Trumpeter Randy Brecker Interviewed at AAJ...And More

"My father told me when I was five or six years old--he grabbed me and said, 'the trumpet is the greatest jazz instrument.' And I think he was right," says Randy Brecker, a trumpeter known the world over, it seems, regardless of the style of music he plays, inside and out of the jazz world.

Brecker has always been busy, either on his own projects or with others, by not only leading his own fine groups, but also by being part of important bands in the jazz, pop and rock worlds for decades--like Blood, Sweat & Tears, Horace Silver, the Mingus Big Band, Dreams and the Brecker Brothers with his saxophone playing brother and now jazz icon, Michael--to name only a handful. There can't be many music fans who haven't heard his strong sound.

Brecker's latest disc, Randy in Brasil (Mack Avenue, 2008), finds the veteran Brecker recording with some of Brazil's finest musicians, on an album that represents a different aspect of the trumpeter's chameleon-like abilities, but still remains distinctly and unmistakably Brecker.

Check out AAJ Contributor R.J. DeLuke's in-depth interview, Randy Brecker: Zelig Goes Brazilian, just one part of AAJ's exhaustive coverage of Brecker and Randy in Brasil.

You can also read Managing Editor John Kelman's review of Randy in Brasil, listen to “Sambop," today's AAJ Daily Download, and watch him perform Brecker Brothers favorite, “Sponge," at the Summer Festival in Ourense, Spain, today's AAJ Daily Video.

AAJ is committed to providing the most extensive coverage available surrounding new releases, so be sure to check out all our coverage of Randy Brecker and Randy in Brasil today!