Michael Brecker Band - Upside Downside

[hsaxsf]

Anyone know how old Joey Calderazzo is in ths clip? He looks like he may be barely 18 if that?

[fodera6]

@hsaxsf Joey was born in 1965 so he was 22 in this video.

[pebblefrog196]

It's just music. Who gives a shit about complexity? usetheforce207 just made an observation comparing today's mainstream music (pop, rock, latin, hip-hop, "r&b) to jazz.

[tbonetreat]

All idioms, styles, genres are HARD to play or compose well, on a pro level, authentically: MJ; Ellington; Hermeto Pascoal; Egberto Gismonti; El Grand Combo; Jeff Beck; Bartok; J.S.Bach; Chops, Harmonic vocubulary, Attitude are all HARD .....It's music!!! It's not scoopin ice cream , at the mall< that's easier

[tbonetreat]

I think that Stern is great . He's made his mark, as a guitarist and composer. His best albums were at the beginning. He's been repeating himself for years. Most of them have-Steve Morse, Stern, Metheny et al. It's hard to keep reinventing yourself, and reinventing music like Miles did.

[McMinnManiac]

Stern is really aggressive sounding , way more than anyone as schooled in mainstream jazz that i can think of . Awesome composer with those counter point lines he comes up with

[davidprescottmusic]

Great track! I don't care what you guys say. Great playing all the way around. It's Michael Brecker!

[SoaringTrumpet]

Baba Booey on keys!

[steffenbrix]

This is why I will love Mike Stern for the rest of my life...

[robertojimenez204]

Happy musicians...

[davidjholt68]

stern.........................­. GOD!

[dimebagDarrellRIP]

can someone tell me where the turntables came from?  lol

[bourgeoisbrats]

@dimebagDarrellRIP Brecker was doing that with the EWI. He had those "scratchin'" samples in the stuff he used with his EWI solo spots.

Jeff Andrews is killin' on this. What he's doing is kind of Jeff Berlin-ish, but without the music theory 101 crap :-)

[phatbackbeat]

I had a chance to meet Mr.Nuss " BOMB " in St. Louis. My drum teacher and Adam were working the Jamie Abersol camps/recordings. A very approachable cat and a really nice person. BRATHA GOT SKILLS ! ! !

[Fretfreak83]

Ha ha...at 5:15-5:18 you can tell that Caldarazzo noticed the camera was on him when he was opening his mouth up at the chord hits. Stern is killin...I like this upbeat version better than the original...RIP Michael Brecker...

[cavestreets2008]

bellissimo che pezzo e poi stern e' un grande

[dansaghin1]

heavy playing from jeff andrews too

[ratiocinativeness]

5:45 - It's gonna take me a long time to transcribe that phrase lol

[dragunbass]

The best thing is to watch Brecker having a blast with M. Stern solo...you can tell he was feeding on it for his own improv....awesome!

[telepasss]

R.I.P. Michael.

[treygroove65]

Che dejense de joder , que si es jazz , que si es fusion .

Para mi es la contramarcha molecular de los atomos de la piedra mora.

Sasa sasa

[davidjholt68]

Mike Stern is the greatest almost human!

[dilarusso]

Summarizing, Mr. Stern came to Brazil last year, I went to his show and basically he was nice and very attentive, and this counts in his music much more than these analisys that get meaningless when they become words and not real action, be nice and throw all your energy on this beautiful thing called fretboard!!

[dilarusso]

Firstly, this is not jazz, this is Fusion, so stupid to call it jazz, number two, this is greeeeeaaaaaat music, not math! Dig this video and instead of making all this super analisys, sit your butt on the chair and try to apply it to your music, don't waste your good analisys for internet discussions! It's like charity, lots of people love to divulge what they do, but those who really do from the heart do it silently because they focus their energy on the action, not on looking good doing it!

[phillij1848]

Its Jazz Fusion! Thats can encompass many things but in my humble opinion more innovative improvisation takes place in this genre than in many others. Straight ahead jazz can be quite boring. Michael blows the doors off of many "jazz" sax players.

