Wide Angles

1	Broadband 6:46
2	Cool Day in Hell 7:51
3	Angle of Repose 6:42
4	Timbuktu 8:00
5	Night Jessamine 5:21
6	Scylla 10:40
7	Brexterity 6:40
8	Evening Faces 7:14
9	Modus Operandy 5:27
10	Never Alone 5:39

Barnes & Noble

Wide Angles is Michael Brecker's most ambitious work, capping a discography marked by creative achievement and popular acclaim. Framing his sound with a 15-piece, A-list creative orchestra comprising brass, woodwinds, and a string quartet, he treats the recital as an extended saxophone concerto, placing his instrumental voice front and center for at least 60 minutes of the 70-minute program. Aided by orchestrator extraordinaire Gil Goldstein, Brecker takes stock of the syntax that has defined his tonal personality -- challenging intervals, exotic scales, dark harmonies, post-Coltrane progressions, supercharged grooves, and poetic lyric passages -- and completely recontextualizes each component. He spontaneously orchestrates and colors, varies his timbre and attack, never wastes a note or utters an indifferent or clichéd phrase, subordinating supreme technique to serve a set of vivid, acutely realized musical stories. It's big-picture playing and writing, covering a lot of ground, and showing that by reaching out to the newer generation of jazz musicians, Brecker -- arguably the most influential tenor saxophonist on the scene -- plans to extend his reach well into the current century. Ted Panken

All Music Guide

An early 2002 tour of the U.K. found Michael Brecker playing his old material with a larger band that included some instruments usually falling outside the standard jazz combo (i.e., oboe, French horn), providing the genesis for Wide Angles by the 15-piece Michael Brecker Quindectet. The recording makes Brecker the center of attention, and the ten tracks (nine by Brecker along with Don Grolnick's "Evening Faces") are to be considered as a suite according to Brecker and arranger Gil Goldstein. When it sticks to the cerebral and introspective, Wide Angles flows very well, and Brecker is as expressive and inspired as ever. Listeners wanting to hear interactions involving mainstream bassist John Patitucci, the usually experimental violinist Mark Feldman, or any of the other capable players will find their roles too supportive, but with so much focus on the tenor saxophonist, Brecker fanatics will justifiably go ape. David Jeffries