Look up Michael in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Michael ( /ˈmaɪkəl/) is a given name that comes from the Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל / מיכאל‎ (Mikha'el), derived from the Hebrew question מי כמו אלוהים? (Hebrew pronunciation: [mi kəmo ʔelohim]) meaning "Who is like God?"^[1] In English, it is sometimes shortened to Mike, Mikey, or, especially in Ireland, Mick. In Russian language, it is Mikhail and Mykhailo in Ukrainian.

Female forms of Michael include Michèle, Michelle, Michaela, Mechelle, Micheline, and Michaelle, although Michael is occasionally seen as a female name, with women named Michael including actresses Michael Learned and Michael Michele. Another form is Mychal, which can either be a male or female name. Surnames that come from Michael include Carmichael, Dimichele, MacMichael, McMichael, Micallef, Michaelson, Mikhaylov, Mykhaylenko, Michaels and Mitchell.

Etymology[link]

The name first appears in the Bible, Numbers 13:13, where Sethur the son of Michael is one of twelve spies sent into the Land of Canaan. The Archangel Michael, referred to later in the Bible (Daniel 12:1), is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. 29 September is the feast day of the three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

Popularity[link]

Michael is a popular name in the United States, and has been in the top three most popular name given to male babies in the U.S. for each year since 1953.^[2] It is in the top 50 most popular boys' names in England and Wales.^[3] The name has been popular in Orthodox Christian countries, and was borne by several rulers of the Byzantine and Russian Empires. In recent years, Michael has been the most popular name in the Philippines,^[4] the second most popular name in Finland (Mikael)^[5] and ranks among the top ten names in Denmark (Mikkel)^[5] and Ireland (Mícheál).^[6] It is the 23rd most popular name in Canada,^[7] and the 37th most popular in Mexico (in the form of 'Miguel').^[8]

Short form and other versions[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

"Mike", "Mick", "Mikiel", "Mikey", "Mikael", "Mic", "Mishka" (common in Russia) and "Mickey" are short forms of, or nicknames for, Michael as a given name. "Mick" is commonly associated with Irish people.

The Irish language version of the name Michael is usually spelt Mícheál but is also sometimes spelt Micheál or simply Micheal. Meik and Maik are German short forms of Michael. The German pronunciation of both variants is identical to the English pronunciation of "Mike", since both are directly derived from their English counterparts. Similarly, the Welsh versions "Meical" and "Meic" are pronounced in the same way as their corresponding English analogues. Another Welsh version of the name is "Mihangel", which is a contracted combination of the name Michael and the word angel. Michiel (mee-KHEEL) is Dutch and the Dutch given name "Chiel" is a variation of Michiel. Mikael, Mikell, Mikkel are Scandinavian.^[9] In Swedish, "Micke" is a nickname for "Mikael" (also spelt "Michael").

In Greek "Μιχάλης" ("Michalis" or "Mihalis") is an everyday common form of the "Μιχαήλ" ("Michail" or "Mihail"). "Miķelis" is the Latvian form for Michael. In Russian, "Миша" ("Mischa" or "Misha") is a shortened form of "Михаил" (Mikhail). "Мишка" (Mishka) is a common diminutive form, "Миха" (Mikha) is an informal shortened form, and "Михайлович" (Mikhaylovich) is a patronymic form that can be shortened to more informal "Михалыч" (Mikhalych). Michal is Czech and Slovak. Michał is Polish; Miko is Slavic.^[9] Mëhill or Mhill is the Albanian for Michael. The first belongs to the southern (Tosk) dialect, the second to the northern (Gheg) dialect. In Hebrew, "מיכה" (Mikha) is a common shortened form of "מיכאל" (Mikha'el). In Arabic," میکائیل" (Mikā'īl).

Miquel (or Quelo in its shortened version) is the Catalan form for Michael.

Miguel is a Spanish and Portuguese form; Michel is French and popular in the Netherlands.^[9] In French, both forms are popular: Michel and Mickaël.