[danksam11]

fusion is a sub genre of this musical genre we call "jazz". it is about evolving and using the techniques and ideas of those who have gone before us to continue to develop the music and keep it forward moving. look at what Bird did. no one played anything close to what he brought to the table and yet be-bop is, to some, the music that changed the music and is the starting point. I am interested in what your definition of jazz is.

[cavoglavi]

you guys talk about music like it's science. it's fun before all.

[usetheforce207]

You can definately decide what is the hardest genre to play, music isnt all opinion, since there is music theory and sheet music you can look at it as though it was an exact science, other genres have simple chord changes and single scale solo's. Jazz in all its forms is the only genre that takes full advantage of musics complexitiy, thats why you dont see a bunch of 14 year olds playing it, its too diffucult for most teenagers to play complex chord and scal changes

[fodera6]

Certainly jazz isn't the ONLY genre that takes full advantage of music's complexity. Perhaps it is amongst the music that you're aware of. Choro (de Brasil) is particularly sophisticated, some say (myself included) even moreso than jazz. Another that comes to mind is the wedding bands of Eastern Europe. Their music is not incredibly complex harmonically but their rhythmic complexity astounds. There are countless examples.

[fodera6]

You have a point about complex music (esp. instrumental) not generally being embraced by the youth but that is, again, only what you observe. Right now there are many young, talented people all over the world working to master their instruments, whether it be to create the fastest, most complex choro ever written (like Hamilton de Holanda) or the most heartbreaking a cappella piece (Bulgarian women's choirs). Many of us don't see these people because they're in a room practicing somewhere!

[songsmadeforyou]

@fodera6 you just commented on your own comment...

[fodera6]

@songsmadeforyou It was a two-part reply to usetheforce207. hehe

[delpimpo]

@usetheforce207 man you should listen to the Konnakol (from India), and tell me if that isn't complex

[azornos09]

@usetheforce207 I dont think complexity makes music hard to play. Ive heard musicians with incredible technical facility, all the jazz chops & certificates to prove it who could never play something as simple as Joni Mitchell, as catchy as MJ, as emotionally powerful as Mozart or even as eccentrically brilliant as Monk. 14yr olds CAN play complex scale&chord changes but the reason they make better punk rockers is because, at that time, thats what they believe in. "Hard" is commitment, not chops.

[McMinnManiac]

@azornos09 You think so hunh. How do you explain Wendy O Williams band ! Those guys were schooled out the ass , and chose to play Punk/Metal for fun . They now do film scoring and music direction in college some where LOL

[azornos09]

@McMinnManiac Quite so. I don't think I said that schooling means you can't do dirt, just that you can learn technique but some people never learn feel. WOW (see what i did there?) have both and therefore get a gold star.

[CBurton]

@usetheforce207 Oh, and please check out Frank Zappa (has 87 albums, you'll have a lot to pick :D).

If you enjoy complexity as much as you love jazz, you'll soon find out that having a narrow mind towards music will stop you from discovering wonderful complex and diverse pieces. Oh and you were talkin about music sheets, well If you can read them, I can send you some of my old zappa sheets and a few jazz sheets (scanned ofc), then you can judge by yourself if jazz takes full advantage, or all do

[bigb934]

Wow, Mike Stern is one of the best guitarists out there!

[EMTampier]

Mike Stern is so burnin in this video

[jbowers56]

Nussbaum makes this backbeat his bitch.

[jbowers56]

The guitar solo gives me shivers. Monsterous.

[BeteCaso]

Oquê é isso, minha gente?!!!! Uau!!!!!!

Para sempre imortais.

Viva a redundância!!!!!

[BeteCaso]

Uau!!!!!!!!!!!!! O quê é isso!!!!!!!!! Meu Deus e Deusas da harmonia musical e do talento profissional.

Imortais sempre. Redundância abençoada.

[rockinsurfkid]

my god. i hope to play like mike stern someday. he is probably the best fusion guitarists this world has seen. that bass player is slamin on this too!!!!!!!!! i love this shit!!!!!! and im only 13!!!!

[flageolette]

Thank you for Uploading!

Cheers,

[spmasaru]

Thank you for such a precious video.

