by Laura Lane
So the members of the Jazz Ensemble, one of five groups in the non-profit organization, weren¹t surprised when their conductor, Bill Katz, said they would be playing with a pro once again ‹ this time drummer Tom Brechtlein.
Brechtlein is a jazz legend who plays with Chick Corea, and has accompanied Corea on several of his albums. Brechtlein has shared the stage with Al DiMeola, Wayne Shorter and Joe Farrell, and he recently performed with Natalie Cole at Avery Fisher Hall.
Brechtlein lives in California. So why would he come to Long Island to play with student musicians at Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts? The connection isn¹t as obscure as you might imagine. Brechtlein was born and raised in East Meadow, and graduated from East Meadow High School in 1975. Back then, Katz chaired the high school¹s music department, and was the director of its top jazz ensemble, which included a very talented Brechtlein.
The two have kept in touch over the years, with Katz committed to seeing his former student perform whenever he¹s doing a gig in New York. Not too long ago Katz went to see Brechtlein play with Corea at the Blue Note. After the show, they got to talking.
³I told Bill that I wanted to do something, to talk to the kids at East Meadow High School,² recalled Brechtlein. ³I told him to take out his horn and we¹d play a quartet, and he said I can do you one better. Why not play with the kids in Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts?²
When Katz saw Brechtlein again some months later, after he performed at Rose Hall in Lincoln Center, they firmed up the plan. Brechtlein would go to East Meadow and Clarke high schools and talk to the kids, and he would also play with the Jazz Ensemble at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on May 20, when Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts presents ³An Evening of Jazz.²
Brechtlein could hardly believe his luck. ³I¹m coming for my own selfish reasons,² he said, delighted. ³I¹ll get to play with Bill Katz again. I want to see him conducting again; I just can¹t say enough about him. He¹s amazing.²
The respect is mutual. Katz is proud of the musician his former student has become. ³Tom was a marvelous young man, very mature, talented and very committed to music,² Katz recalled. ³He played drums in the top high school jazz ensemble for three years. That never happened before Tom.²
Music was always a part of Brechtlein¹s life. His earliest memories include listening to his older sister¹s records when he was a child, the music of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. He remembers getting his first guitar when he was 5, by then already loving music. His family has told him that he loved music before he could talk.
³When I was 9 I became interested in playing the drums,² said Brechtlein. ³I told my mother I needed to learn how to read music if I wanted to be in a band. I enrolled in music at McVey Elementary.²
He continued to pursue his passion when he enrolled at East Meadow High School, where he took every available class in music. Even then, Brechtlein knew he wanted to be a professional musician someday. ³I was constantly active in music ‹ my day was music,² he remembered. ³East Meadow High School was always art-driven and still is. I mean, these teachers were really into preparing people, you know? I even gave up my lunch period to do an improvisation class. I took advantage of everything they offered.²
Abby Behr, the current supervisor of music for the East Meadow school district and the director of Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts, said that East Meadow continues to offer many musical opportunities and enjoys the status of being one of the best. ³East Meadow is known for its jazz program,² said Behr. ³This year the East Meadow High School Jazz Ensemble was one of only eight performing groups to play at the New York State School Music Association Winter Conference. Having Tom Brechtlein come will be an outstanding opportunity for students in the district as well as the student musicians in Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts to meet a former Long Island graduate who has made it in the jazz world.²
Even after all of his professional experiences, Brechtlein said he would never forget his days at East Meadow High. His favorite memory is a bus trip, led by Katz, to Virginia, where the Jazz Ensemble played a concert, and he still remembers the first time he made a record, as a high school sophomore.
³I have nothing but great memories from East Meadow High School,² said Brechtlein. ³When you were there, you weren¹t treated like a kid; you were expected to do things.²
After graduation, he wanted to play gigs in Manhattan, so he decided to stay local, and attended Nassau Community College. It was in his second year there that he got the call from Corea to join him on the road. Brechtlein dropped out of school the next day and was on the first plane to California.
He toured with Corea on and off for about seven years, marking the beginning of his professional career. He hopes to share some of what he¹s learned with the kids in the East Meadow school district and the teens from Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts. ³My advice would be to work hard and keep your nose clean,² said Brechtlein. ³If you want a career in music, promote yourself to deliver, and once you do, make sure you can deliver. And don¹t let anyone tell you you can¹t do something. You know what you can do. The person who knows you best is you.²
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
Buying a ticket
Tom Brechtlein will be performing with student musicians in the Hillwood Campus Lecture Hall at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on May 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at (516) 229-3100 or online at www.tillescenter.org. Tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the show.