Rulers named "Michael"[link]

Byzantine emperors[link]

• Michael I Rangabe (unknown-844), married the daughter of Emperor Nikephoros I
• Michael II (770–829), also called "the Stammerer"
• Michael III (840–867), also called "the Drunkard", youngest child of Emperor Theophilos
• Michael IV the Paphlagonian (1010–1041), came from a peasant family
• Michael V (1015–1042), nephew of Michael IV
• Michael VI Stratiotikos (unknown–1059), chosen by the empress Theodora as her successor
• Michael VII Doukas (c1050–1078), eldest son of Constantine X Doukas
• Michael VIII Palaiologos (1223–1282), founder of the Palaeologan dynasty
• Michael IX Palaiologos (1277–1320), eldest son of Andronikos II Palaiologos

Abkhazian rulers[link]

• Mikhail, Prince of Abkhazia (died 1866)

Russian rulers[link]

• Mikhail of Vladimir (unknown–1176), eldest son of Yuri Dolgoruky by his second marriage
• Mikhail Yaroslavich (1271–1318), second son of Yaroslav III
• Michael I of Russia (1596–1645), first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
• Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (1917), the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II

King of Poland[link]

• Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (1640–1673), King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

King and Princes of Portugal[link]

• Miguel da Paz, Prince of Asturias (1498–1500), son of King Manuel I of Portugal
• Miguel de Bragança (1699–1724), illegitimate son of King Pedro II of Portugal, drowned
• Miguel of Portugal (1802–1866), forced to abdicate in 1834
• Miguel, Duke of Braganza (1853–1927), claimant to the throne in exile
• Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu (1878–1923), eldest son of Miguel, Duke of Braganza

Rulers of Romania[link]

• Michael the Brave (1558–1601), Prince of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia
• Michael of Romania (born 1921), forced to abdicate by the communists in 1947

Tsar of Bulgaria[link]

• Boris I of Bulgaria (unknown-907), sometimes known as Boris-Mihail
• Michael Asen I of Bulgaria (1238/1241–1256), son of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
• Michael Asen II of Bulgaria (1270-after 1302), only known son of Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
• Michael Shishman of Bulgaria (after 1280–1330), also known as Michael Asen III

British Royal Family[link]

• Prince Michael of Kent (born 1942), cousin of Elizabeth II
• Princess Michael of Kent (born 1945), author and wife of Prince Michael

See also[link]

• Michael (ship), Carrack of the 16th century Kingdom of Scotland.
• Mike (disambiguation), common name derived from Michael, with other meanings
• Micky (disambiguation), common name derived from Michael
• Mick and similar (disambiguation), other variants, derivations, and similar sounding names
• Michaels (disambiguation)
• Saint Michael (disambiguation)
• Michel, French language variant of Michael
• Mibuel (disambiguation), Spanish and Portuguese language variant of Michael
• Michele, Italian language variant of Michael
• Michela
• Mikko, Finnish (Finno-Ugric) variant of Michael
• Misha (disambiguation)
• List of most popular given names
• Theophory in the Bible

References[link]

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up Becker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Becker is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the [baːk]~[bɛk] root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family).

Becker may refer to:

People[link]

