MusicConnect & JazzYYC present The Music of Michael Brecker
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Friday, November 10, 2023
Special VIP Event tickets available (available at checkout) – Pre-show cocktails and artist meet and greet starting at 6:30pm.
Special VIP Event tickets available (available at checkout) – Pre-show cocktails and artist meet and greet starting at 6:30pm.
Michael Brecker was one of the 20th century’s most influential American jazz saxophonists. An incredible 11-time Grammy winner, his deep exploration of the music of Coltrane and others was applied to jazz-fusion and pop music with numerous credits and appearances on records from the late 1960s through to the early 2000's.
He has credit on over 900 albums with musicians as diverse as Frank Zappa, Aerosmith, James Brown, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, Funkadelic, Steely Dan, John Lennon, Elton John, Jackson Brown, and James Taylor, and in the jazz universe with influencers Chick Correa, Pat Metheny, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Papo Vasquez.
He led or co-led numerous bands including the jazz-rock band Dreams, Steps Ahead, The Brecker Brothers (with his Brother Randy), and his Quindectet to name a few.
Michael Brecker died on January 14, 2007 at the age of 57 in New York. MusicConnect and JazzYYC are proud to present a retrospective of his amazing career and body of work featuring Gil Goldstein, Mark DeJong, and the MusicConnect chamber orchestra.
Gil Goldstein was born Nov 6 l950 in Washington DC. His work as an arranger includes projects with Michael Brecker, Esperanza Spalding, Chris Botti, Bobby McFerrin, Milton Nasciemento, and David Sanborn. He is an important disciple of Gil Evans, having worked with his band from 1981 until his passing, and then was appointed as the musical director of that band. He reconstructed the classic Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations of the 60’s for a concert in Montreux, Switzerland under the direction of Quincy Jones. He has earned 5 Grammy Awards through this work as an arranger and producer. As a pianist and accordionist he has worked with most of the leading modern jazz artists including Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Jim Hall, Al Jarreau, among many others. He is versed in all varieties of world music and has recorded with the leading musicians of Brazil, including Toninho Horta and Romero Lubambo, of Spain with Carles Benavente and Jorge Pardo, of Paris with Juliette Greco, and also the cream of American popular music, including Paul Simon, James Taylor and Sting. He has collaborated on film scores with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Pat Metheny as an arranger and orchestrator, and composed a number of scores. As an educator, he holds a Ph.D in music eduction from Union Graduate School, and has written The Jazz Composer’s Companion which is published by Schott Music. Gil will be premiering a new work for this very special presentation.
Mark DeJong is a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader and currently teaches at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He holds degrees in saxophone performance from the University of Calgary, (BMus) and jazz performance from Rutgers University (MMus)
Active as a performer and clinician throughout North America, Mark has numerous recording credits and appearances at festivals across the country. He is the leader of Redline Trio, and was recently featured as a soloist with Sarah Slean and the Calgary Philharmonic, Laila Biali, the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony, as well as with the Shuffle Demons in Panama and Cuba. He appeared as a feature artist at the World Expo in Shanghai China, as well as the Blue Note (NY. Over the course of his career he has shared the stage with Ray Charles, Lenny Pickett, Kenny Wheeler, Brad Turner, Caity Gyorgy, Campbell Ryga, Ian Tyson, Wayne Newton, Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Ralph Bowen, Sean Jones, Hugh Fraser, Tommy Banks, PJ Perry and many others.
Featuring
Gil Goldstein (Florida), composer/accordion/keyboard
Mark DeJong, (Calgary), saxophone
The Music Connect Chamber Orchestra
Andre Wickenheiser (Calgary), trumpet
Carsten Rubeling (Calgary), trombone
Daniel Nava (Calgary), bass
Brett Hansen (Edmonton), guitar
Sanah Kadoura (Toronto), drums
Jia Jia Li (Calgary), flute
Cedric Blary (Calgary), bass clarinet
Katrina Kwantes (Calgary), english horn/oboe
Lauria Matiation (Calgary), french horn
Luis Tovar (Calgary), percussion
Genevieve Micheletti (Calgary), violin
Diane Lane (Calgary), violin
Liza Scriggins-Lowry (Calgary), viola
Andrea Case (Calgary), cello
Presented by Music Connect and JazzYYC. Sponsored by The Mount Royal University Conservatory.
