This album changed my life. There’s no other way to say it. It hit at the right time for me. I was in high school, so I was old enough to be ready for it, but young enough to be truly inspired by it. Now that statement might sound strange to some people, but as you get older, more experienced, and perhaps jaded or tired, there are less and less things in this life that have that type of profound impact on you…especially on your own instrument. When you’ve spent the better part of your life training on your instrument, and transcribing and analyzing others, it’s easy to get tired of hearing it. With Michael in particular, I went 10 years without listening to him. He was too much of an influence, and I would’ve never found my own voice had I never stepped away. Years later, I can now listen to him and still hear different things and not lose myself. I actually really enjoy Michael now, and i’m glad I don’t have to be so rigid in my philosophy.

I was grabbed by this album from the first notes of the keyboard.  I don’t know….something about it. Vibe. Soul. When Mike plays his first note (on Seaglass) it was like a ray of sun directly hitting me after a long period of rain. The sound was unlike anything i’d heard. It was vibrant, bright, but warm, and very personal. It touched me. That whole experience continued through the whole album. It’s one of those albums that I personally consider to be near perfect. The tunes, the production, (most importantly) the musicians, and their playing. The line up is Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone and EWI (electronic wind instrument), Pat Metheny on guitar, Kenny Kirkland on piano/keys, Charlie Haden on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums.

At points this album shimmers amid Brecker’s tome and the flurry of DeJohnette’s cymbal work. At other times, it’s simple and sparse. In fact this is one of the reasons I like this album so much. There’s space all over it. This is also why the 80’s are my favorite period of Mike’s. Not only is this era my favorite for his sound, but it’s also my favorite for a lot of his improvising. Don’t get me wrong, he got better as he got older. At the end he was still pushing at progressing. Truly an inspiration. Beyond impressive. But, as he pushed himself more and progressed, his playing got busier, even more intellectual. His sound also changed slightly. So for me, this album checks every box.

I’d love to give you some highlights of Brecker’s playing on this, but I love every tune. What I will say is that everyone else’s contributions in the solo department REALLY play a large part in coloring this recording. On Syzygy, Mike starts off blazing. Kenny comes in and plays a truly adventurous solo, simultaneously melodic and harmonically interesting. However when the tune goes to the “Blue Trane” feel…half time bass with regular time drums…and Pat comes in….it’s just heaven. It’s one of my favorite parts on the whole album. Just so melodic. In fact, I think Pat’s approach (and Charlie’s for that matter as well) really compliment Mike. Their playing is more sparse and melodic, making for great contrast. Charlie’s solo on the Cost of Living is beautiful. It’s a nice interlude filled will emotion and thoughtful phrasing, which is a nice contrast to when Mike comes in and soars, seemingly reaching for the sky.

One interesting thing to note about this album is that this is the only place you’ll hear Mike play tenor on “Choices”. Henceforth live, he always used it as an EWI song. I was always a little disappointed in that as I really liked that tune and his playing on it. It was pensive and somewhat sparse, whereas live as an EWI tune, it become much louder and busier. A totally different experience. Every bootleg I have of that is on EWI.

So I hope you check this album out, and if you have already heard it but have moved on, take a moment and sit down with it. It’s most certainly worth it. I’m putting a link to Syzygy below. Enjoy.