• Albrecht Becker (1906–2002), German production designer, photographer, actor, imprisoned by Nazis for homosexuality
• Annika Becker (born 1981), retired German pole vaulter
• Armando Becker (born 1966), Venezuelan basketball player
• August Becker (1900–1967), German chemist
• August Becker (painter) (1821–1887), German painter
• August Becker (author) (1828–1891), German author
• Barbara Becker (born 1966), ex wife of Boris Becker
• Ben Becker (born 1964), German film and theatre actor
• Benjamin Becker (born 1981), German tennis player
• Bill Becker (died 2010), American journalist
• Boris Becker (born 1967), German tennis player
• Britta Becker (born 1973), German field hockey player
• Carl Becker (disambiguation)
• Chad Becker (born 1987), American soccer player
• Charles Becker (1870–1915), first U.S. police officer executed for murder
• Charlotte Becker (born 1983), German professional racing cyclist
• Christiane Luise Amalie Becker (1778–1797), German actress
• Christine Becker, member of U.S. women's saber team
• Cornelius Becker, German theologian (see Becker Psalter)
• Cory Becker, guitar player in St. Louis rock band Living Things
• Craig Becker (born 1956), U.S. labor lawyer
• Cristiane Luise Amalie Becker (1778–1797), German actress
• Dietrich Becker (c. 1620 – c. 1670), German Baroque violinist and composer
• Dirk Becker (born 1966), German politician
• Donald Becker, programmer
• Douglas Becker, American/Belgian choreographer, teacher
• Edmund Becker (born 1957), German footballer
• Edward Roy Becker (1933–2006), U.S. appeals court judge
• Elisabeth Becker (1923–1946), German concentration camp guard during World War II
• Elizabeth Becker, U.S. journalist and author
• Ernest Becker (1924–1974), cultural anthropologist
• Franz Becker (born 1918), German footballer
• Gary Becker (born 1930), Nobel Prize-winning economist
• Gavin de Becker (born 1954), U.S. specialist in security issues
• George Ferdinand Becker (1847–1919), U.S. geologist
• Germán Becker (born 1980), Argentinian tango musician
• Hans-Josef Becker (born 1948), Catholic archbishop
• Heidi Becker (born 1940), Austrian-born model
• Heinrich Becker (1770–1822), German actor
• Heinz Becker (1915–1991), German baseball player
• Hellmuth Becker (1902–1953), German Waffen-SS general
• Helmut Becker (1927–1990), German viticulturist
• Herbert L. Becker (born 1956), magician and founder of IPTV.
• Howard P. Becker (1899–1960), U.S. sociologist
• Howard S. Becker (born 1928), U.S. sociologist and musician
• Ingrid Becker (born 1942), German athlete
• Jacques Becker (1906–1960), French screenwriter and film director
• Jakob Becker (1810–1872), German genre painter
• Jason Becker (born 1970), Neo-classical metal guitarist
• Jason Becker (ice hockey) (born 1974), Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• Jean Becker (director) (born 1938), French director, screenwriter, and actor
• Jean Becker (violinist) (1833–1884), German violinist and composer
• Jens Becker (born 1965), metal bass guitarist
• Jurek Becker (1937–1997), German writer
• Jürgen Becker (born 1959), German kabarett artist
• Karl Becker—see Carl Becker (disambiguation)
• Konrad Becker, hypermedia researcher and interdisciplinary content developer
• Kuno Becker (born 1978), Mexican actor
• Kurt Becker (born 1958), former professional American football player
• Lawrence C. Becker (born 1939), U.S. academic, philosopher
• Lydia Becker (1827–1890), British suffragist and amateur scientist
• Marc Becker, U.S. professor of Latin American studies
• Marcus Becker (born 1981), German slalom canoer
• Margaret Becker (born 1959), award-winning composer, singer, speaker and writer
• Martin Becker (1916–2006), German Luftwaffe night fighter ace
• May Lamberton Becker (1873–1958), U.S. journalist and literary critic
• Meret Becker (born 1969), German actress and singer
• Muriel Gustavo Becker (born 1987), Brazilian goalkeeper
• Murilo Becker (born 1983), Brazilian basketball player
• Nikolaus Becker (1809–1845), writer of the German “Rheinlied”
• Oskar Becker (assailant) (1839–1868), Prussian student and attempted assassin of King Wilhelm I of Prussia
• Oskar Becker (1889–1964), German philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian of mathematics
• Otto Heinrich Enoch Becker (1828–1890), German ophthalmologist
• Paul Becker (born 1984), choreographer
• Philip Becker (1830–1898), first German-born mayor of Buffalo, New York
• Philip Johann Becker (1809–1886), German radical (see  "Becker, Philip Johann". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. )
• Ralph Elihu Becker (1907–1994), American ambassador to Honduras from 1976–1977
• Ralph Becker (mayor) (born 1952), American politician and attorney
• Rich Becker (born 1972), U.S. baseball player
• Robert O. Becker (1923–2008), U.S. orthopedic surgeon and researcher in electrophysiology/electromedicine
• Roger Becker (born 1934), British tennis player

