freedom, to let his jazz chops shine right along with his soul and funk grooves. Harp brought in a bunch of old friends for this date, George Duke is here, as is Jeff Lorber and James K. Lloyd from Pieces of a Dream, but he's done that before. What really gets it here is that the band he put together on this set is tight, sympathetic, and ready to punch it up a notch. Harp wrote seven of these ten tunes, with one each by Lloyd and Lorber, and there's a nice little cover of "Don't Look Any Further." Lloyd's "Juke Joint" opens the set, and it's pure funky J.B.'s funk all slicked up with a slippery backing groove, punched up horns, and a melody that exists because the groove is so pronounced. The Rhodes solo by Lloyd is smokin' but it's Alex Al's rubbery bassline and Harp leading off a three-piece horn line that makes it pop. The production on this tune is a bit compressed, but there are enough raw edges to really make it pop. Harp's "All Jazzed Up (And Nowhere to Go)" comes right out of the '70s CTI catalog . This could have appeared on either Washington's Feels So Good or Mister Magic LPs, and that's a very high compliment. The composition is seamless with an elegant soulful melody line, and the keyboard work by Rex Rideout and Harp is perfect, moving like a snaky Bob James in his prime, with Harp finding the right solo for the groove. The doubling of A. Ray Fuller's guitar, Teddy Campbell's neat cowbell touches on the drums, and percussion by Lenny Castro all over the sound is superb, but it's the larger horn section that's pushing Harp out front in his solo, and he goes for it without ever leaving the tough yet romantic funky party line. This is one of the hippest tunes Harp has ever written or cut. The ballads are fine, too, as "In My Time" illustrates; its lithe Rhodes lines by Rideout and Harp's melodic invention and vamping on the melody move the tune into a spacious groove. The guitar fills by Fuller are simply superb. "Old School" is exactly what it claims to be: pure, funky, silky soul-jazz that emerges from the late-'70s/early-'80s school complete with CTI-style synth-string arrangements. Lorber and Harp's "Funky Palisades" is in the pocket, tough, lean and mean with startling breaks by Campbell on the drum kit. "Wait 4 U" is a beautiful little stepper of a mid-tempo ballad with nice interaction between Dwight Sills and Harp. The tight percussion on "Don't Look Any Further" is another neat little Washington-Creed Taylor touch. Lenny Castro kicks in the groove, and Harp handles melody, dynamics, and the unique texturing of the tune with some neat wordless backing vocals and an elegant nylon string guitar solo by guest Doc Powell. The set closes with the title tune, a ballad that one assumes was written for Harp's father, who passed away earlier in 2007. It's a vocal tune with Harp singing, and it's heartfelt even if it comes off as an odd choice on this kind of a groove-fest. It's one of those tunes he just had to do, and he should be respected for it. It's tacked on at the end of the album. Someone with a larger ego and less taste would have made it first. It's a quiet thank you and tribute even if it departs significantly from the rest of the material here. It's pleasant, but doesn't need to be heard more than once or twice -- unlike the rest of the set, which is addictive. Make no mistake, this is the one where all the previous bonds come off and Harp emerges full of ideas, his trademark chops intact, and despite his obvious nods to his heroes, he's a player, composer, and producer firmly in his own right. Great!!

Dad

Through your eyes I saw the wonders of life.
I learned that God is the answer.
I saw the good in man
I witnessed where man fell short, and forgiveness filled in.
I learned to love.
I learned tough love.
I learned to think of others before myself.
I learned to never sit by when unfairness was the rule.
I learned to accept my faults and to evaluate the possibility of change.
I learned never to say never.
I learned to give the benefit of doubt.
I learned to love unconditionally.
I learned to smile when all is not well.
I learned that I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I learned that I could never ever ever be loved too much.
But most of all......

I learned how to be a better man!

I love you dad. I've never known a world without you in it. You will be in my heart forever. I know you are resting from a job well done here on earth. I know that as my pain seems to just be starting, your pain is over, and I am more grateful for that. Save a place for me. I will do all I can in God's eyes to earn the right to be with you when it is all said and done.


Until I am in your embrace again.

Your son

Everette

NEW YORK -- Michael Brecker, a versatile and highly influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday at age 57.

Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia, according to his longtime friend and manager, Darryl Pitt.


In recent years, the saxophonist had struggled with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer in which the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells. The disease, known as MDS, often progresses to leukemia.

Throughout his career, Brecker recorded and performed with numerous jazz and pop music leaders, including Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, according to his Web site. His most recently released recording, Wide Angles, appeared on many top jazz lists and won two Grammys in 2004.

His technique on the saxophone was widely emulated, and his style was much-studied in music schools throughout the world. Jazziz magazine recently called him "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years," according to a press release from his family.

Though very sick, Brecker managed to record a final album, as yet untitled, that was completed just two weeks ago. Pitt said the musician was very enthusiastic about the final work.

"In addition to the love of his family and friends, his work on this project helped keep him alive and will be another jewel in his legacy," Pitt said.

Brecker, who had a home in Westchester County's Hastings-on-Hudson, was born in 1949 in Philadelphia to a musically inclined family. His father would take his sons to performances of jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.

Brecker, who first studied clarinet and alto saxophone, decided to pursue the tenor saxophone in high school after being inspired by the work of John Coltrane, according to his Web site. He followed his brother, Randy, a trumpet player, to Indiana University, but he left after a year for New York.

In 1970, he helped found the jazz-rock group Dreams. He later joined his brother in pianist and composer Horace Silver's quintet. Michael and Randy also started the successful jazz-rock fusion group the Brecker Brothers. The two also owned the now-defunct downtown jazz club Seventh Avenue South.

His solo career began in 1987, when his self-titled debut was voted "Jazz Album of the Year" in both Down Beat and Jazziz magazines.

His struggle with the blood disease led him and his family to publicly encourage people to enroll in bone marrow donor programs. His own search for a donor led to an experimental blood stem cell transplant that "did not work as hoped," according to a May 2006 entry on his Web site.

His illness silenced his music at times, but raising awareness of bone marrow drives gave him a new focus.

"It's something that doesn't come naturally. ... I obviously miss playing and writing music," Brecker told The Associated Press in 2005. "On the other hand, this whole experience has allowed me to be a conduit to attract attention for a cause that's much larger than me ... for people to go get tested (for the marrow donor program) because I know a lot of lives will be saved."

Brecker's survivors include his wife, Susan; his children, Jessica and Sam; his brother, Randy; and his sister, Emily Brecker Greenberg. Memorial services are being planned.

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