Mike Stern is very young and energetic!!

[SisterAbdullahX]

Jeff Andrews=TONE!!!

[mrz88]

oh man mike stern just tore the face off his solo

and made it eat it.

[troncea]

this song is awesome this song rocks i love this song

[Dankjo]

Insane!!:P

I'm actually a rock/metal guitar player..but I'm really inspired by Stern's playing..He really is playing with such a fucking Attitude, not many jazz players you can say that about...it's not that I don't like jazz players, It just fits me better to play rock because of the attitude and the energy.

[lizard218]

By "attitude" do you mean bending and sharper tone? This is jazz fusion, which is a jazz mindset with rock, funk, and blues elements somewhat forbidden in the world deep into pure hard bop. watch?v=9ZYu-6qbgcc - he's not bending or using fancy tone or playing a modern rock feel melody, but his solo is not wimpy, unenergetic, or emotionless by any means.

[Dankjo]

not just bending , the whole precense!! with attitude I mean attitude!!!

yeah! thanks for that clip! really awesome too!

I don't know were you are going with your statement?, please explain because I was just saying that I like Stern.

[lizard218]

I love Stern too, but I'm referring to how you say most jazz guitar solos have no "attitude."

[jbowers56]

dude almost all jazz guitar solos dont have attitude. and dont list john scofield as an example, he is an exception. guitar is such an underdeveloped instrument in the jazz context. it's changing but seriously listen to jim hall on 'the bridge' by sonny rollins. he was arguably the foremost guitarist of the time and he is totally outclassed by sonny, as is almost always the case when a guitarist and a horn player are put next to one another.

[lizard218]

watch?v=CitdNu4xVLI

watch?v=IXOrj7QAc8M

watch?v=DQfjm1m9MEI

If you think Joe Pass and Wes don't have emotion in their playing then it's a likely conclusion for me to make that this belief of jazz guitarist's not having strong emotion in playing stems from dislike of their style of choice or tone, not deficiency of their musicianship. Of course you stumble apon many bad guitarists but I don't think it's as hard as you act like it is to find a guitarist with emotional playing.

[jbowers56]

I didnt say emotion, I just said attitude. I dont think joe pass has much emotion in his playing. I like wes. Even then though you cant say that those guitarists were any where near as harmonically or expressively developed as the equivalent horn players of the time.

[lizard218]

I guess I understand what you guys mean by "attitude" now. Even though no guitarist was quite a Charlie Parker I still like a variety of guitarists to refer to.

[jbowers56]

I just thought of a great metaphor for how i feel about this issue. Most guitarists, when compared to players of the similar time on other instruments, end up looking similar to a jamie aebersold playalong track when compared to the rhythm section of Miles' second quintet. Like its still good, swinging, all 'correct', it just seems like there is a wall between them and their instrument. I truly think john scofield has broken through that the best out of any 'jazz' guitarist i have heard.

[3shiftgtr]

jbowers-the reason Sco broke through is because he discarded the "jazz" laws that say you must play hollowbody thru a polytone amp and play sax lix in order for it to be jazz. Distortion will keep you out of MANY gigs. It's the jazz nazi's fault! They are sucking the attitude out! Holdsworth, Frisell, Stern, Sco, Metheny, Henderson, are a few of the cats out there who are moving jazz forward and are the whole bag; style, chops, attitude, tone, personal yet contextual jazz vocabulary, etc.

[jbowers56]

It's nothing to do with choice of guitar or distortion. It's just the approach to making music.

[3shiftgtr]

jbowers- like the difference between trying to do it and actually doing it?

[songsmadeforyou]

@3shiftgtr great comment

[jbowers56]

Also jazz is much harder to play well...

[Dankjo]

yeah right..and to the question, what is to play well, and be good? it's just a matter of oppinion! think this is insane to discuss who's the the most hard song or style to play..come on it's music not football!

[jbowers56]

yes, its totally subjective.

[Guitarschmoozer]

Mike Stern is a VERY GOOD guitar player but he always sounds exactly the same when he solo's.

His solos build the same way each time.

He needs a bit more variation within his solo's in my opinion.

Great player though.