• Rudolf Becker (1923–1944), highly decorated Hauptmann
• Rudolph Zacharias Becker (1752–1822), German educator and author
• Ruth Becker (1899–1990), Kansas schoolteacher and Titanic survivor
• Sally Becker, volunteer in Bosnia and Kosovo
• Samuel William Becker, U.S. dermatologist who documented Becker's nevus
• Sandra Lynne Becker (born 1947), 1965 Miss California
• Sandy Becker (1922–1996), U.S. television announcer
• Sean Becker (born 1975), New Zealand curler
• Sherburn M. Becker (1876–1949), Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Theodor Becker (1840–1928), German civil engineer and entomologist
• Thorsten Becker (born 1980), German footballer
• Tom Becker, British children's author
• Valentin Eduard Becker (1814–1890), German composer
• Vaneta Becker, U.S. politician from Indiana
• Walt Becker (born 1968), U.S. director, writer, and actor
• Walter Becker (born 1950), musician
• Wayland Becker (1910–1984), American football player
• Wilhelm Adolf Becker (1796–1846), German archaeologist
• Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker (1753–1813), German archaeologist and author
• William D. Becker (1876–1943), mayor of St. Louis, Missouri
• Wolfgang Becker (born 1954), German filmmaker
• Alice Becker-Ho (born 1941), French poet
• Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870), Spanish poet
• Simon Fisher-Becker (born 1961), British actor
• Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), German expressionist painter

Places[link]

United States[link]

• Becker, Minnesota
• Becker, Mississippi
• Becker County, Minnesota
• Becker Township, Minnesota (disambiguation)

Antarctica[link]

• Mount Becker, a prominent mountain 1 mile northeast of Mount Boyer, in the Merrick Mountains, Ellsworth Land

Businesses[link]

• A. G. Becker, former U.S. investment bank
• Becker Autosound, LLC, car radio and accessories maker
• Becker Entertainment, Australian entertainment company
• Becker's Milk, Canadian convenience store chain
• Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker, Bordeaux wine producer, archically named simply Becker
• Becker industries drilling equipment for oil and gas

Education[link]

• Becker College, Worcester and Leicester, Massachusetts
• Carl Becker House, residential college at Cornell University, named after Carl L. Becker

Medicine[link]

• Becker's muscular dystrophy, named after Peter Emil Becker
• Becker's nevus, skin disorder documented by Samuel William Becker

Fiction[link]

• Becker (TV series), a CBS sitcom that ran from 1998-2004
  • Dr. John Becker, the main character in the above, played by Ted Danson
• Captain Becker, character in the ITV sci-fi drama Primeval

Other[link]

• Becker Psalter (1602), German metrical psalter published by Cornelius Becker
• Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker (2004), rock album by The Coral
• Pettkus v. Becker (1980), Canadian family law decision

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Michael Brecker
Michael Brecker in July 2004, performing during the "Jazz for Kerry" benefit concert in Manhattan.
Background information
Birth name	Michael Leonard Brecker
Born	(1949-03-29)March 29, 1949 Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 13, 2007(2007-01-13) (aged 57) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, post-bop,[1][2] jazz fusion, funk, R&B, rock
Occupations	Saxophonist, composer
Instruments	Saxophone, EWI
Years active	1969–2007
Website	http://www.michaelbrecker.com

Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane,"^[3] he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2007.

Biography[link]

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Cheltenham Township, a local suburb, Michael Brecker was exposed to jazz at an early age by his father, an amateur jazz pianist. He grew up a part of the generation of jazz musicians who saw rock music not as the enemy but as a viable musical option. Brecker began studying clarinet, then moved to alto saxophone in school, eventually settling on the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. He graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1967 and after only a year at Indiana University, Michael Brecker moved to New York City in 1969 where he carved out a niche for himself as a dynamic and exciting jazz soloist. He first made his mark at age 21 as a member of the jazz-rock band Dreams—a band that included his older brother Randy, trombonist Barry Rogers, drummer Billy Cobham, Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn. Dreams was short-lived, lasting only a year, but Miles Davis was seen at some gigs prior to his recording Jack Johnson.^[4]

Most of Brecker's early work is marked by an approach informed as much by rock guitar as by R&B saxophone. After Dreams, he worked with Horace Silver and then Billy Cobham before once again teaming up with his brother Randy to form the Brecker Brothers. The band followed jazz-rock trends of the time, but with more attention to structured arrangements, a heavier backbeat, and a stronger rock influence. The band stayed together from 1975 to 1982 with consistent success and musicality.

