Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Michael Brecker, who has a rare blood disorder, has received a stem-cell transplant from his 16-year-old daughter, Jessica. (She is on the far right in the picture at right.) The musician who has played on many popular smooth jazz recordings was diagnosed last year with myelodysplastic syndrome, known as MDS.Brecker, who is 56, has been checked out of the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in New York City and is being monitored by doctors.
Brecker has had a storied career, and has collaborated in the studio with artists such as David Benoit, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Bob James, Earl Klugh, Chuck Loeb, David Sanborn, Diana Krall and many others. In May 2004, Michael signed with the Heads Up recording label – home to Spyro Gyra, Marion Meadows, Pieces of a Dream, Nestor Torres and others – and was due to release a new album sometime in 2006.
That CD, of course, has been delayed, but Michael will be featured on Some Skunk Funk, a live album recorded in 2003 with his brother, trumpeter Randy Brecker. Heads Up will release the CD in July.
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