MICHAEL BRECKER
QUINDECTET PROJECT
(working title)
A revival of the groundbreaking MICHAEL BRECKER QUINDECTET.
The project is being developed in consultation with Susan Brecker and Darryl Pitt, and led by composer/violinist Meg Okura.
The idea of string quartet and woodwinds was different… It gave me a wide palette with which to play over. It was not big band sounding.
— Michael Brecker, interview with Ted Panken (2003)
The Original Quindectet
In 2003, Michael Brecker formed the Quindectet, a fifteen-piece ensemble created to record the music for his landmark album Wide Angles. The album was recorded January 22–24, 2003 at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New Jersey and released September 9, 2003 on Verve Records under the name Michael Brecker Quindectet.
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Wide Angles received the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
The group brought together an extraordinary assembly of musicians, including Antonio Sánchez, John Patitucci, Adam Rogers, Steve Wilson, Alex Sipiagin, and Robin Eubanks, among others.
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The Quindectet performed internationally, including a tour of Japan with engagements at Blue Note Tokyo. These performances were documented and later released as Michael Brecker Quindectet – Angel of Repose / Live in Japan (Jazz Door, 2011), recorded at Blue Note Tokyo.
RepertoireAt the center of the Quindectet was Michael Brecker’s vision as a composer and bandleader. Widely regarded as one of the defining tenor saxophonists of modern jazz, Brecker conceived the ensemble as a vehicle for his compositions. Brecker wrote the music and shaped the overall musical framework of the project, while Gil Goldstein developed the detailed orchestration that brought the ensemble’s distinctive sound to life.
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Music from Wide Angles (2003):
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Broadband
Cool Day in Hell
Angle of Repose
Timbuktu
Night Jessamine
Scylla
Brexterity
Evening Faces
Modus Operandy
Never Alone
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Selections from Angel of Repose / Live in Japan (Jazz Door, 2011), recorded at Blue Note Tokyo.
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Syzygy
Broadband (live version)
Scylla (live version)
Timbuktu (live version)
Itsbynne Reel
Angle of Repose (live version)
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additional works performed:
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Delta City Blues
Slings and Arrows
Arc of Pendulum
BLUE NOTE TOKYO
February 12, 2004 (2nd Set)
Meg Okura with Michael Brecker at Hollywood Bowl after a show on August 25, 2004
Composer and violinist Meg Okura joined the touring Michael Brecker Quindectet following the release of Wide Angles. She was a featured soloist on the composition “Timbuktu,” documented in the Blue Note Tokyo live recording.
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Experiencing the Quindectet music left a lasting imprint. In the years since, Okura has developed a compositional voice similarly drawn to expanded instrumental palettes.
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Her most recent album ISAIAH (Adhyâropa Records, released February 20, 2026) with her Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, includes her arrangement of Michael Brecker’s composition “African Skies,” featuring Randy Brecker. The album has received positive coverage in publications including DownBeat, JazzTimes, and Cultural Attaché.
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Her work as a composer has been recognized with numerous commissions and awards, including the ISJAC Fundamental Freedoms Commissioning Prize and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra George Duke Commission Prize, for which she composed a work for the orchestra’s 68-piece ensemble.
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Having performed the Quindectet repertoire from within the ensemble and continued to explore similar musical territory in her own work, Okura now leads an effort to revive and reintroduce Brecker’s Quindectet music for contemporary audiences.
about MEG OKURA
why NOW?
The Michael Brecker Quindectet Project is currently in development, with work underway to assemble musicians and prepare the repertoire for performance.
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The goal is to present the music again in a live setting, allowing Brecker’s Quindectet repertoire to be heard and experienced by new audiences.
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Initial performances will focus on presenting the music faithfully while bringing together musicians capable of carrying forward the spirit and energy of the original ensemble.
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With the 20th anniversary of Michael Brecker’s passing approaching in 2027, the project offers an opportunity to revisit this remarkable body of music and celebrate one of the most influential voices in modern jazz.
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CONTACT:
Meg Okura