During his career, he was in great demand as a soloist and sideman. He performed with bands which spanned from mainstream jazz to mainstream rock. Altogether, he appeared on over 700 albums, either as a band member or a guest soloist. He put his stamp on numerous pop and rock recordings as a soloist. His featured guest solos with James Taylor and Paul Simon are excellent examples from this body of work. For example, on James Taylor's 1972 album, One Man Dog, Brecker's solo on the track "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" complements the other acoustic instruments and sparse vocal. Also, on Paul Simon's 1975 album Still Crazy After All These Years, Brecker's solo on the title track is used to a similar effect. His solos are often placed in the bridge, or appended as a coda. This musical structure and instrumentation typifies (and somewhat defines) this jazz-rock fusion style. Other notable collaborations in this genre include work with Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Donald Fagen, Dire Straits, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Aerosmith, Dan Fogelberg, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Brecker also recorded or performed with leading jazz figures during his era, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Chet Baker, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Elvin Jones, Claus Ogerman, and many others.

During the early 1980s, he was also a member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live Band. Brecker can be seen in the background sporting shades during Eddie Murphy’s James Brown parody. After a stint co-leading the all-star group Steps Ahead with Mike Mainieri, Brecker finally recorded a solo album in 1987. That eponymously titled debut album marked his return to a more traditional jazz setting, highlighting his compositional talents and featuring the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), which Brecker had previously played with Steps Ahead. In 1987 he featured his new solo CD at the JVC Newport Jazz Festival, incorporating the EWI. Referring to the sound that Brecker produced from the EWI, musician and opening act Ruben Riera (flautist, percussionist) (with The Gary Pearson Ensemble) said "it was amazing." He continued to record albums as a leader throughout the 1990s and 2000s, winning multiple Grammy Awards. His solo and group tours consistently sold out top jazz venues in major cities worldwide.

Michael Brecker in Munich (July 2001)

He went on tour in 2001 with a collaborative group, Hancock-Brecker-Hargrove. This tour was dedicated to jazz pioneers John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Brecker paid homage to Coltrane by performing Coltrane's signature piece, "Naima". This composition is a definitive work for tenor sax; its demanding solo enabled Brecker to show his complete mastery of the instrument. The live concert CD from the tour, Directions in Music, won a Grammy in 2003.

While performing at the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in 2004, Brecker experienced a sharp pain in his back. Shortly thereafter in 2005, he was diagnosed with the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Despite a widely publicized worldwide search, Brecker was unable to find a matching stem cell donor. In late 2005, he was the recipient of an experimental partial matching stem cell transplant. By late 2006, he appeared to be recovering, but the experiment proved not to be a cure. He made his final public performance on June 23, 2006, playing with Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall.

On January 13, 2007, Michael Brecker died from complications of leukemia in New York City. His funeral was held on January 15, 2007 in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

On February 11, 2007, Michael Brecker was awarded two posthumous Grammy awards for his involvement on his brother Randy's 2005 album Some Skunk Funk.

On May 22, 2007, his final recording, Pilgrimage, was released receiving a good critical response. It was recorded in August 2006 with Pat Metheny on guitar, John Patitucci on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau on piano. Brecker was critically ill when it was recorded but the other musicians involved praised the standard of his musicianship.^[5] Brecker was again posthumously nominated and subsequently awarded two additional Grammy Awards for this album in the categories of Best Jazz Instrumental Solo and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group, bringing his Grammy total to 15.

During his career, Brecker played a Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone using a customized Dave Guardala mouthpiece. Early in his career, he had played a Selmer Super Balanced Action saxophone. His earlier mouthpieces included a metal Dukoff (in the late 70s and early 80s) and a metal Otto Link (in the mid-70s).

More to Live For

The film is the story of three lives, all shaken by cancer and dependent upon the one vital bone marrow match that could save them. Their unrelated paths become connected in a desperate fight for survival and a singular mission: to bring awareness about bone marrow donation to the millions of people who could save a life today. A film of tragedy and loss, strength and hope, “More to Live For” presents the stories of three individuals facing life and death, and their commitment to making a difference. These deeply personal accounts of confronting illness will inspire hope and action, leaving the viewer empowered to become part of the cure.

In the summer of 2004, Brecker was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), an early form of leukemia. In need of a bone marrow transplant to save his life, Brecker searched in the International Bone Marrow Registry for a match. This prompted Michael’s wife and manager to organize a series of bone marrow drives throughout the world, including the Red Sea, Monterey, and Newport Jazz Festivals. By going public with his illness, Brecker raised tens of thousands of dollars for testing, and signed up many thousands of donors, but was unable to find a match for himself. "More to Live For" documents Brecker's intense battle with leukemia, and the production of his final recording, "Pilgrimage".

