Zachary Charles Breaux (June 26, 1960 – February 20, 1997)
[Mark Gilbert: 'Breaux, Zachary', ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 5, 2007), ] was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
guitarist who was influenced by
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
and
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...
He played with
Roy Ayers
Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...
,
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...
,
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...
,
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...
,
Jack McDuff
Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz ...
, and
Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...
.
Biography
Zachary Breaux was born on June 26, 1960, in
Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...
. He began playing at the age of 9 and after graduating from
Lincoln High School, he studied music composition at
University of North Texas College of Music where he had been a member of the
One O'Clock Lab Band. In 1984, he moved to New York, where he spent six years in the band of
Roy Ayers
Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...
.
He was signed to
Zebra Records in 1996
but died on February 20, 1997, at the age of 36 while on holiday in
Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...
. He was trying to save the life of another swimmer, Eugenie Poleyeff, who was caught by a
riptide. Breaux, who saved a man from drowning while on tour in Italy in 1988, was vacationing in Miami Beach with his family when he tried to help the swimmer. Breaux was caught by the current and suffered a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at the Miami Heart Institute. Poleyeff also died.
Discography
* ''Groovin' '' (NYC, 1992)
* ''Laid Back'' (NYC, 1994)
* ''Uptown Groove'' (
Zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
, 1997)
References
* ''Biography Index, A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines,'' Volume 22: September 1996 – August 1997, H.W. Wilson Co., New York (1997)
* ''The New York Times Biographical Service'', a compilation of biographical information of general interest, Volume 28, Numbers 1- 12. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Co. (1997)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Zachary
1997 deaths
1960 births
American jazz guitarists
People from Port Arthur, Texas
University of North Texas College of Music alumni
Smooth jazz guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
Jazz musicians from Texas