He has credit on over 900 albums with musicians as diverse as Frank Zappa, Aerosmith, James Brown, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, Funkadelic, Steely Dan, John Lennon, Elton John, Jackson Brown, and James Taylor, and in the jazz universe with influencers Chick Correa, Pat Metheny, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Papo Vasquez.
He led or co-led numerous bands including the jazz-rock band Dreams, Steps Ahead, The Brecker Brothers (with his Brother Randy), and his Quindectet to name a few.
Michael Brecker died on January 14, 2007 at the age of 57 in New York. MusicConnect and JazzYYC are proud to present a retrospective of his amazing career and body of work featuring Gil Goldstein, Mark DeJong, and the MusicConnect chamber orchestra.
Gil Goldstein was born Nov 6 l950 in Washington DC. His work as an arranger includes projects with Michael Brecker, Esperanza Spalding, Chris Botti, Bobby McFerrin, Milton Nasciemento, and David Sanborn. He is an important disciple of Gil Evans, having worked with his band from 1981 until his passing, and then was appointed as the musical director of that band. He reconstructed the classic Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations of the 60’s for a concert in Montreux, Switzerland under the direction of Quincy Jones. He has earned 5 Grammy Awards through this work as an arranger and producer. As a pianist and accordionist he has worked with most of the leading modern jazz artists including Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Jim Hall, Al Jarreau, among many others. He is versed in all varieties of world music and has recorded with the leading musicians of Brazil, including Toninho Horta and Romero Lubambo, of Spain with Carles Benavente and Jorge Pardo, of Paris with Juliette Greco, and also the cream of American popular music, including Paul Simon, James Taylor and Sting. He has collaborated on film scores with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Pat Metheny as an arranger and orchestrator, and composed a number of scores. As an educator, he holds a Ph.D in music eduction from Union Graduate School, and has written The Jazz Composer’s Companion which is published by Schott Music. Gil will be premiering a new work for this very special presentation.
Mark DeJong is a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader and currently teaches at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He holds degrees in saxophone performance from the University of Calgary, (BMus) and jazz performance from Rutgers University (MMus)
Active as a performer and clinician throughout North America, Mark has numerous recording credits and appearances at festivals across the country. He is the leader of Redline Trio, and was recently featured as a soloist with Sarah Slean and the Calgary Philharmonic, Laila Biali, the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony, as well as with the Shuffle Demons in Panama and Cuba. He appeared as a feature artist at the World Expo in Shanghai China, as well as the Blue Note (NY. Over the course of his career he has shared the stage with Ray Charles, Lenny Pickett, Kenny Wheeler, Brad Turner, Caity Gyorgy, Campbell Ryga, Ian Tyson, Wayne Newton, Rob McConnell, Moe Koffman, Ralph Bowen, Sean Jones, Hugh Fraser, Tommy Banks, PJ Perry and many others.
Featuring
Gil Goldstein (Florida), composer/accordion/keyboard
Mark DeJong, (Calgary), saxophone
The Music Connect Chamber Orchestra
Andre Wickenheiser (Calgary), trumpet
Carsten Rubeling (Calgary), trombone
Daniel Nava (Calgary), bass
Brett Hansen (Edmonton), guitar
Sanah Kadoura (Toronto), drums
Jia Jia Li (Calgary), flute
Cedric Blary (Calgary), bass clarinet
Katrina Kwantes (Calgary), english horn/oboe
Lauria Matiation (Calgary), french horn
Luis Tovar (Calgary), percussion
Genevieve Micheletti (Calgary), violin
Diane Lane (Calgary), violin
Liza Scriggins-Lowry (Calgary), viola
Andrea Case (Calgary), cello
Presented by Music Connect and JazzYYC. Sponsored by The Mount Royal University Conservatory.
