Music icons Paul Simon and James Taylor were among artists who paid tribute to late jazz master Michael Brecker on Tuesday in New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center, according to the Associated Press. The event, a benefit concert, was called "The Nearness of You."
Taylor performed "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," from his 1972 album "One Man Dog." The 66-year-old singer was said to be suffering from influenza during the performance in which he was accompanied by Brecker's brother, Randy, on the trumpet.
"I miss him all the time," Taylor said of Brecker, who died of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a kind of cancer where the bone marrow ceases production of enough healthy blood cells. Brecker died in 2007 at age 57, according to Berkshire Eagle.
"Michael saved my life and probably a lot of other people. He led me to freedom, really from addiction, and showed a number of us the way," Taylor said.
Simon, meanwhile, played his 1975 song "Still Crazy After All These Years," the studio recording of which features Brecker, as well as Simon & Garfunkel classic "The Boxer." The 73-year-old singer and songwriter said he "closely associates" the songs with Brecker.
Other performers for the night included Dianne Reeves and Bobby McFerrin, as well as Brecker's 15-piece band, The Michael Brecker Quindectet.
The event benefitted two physicians at Columbia University Medical Center who are conducting research on a cure for MDS. Brecker's widow said she is looking to hold the benefit event annually.
"We are family; family because we share a deep connection: We have all lost people we love to cancer," she said in her speech. "We have an opportunity to make a difference. Let our family, everyone in this room, join together with our hearts and with our wallets open to make cancer finally and forever a thing of the past."
The show was concluded with a performance of Taylor's "Shower the People" by him, Simon, Reeves and McFerrin.