Miss ya MB. Alot.

[davidjholt68]

What a stupid comment to make! of course he sounds the same he is Mike Stern, you dick! he is not in YOUR class i am sure! i bet you sound like a million guitarist all rolled into one! Grow up

[PawCat]

Ha! No doubt Mike is a brilliant giutar player. but i know what Giutarschmoozer meant. Think its hard to find a Stern solo without the lick he plays here at 3:07...well this vid was shot more than 20 years ago and he still uses the same licks...sure every player has his own style and its not forbidden to use your own licks etc... but there was no improvement on playing funk solos by Mike the last 20 years, thats it. Otherwise he writes beatyfull ballds where the various harmonics slap your face

[davidjholt68]

You are too missing the point! Eric Clapton plays the same licks for more than 30 years! so does Keith Richards and Ace Frehley and Angus Young just enjoy it for what it is... A world class musican playing every note from the heart! Stern, Bullock,Jaco, Metheny, they are the SHIT! PERIOD!

[PawCat]

Well You're right. I did not want to decry Mike's playing. I also enjoy hearing this licks every time...but I can also understand the other point of view. Thats all...

[associate434]

yeah i agree that mike stern has that same chorus sound. but i guess thats his signature sound. and he likes to keep it like that .. no one has that sound and he is known from it .. still an amazing player. his solos are fucking great tho .. look at the bona stern chambers bob berg dvd .. he kills.. and no one plays like him .. nor do they wear a black shirt and black jeans everytime they play hahaha

[StandardSam1]

@Guitarschmoozer: Couldn't have said it better. I really like Stern, but I get super tired of the "30% different each time solo." With that said, he's vicious at thrashing his solos out. Tons of energy. Brecker has always flattened the shit out of him when he comes in. Bet Mike knows it too! Brecker's passing was the greatest loss to modern jazz I can think of. I miss listening to him evolve like he always did. Totally different and amazing on every album! :'(

[Guitfiddlejase]

@Guitarschmoozer Not arguing here...but I think Stern just has his "voice" you know?

Every player has there way of soloing...just puttung in my two cents...

[ExtraFreshDinosaur]

ridiculous bass drum triplet by Nussbaum at 5:05

[mrgone78]

yes!

[brookelyn7714]

Michael Brecker was a monster and I miss him very much too. He played a good solo in this song but he also missed a lot of notes while he was playing harmonic clustes and runs in the upper register. Admittedly, I can't do what he did but his solos in "Message for Michael" and "Skunk Funk" are better.

[Modes9]

It's as if Brecker was showing rock keyboard and guitar players what they should be doing! He was a real monster and I miss him, too...

[darkyeso]

i want an EWI

[ExtraFreshDinosaur]

we're doing this piece in a group i'm in. so heavy.

[jonnycakes101]

can only imagine

[jonnycakes101]

can only the amount of practice time it takes to get that tight!

[camerontennis91]

By far the best version of this song. I like that they played it a bit quicker than usual. Brecker is GOD

[rockrhapsody123]

This just blew my mind. First the guitar blew my mind. Then, the keys blew my mind. After that, that weird thing Brecker is playing blew my mind. Is Mike Stern still alive?

[naterk155]

Alive and kickin

[raggityman]

Mike is very much alive and kicking around NYC. He gigs constantly around New York. Michael Brecker passed away last year of a rare type of cancer. This is an awesome clip of two masters at their respective peaks.

[BobbySF1]

Been trying to learn this tune by playing along and have heard several versions ; this one is just jaw-dropping. Thanks for posting, Fodera6.

[camerontennis91]

ok whoever said that bob mintzer had a better sound on EWI than brecker is MAD

[HammondB200]

Bob Mintzer get's far better sounds out of those EWI's

[SublordUtilax123]

wrong

[abrams0000]

That's fucking HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!period!!

[HammondB200]

mike stern on a tele? wtf

[SublordUtilax123]

it isnt a tele, its a tele lookalike.

i think its a Yamaha but im not sure

[neokram]

yamaha pacifica MS

[melantoriano]

I'm not sure but i think in 1987 it was a Fender Tele. Mike plays a Yamaha Telestyle after this date and later a Sadowsky tele style guitar.

[1337Pwn4g3]

Stern and brecker, is their a better combination in the last 40 years.

[hihats]

adam nussbaum...that's a deep pocket,man.

[davidjholt68]

Mike Stern is the best guitarist on this planet!!!!!!!!!!!

[kispete]

thank U for uploding great video

[funkbuey]

-6:26

[funkbuey]

Oh geeze, 6:24, holy shit

[trojanlol]

just awesome. thx for uploading

[honkymonky78]

these guys are extraterest, stratospheric. awsome solos. brecker is a killer, and caldarazzo is so funny...great piece

[MonsieurSteven]

It really is KILLER JAZZ!

fuck... like it!

[MajorDeCoverley]

why's quentin tarrantino playing in a band?

[vstrings]

TenorSaxx, the bass player is Jeff Andrews.

"Upside Downside" is actually a Mike Stern tune - the title track of Stern's 1986 debut album. Such wonderful Music!

Thanks for posting this, fodera6

[TenorSaxx]

That Bass player does some far out shit, anyone know the name?

[scrapingteeth]

Bass player is Jeff Andrews--one of Jaco's proteges. Yeah, he's a motherfucker, no doubt.

[Odiculeoj]

OMG ...

Incredible Composition ..

Incredible Solos ... Incredible Groove ...

What great music ... !

[RAD88]

This song is EVIL! Dearie me he really shows you the possibilities of the sax doesn't he.

[twocaronecar]

mike stern: THE total all time sanctified s h i t. official.

[AnitaAzzohr]

i love michael brecker and his bands!the man is a hell of a genius!!! he'll always be!

goddamit,the way he percieves music...unbelievable! that's why God took him away from us:He wanted him all for heaven!

[locobeis]

do you know if michael has ever played with allan holdsworth?

[bosero69manyak]

And BTW, listen to Michael's guitar impression. He's got blues guitar and heavy metal quotes in there.

[bosero69manyak]

I could just imagine what Chick's band woulda been if he had Vinnie C. and Michael B. with John P. and Scott H.

[dwardtrumpet]

those damn electric wind instruments! awesome!! i play trumpet, but i wouldnt mind being able to play ewi like that!!

[lousarh]

Great video !! I love Mike style !

For those who love EWI, I strongly suggest to listen Steve Tavaglione's work on the Frank Gambale's live CD "Live", one of the most incredible EWI work both with the guitar legato speed of Frank and the brilliant Key Akagi keyboard playing.

Warning : only for extreme playing lovers, not for all.. ;)

[BlimpyBoy]

I loved Steve's on Gary Willis' Bent, and I think it's also him on No Sweat. Great stuff!

[sleinad]

Why don't you buy an EVI. All the fun of an EWI with a trumpet's fingering. Actually, I think even the EWI is reconfigurable so that you can use the first three keys as if it were a trumpet.

[yougotcrad1]

what the hell did he do to that horn? wtf is it? that's cool as hell

[Aeckelroev]

it's an electric sax.

[drums127]

Its called a EWI

[11Buckethead11]

wow, I'm amazed

[subschool5]

I'm especially impressed with Jeff Andrews on this track. One of the lesser known bass players to play with Brecker/Stern but very solid

[fodera6]

Yeah he rips hard! Seriously underrated for sure.

[snuffeljay]

i tottaly dis agree with lemmy.

the theorie behind a player like stern is amazing, he knows every note he wil play and the flow is great too.

i think you're just obsessed with another player and are not able to here that he's not the only one who is relly good.

greetz too al stern fans and other futu-fusion loving jazz virtuos guitarist

[AnthonyG1970]

Hi Lemmyman91... interresting that you mension Sco. I like his style too, it seems to me that his solos are more groove oriented. However if you want to consider Stern's chordal or theory knowlege check out his straight ahead playing on Oleo or Giant Steps.

[Lemmyman91]

Hey Anthony G,nothin`heard about John Scofield?? He`s the master!!!! Mike Stern is only a scale and lick-player!!! when i hear him playing its always sounds to me as if he`s gonna practising!! No feel,no groove,no phrasing in it!!!