Selected discography[link]

Michael Brecker in Hamburg (1981)

As leader & co-leader[link]

• 1975 Brecker Bros.
• 1983 Cityscape (Michael Brecker & Claus Ogerman) with Marcus Miller, Eddie Gomez, Steve Gadd, Alex Acuña
• 1983 Steps Ahead with Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez, Peter Erskine & Eliane Elias
• 1987 Michael Brecker with Pat Metheny, Kenny Kirkland, Charlie Haden & Jack DeJohnette
• 1990 Now You See It… (Now You Don't)
• 1992 Return Of The Brecker Brothers (Live in Barcelona)
• 2007 Some Skunk Funk with Randy Brecker

As sideman[link]

• 1969 Score - Randy Brecker
• 1972 Something/Anything? - Todd Rundgren
• 1973 A Wizard, a True Star - Todd Rundgren
• 1974 Todd - Todd Rundgren
• 1974 The Chicago Theme - Hubert Laws (CTI)
• 1975 The Rape of El Morro - Don Sebesky (CTI)
• 1975 Good King Bad - George Benson (CTI)
• 1976 The Main Attraction - Grant Green (Kudu)
• 1976 End of a Rainbow - Patti Austin
• 1976 Jaco Pastorius
• 1976 Hear & Now Don Cherry
• 1977 Ghost Writer (Garland Jeffreys)
• 1977 Havana Candy - Patti Austin
• 1978 Zappa in New York
• 1978 Live at the Bottom Line - Patti Austin
• 1979 Shadows and Light (Joni Mitchell) with Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Lyle Mays and Don Alias
• 1979 In a Temple Garden (Yusef Lateef)
• 1979 In Out and Around with Mike Nock (p), Mike Brecker (ts) and Al Foster (d)
• 1981 Three Quartets - Chick Corea
• 1984 Night - John Abercrombie
• 1985 Mastertouch (Torsten de Winkel (g), with (b), Alphonse Mouzon (dr), Joachim Kühn (p))
• 1988 Times Like These (Gary Burton)
• 1996 Across America (Art Garfunkel)
• 1997 West Side Story (Dave Grusin)
• 1999 The Truth: Heard Live at the Blue Note - Elvin Jones (Half Note)
• 2001 Hourglass (James Taylor)
• 2002 Rendezvous in New York With Chick Corea's Three Quartets Band
• 2002 American Dreams with Charlie Haden
• 2003 Louis Bellson and His Big Band with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Herb Geller, Benny Bailey, Howard Johnson, and Lew Soloff^[6]
• 2004 Live from the Village Vanguard, Vol. 3 with the John Abercrombie Quartet
• 2004 Horacio Hernandez: Live at the Modern Drummer Festival with Marc Quinones, Michael Brecker, John Patitucci, and Hilario Duran
• 2007 Gil Evans and His Orchestra with Gil Evans, Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, Lew Soloff, Herb Geller, Mike Mainieri, Howard Johnson and Billy Cobham^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Live recordings
• Complete Discography
• Lucky Link To Old Site
• The Independent - Obituary

Gregor Gysi
Member of the Bundestag
Incumbent
Assumed office 18th September 2005
Constituency	Berlin Treptow – Köpenick
Personal details
Born	January 16, 1948 East Berlin, Soviet Zone of Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	Die Linke

Dr. Gregor Gysi (German pronunciation: [ˈɡiːzi]; born 16 January 1948) is a German attorney and key politician of the socialist left-wing political party The Left (Die Linke). He played an important role in the end of communist rule in East Germany in 1989^{[citation needed]}, and was a main figure in the post-reunification Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). He is well known for his rhetoric talent and is considered one of the best German public speakers.^[1]

Family background[link]

Gysi was born in East Berlin, Soviet Zone of Germany. His father, Klaus Gysi, was a high-ranking official in East Germany, and had been Minister of Culture from 1966 to 1973. His mother, Irene, was the sister of political activist Gottfried Lessing, who was married to the British writer Doris Lessing during his exile in Southern Rhodesia. The surname "Gysi" is of Swiss-German origin.^[2] Both of his parents were of part Jewish ancestry; his paternal grandmother was Jewish, as was one of his maternal great-grandfathers.^[2][3] One of his maternal great-grandmothers was Russian.^[2]

His sister, Gabriele, is an actress, who left East Germany in 1985. Today, she is chief dramaturge at the Volksbühne in Berlin.

