Jerry Bergonzi

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Jerry Bergonzi (2016)

Jerry Bergonzi (* 21st October 1947 in Boston / Massachusetts ) is an American saxophonist of modern jazz .

Live and act

Bergonzi began playing the clarinet at the age of eight and switched to the saxophone at the age of twelve. He played with a band called The Stardusters, attended weekly sessions for the Berklee College of Music student band, and was a member of John LaPorta's youth band . He studied at the University of Lowell until 1971 and initially made his way as a bass guitarist after graduating.

In 1972 Bergonzi went to New York , where he worked with musicians such as Joe Lovano , Steve Slagle , Billy Drewes , Paul Moen , Pat LaBarbera , Dave Liebman , John Scofield , Michael Brecker , Bob Berg , Tom Harrell , Steve Grossman and Victor Lewis . He became known as a member of the Two Generations of Brubeck, which in addition to Dave Brubeck included his sons Darius , Chris and Danny and who performed with musicians such as Perry Robinson and Mad Cat Ruth . Between 1973 and 1975 he performed with the group u. a. has performed at the Sydney Opera House , the Royal Festival Hall in London , the Lincoln Center and the Hollywood Bowl and at various jazz festivals.

In 1977 Bergonzi returned to Boston, where he formed the band Con Brio with bassist Bruce Gertz , drummers Bob Kaufman and Jeff Williams , pianist Eric Gunnison and guitarists Mike Stern and Mick Goodrick , with whom he recorded six albums. From 1979 to 1981 he went on a world tour as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Jerry Bergonzi with Carl Winther (2014)

In addition to four albums as a band leader - starting with Jerry on Red (1988) - Bergonzi recorded in the 1980s and 1990s for the Red Records label with musicians such as Kenny Barron , Bobby Watson , Salvatore Tranchini , Fred Hersch and Alex Riel . In 1987 he worked on the album as guest musicians The Art of the Saxophone by Bennie Wallace with. In the 1990s he also performed in Denmark, France and Germany and was involved in Eartha Kitt's album Thinking Jazz . He also worked with musicians such as Phil Grenadier and Carl Winther , with whom he recorded the two albums Dog Star (2015) and The Seven Rays (2016), as well as Michael Treni , Richard Sussman , George Garzone , Bruce Gertz , Hal Galper and Andy LaVerne . In the field of jazz, according to Tom Lord , he was involved in 180 recording sessions between 1973 and 2018.

Since the mid-1980s, Bergonzi devoted himself increasingly to teaching. In Advance Music his six-part improvisation school appeared Inside improvisation. In addition to his work as a professor at the New England Conservatory , he taught a. a. at Berklee College of Music , North Texas State University , Eastman College , Conservatoire de Paris , State University for Music and Performing Arts Mannheim and Taller de Musicos in Madrid and gave courses in Sweden and Finland.

Discographic notes

Jerry Bergonzi (2014)
  • Lineage (Red, 1989) with Mulgrew Miller , Adam Nussbaum , Dave Santoro
  • Inside Out with Salvatore Bonafede, Bruce Gertz , Salvatore Tranchini, 1989
  • Vertical Reality (Musidisk, 1995) with Billy Hart , Andy LaVerne, George Mraz , Mike Stern
  • Just Within with Adam Nussbaum, Dan Wall , 1996
  • Lost in the Shuffle (Double Time, 1998) with Adam Nussbaum, Dan Wall
  • Wiggy (Double Time, 1999) with Adam Nussbaum, Dan Wall
  • A Different Look (Double Time, 2001) with Adam Nussbaum, Dan Wall
  • Tenor of the Times with Renato Chicco, Dave Santoro, 2006
  • Three Point Shot (Intuition, 2010)
  • Convergence (Savant, 2011)
  • Spotlight on Standards , with Ranato Chicco , Andrea Michelutti (Savant, 2016)

Lexigraphic entries

Web links

Commons : Jerry Bergonzi  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 23, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Bergonzi, Jerry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston