34th N Lex

Randy Brecker turns a Manhattan street corner into a working thesis on how a trumpet player can front funk without ever leaving jazz's harmonic weather.

The title track leans on a horn arrangement thick enough to feel like a section punching in unison, and Brecker's own solos stay conversational rather than showy — he plays like a man narrating rather than shouting. His brother Michael Brecker turns up on tenor to trade lines, and the family shorthand shows: their phrases dovetail without anyone stepping on the beat. "The Fisherman" and "Hula Dula" trust groove to carry the melody instead of decorating it, which is the record's real argument. Twenty years of studio players have chased this exact balance of grease and precision; few landed it this cleanly.