Career[link]

Gysi's political career started in the then-ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) of East Germany, to which he was admitted in 1967. In 1971 he became a licensed attorney, and during the 1970s and 1980s defended several prominent dissidents, including Rudolf Bahro, Robert Havemann, Ulrike Poppe, and Bärbel Bohley.

Gregor Gysi (November 1989)

In addition to his legal work, Gysi emerged as one of East Germany's leading Gorbachev-inspired political reformists within the SED, especially towards the end of the 1980s. In 1989, he and a group of lawyers presented a counter-draft to the government's Travel Bill, which authorised mass public demonstrations. This led to a rally on 4 November in which he spoke and called for various reforms, including free elections. In December 1989, he became a member of a special SED party session investigating official corruption and abuse of power.

He led the transformation of the SED into a democratic socialist party which included the quick resignation of all hardliners from the party's leadership; initially renamed the Socialist Unity Party - Party of Democratic Socialism (SED-PDS), it later became simply the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). Gysi served as its chairman starting in 1990, and in March 1990 was elected to the Volkskammer in the first free election of that body, serving there until it was dissolved upon German reunification on 3 October 1990. In the first post-reunification all-German elections, he was elected to the Bundestag, and served there until 2000. He remained chairman of the PDS through 1998, and then from 1998 to 2000 served as chairman of the party's parliamentary group.

In 1992 allegations were brought against him of having been an "unofficial collaborator" (Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter, IM) or informant of East Germany's Ministry for State Security (the Stasi). He denied these allegations, and the matter was largely dropped due to his parliamentary immunity. In 1995 the Hamburg regional court ruled in Gysi's favour in a complaint against Bärbel Bohley, Gysi's former client, who had accused him of Stasi collaboration. However, the allegations were raised again in 1996, and this time the Bundestag voted to revoke his immunity and proceed with an investigation. In 1998 the Bundestag's immunity committee concluded that Gysi had been a collaborator with the Stasi from 1978 to 1989 under the name IM Notar, and fined him 8,000 Deutsche Marks. However, both the Free Democratic Party and his own PDS disputed the verdict, and Gysi appealed against the finding. Despite the affair, he retained his seat in the Bundestag in the 1998 elections.

In 2000 he resigned as chairman of the PDS's parliamentary group, but continued as an active member of the party. Following the victory in Berlin's 2001 municipal elections of a coalition of the PDS and the more moderate Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), he was elected Senator for Economics, Labour, and Women's Issues and Deputy Mayor. He emphasised practical issues and advocated the reinstitution of some of what he sees as the better aspects of East Germany's system, such as extended child-care hours and a longer school day. After a scandal involving his use of airline "bonus miles" he had acquired on trips as a Bundestag member, he resigned on 31 July 2002 from the Berlin city government. The resignation was a blow to his public "can-do" image, but he has recovered from that to some extent in the wake of increasing public opposition to a number of new policies of the federal government, like the Hartz reforms lowering unemployment benefits to the levels of mere subsistence welfare, which he strongly opposes.

Oskar Lafontaine (left) and Gregor Gysi, election poster, Alexanderplatz, Berlin, 2005

In late 2004 he survived brain surgery and a heart attack. Formerly a heavy smoker, Gysi quit smoking after the crisis on his doctors' advice.

Gysi remained the PDS undisputed front man in many people's minds and continued to appear in public. In May 2005, when Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder announced plans to call an early election in September, many prominent PDS leaders including chair Lothar Bisky called on Gysi to front their campaign. He was a lead candidate of the PDS, winning direct election to the Bundestag for the Berlin Treptow – Köpenick constituency. The PDS fought the election in an alliance with the new western-based Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (WASG), under the new name The Left Party.PDS, with Gysi at times sharing a platform with WASG leader Oskar Lafontaine, former finance minister and formerly party leader of the SPD. In June 2007, the PDS and WASG formally merged to form a united party called The Left.

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gregor Gysi

• Will Germany Go Left of the Left? by Markus Deggerich, Der Spiegel, Sept 25 2009
• Portrait at the website of the parliamentary group of the Left Party
• Biography at Deutsches Historisches Museum