Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker will be the special guest performer for JazzFest, the Elgin Community College Jazz Ensembles’ spring concert on Monday, April 14. 

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Blizzard Theater in Building H, the ECC Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive.

Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament (Funkadelic) to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa.

Born in 1945 in Philadelphia to a musical family, Brecker’s musical talent was nurtured from an early age. In the early 1970s, he performed live with many prominent artists including Larry

Coryell’s Eleventh House, Stevie Wonder and Billy Cobham. He also recorded several classic albums with his brother under the leadership of the great pianist and composer Hal

Galper. Equally at home playing jazz, rock, R&B and more, Brecker has worked with a wide range of artists including Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, and Frank Zappa.

As a composer, performer and in-demand Yamaha clinician, Brecker continues to influence and inspire young musicians around the world. He has won numerous awards including several Grammy’s.  Becker’s latest project, “Brecker Brothers Band Reunion,” was released last September.

Directing the ECC Jazz Ensembles is Mark Bettcher, director of the award-winning Dundee-Crown High School Jazz Bands and Orchestras in Carpentersville. Bettcher has worked with some of the top names in jazz and pop music, including Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Ramsey Lewis, Louis Bellson, and The Temptations.

Bettcher recorded five CDs with the Frank Mantooth Orchestra that received multiple Grammy nominations. He also released the solo recordings “Through the Eyes of a Child” and “Take a Look Inside.” In addition, Bettcher toured with Phil Collins throughout the United States and Europe, recording a live CD with Collins in Paris.

Tickets to JazzFest are $13 for adults and $12 for students/seniors. Tickets for all performances in the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office located in the arts center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call 847-622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

— News Bulletin news sources