[aliensporebomb]

I don't necessarily agree but I do like Sco a lot. My fave period of his work was the "Still Warm" era when he was fusing out a little bit. Two different players with different approaches.

[AnthonyG1970]

Nobody builds a guitar solo like Mike Stern! An exciting player to hear and see live.

[nickynockynackynoo]

Dude! Mike Stern plays approximately 5 licks on constant loop for about 97% of his life but this is the absolute best I've heard him play 3 of them and I've seen him live twice in his prime. The gak must've been rockin' in Hamburg... This is a great piece of footage. RIP Brecker - He sounds awesome here too.

[thetornado]

Player-hater of the year ^^

[nickynockynackynoo]

Oh, I don't hate them - I absolutely worshipped everything this band did when I was a teenager. It just makes me laugh a bit now though, especially Mike Stern. He just has quite a narrow spectrum of colours compared to a lot of players so you really do hear the same phrases every time he plays, every time. I was being facetious, but not hateful, promise.

[hlhent]

When I first heard this song it blew the top of my head off! Mike Stern plays in the stratosphere!

[fatiguebahan]

I just love JAZZ-ROCK!

Especially theirs, :) !

[Tombo8080]

For what it's worth, Akai and Yamaha and other Japanese musical companies have to stay on the cutting edge to max profits... Akai prolly working on the Akai EWI 8000 rite now...

[Adriaaann]

never seen mike taking a solo so far :-D Great!

[Tombo8080]

Begs the question who the greatest living guitarist is... i think moisespastorius put it perfectly... "stern is not a human " haha

[protocosm]

Look at them really enjoying what they do!! Great playing.

[doubts]

I agree, you can hear how they love the track. Who`s the drummer??

[drums127]

The drummer is Adam Nussbaum

[drums127]

wow man there just awesome

[djfegan]

Cool!! This was on the day I was born... good stuff though!!

[davidjholt68]

fucking hell stern is on fire on this track .... god bless mike brecker

[lucvanruler]

I thought the Akai 3000 is the newest EWI.

[efergarmx]

Anyone know what is the newest version of ewi? This instrument look a rare and exciting instrument at that time. I would like to know the improvement of ewi.I have heard about electronic violins too, laser harp and so on.

[jjflloydy]

The Akai EWI4000s is the newest. Brecker played it when it came out last year, Bob Mintzer uses it now, its the bees knees. Even i bought one : ) lol

[moisespastorius]

stern is not a human

[PhilZeBest]

Yes, he is! That's the greatness of it! This piece is the first one of his first album, and there's the whole human condition in it -- tryin' to break the ceiling, mostly . . . .

[v2vroth]

Stern is the best of his generation, along with Bireli!!

[kernkopje]

killing solo's by both mikes! this was a great band, wished i could have seen them play

[dadaddo]

MICHAEL BRECKER MEMORIAL

Tuesday, February 20th

Town Hall

123 West 43rd Street

6:00-7:30pm

General Admission

Public Invited

Doors open at 5.15pm

[Thomvis]

I love this tune. Exelent playing. (a bit to fast though, but who cares..)

[aliensporebomb]

Man, Stern comes alive on this one. Monster performance.

[BonarEWI]

Sorry it isn't, sleinad was right :p

[McArtRidge]

Awasome example of the Steps Ahead styled superb music, thnx for te post!

[ez1dog2]

what's the instrument brecker is playing? great solo by mr.stern.

[sleinad]

Hey! The instrument is called an EWI (Electric Wind Instrument). It's a very old video so I would assume that he is playing the Steiner EWI. Nowadays he plays the AKAI 4000s (something I'm hoping to buy myself for Christmas).

[BonarEWI]

No, I think he's playing the Akai EWI 3000 on this clip :p

[farley528]

My first time to see this clip and its great, I mean I've heard this tune many years ago only on audio. This is the debut album of stern and also the title track. Is there a dvd of this performance with this rhythm section on it. Thanks n keep on posting!

[fodera6]

Sorry this is all I've got.

thanx!

[madbubbin]

just leraned this one today really cool tune,