Brecker, Michael Leonard

Brecker, Michael Leonard (born March 29, 1949, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died Jan. 13, 2007, New York, N.Y.) was an American tenor saxophonist, whose stark, jagged, yet driving jazz style influenced many tenor saxophonists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Brecker studied clarinet and alto saxophone as a boy and turned to tenor saxophone once he reached high school. He was particularly inspired by the music of John Coltrane and other bebop musicians, and the...